Golf Performance and Back
Pain
An Ambivalent Relationship
By Scott Bevins
Back pain and golf are common companions
in the sporting world. These two go walking side by side far too
often. The prevalence of back pain in golf leads the player to believe
that it’s “just part of the game.” This is a sad
misunderstanding. Not only does this steal enjoyment from the game,
but it will rob your performance as well – regardless of how
much you ‘suck it up’ and ‘push’ through
the pain. There is a way to amelioration.
There are an abundant number of root causes
for back pain; however, there is one etiology that is often missed
and usually escapes the examination of orthopedic doctors, chiropractors
and physical therapists. As a matter of fact, this cause is best
remedied in the absence of these professionals. In other words,
doctors and therapists are just not needed to cure this kind of
back pain. I believe if most people were to adopt the following
prescription, many would receive permanent relief from back pain,
while countless others would experience a drastic decrease in symptoms.
What is this etiology? It’s the food we eat.
We have a variety of offending foods available
to us today. Most of these foods have been created in just the last
100 years. Some of the more obvious culprits are sugar substitutes,
MSG, white sugar, and the thousands of food additives and chemicals
applied to our modern processed, packaged foods. Some lesser known
culprits, although just as likely to create problems, are foods
such as pasteurized dairy, wheat products, and unfermented soy.
Follow me now and I’ll explain the very basics of how these
foods can create back pain.
Offending foods can create distress and inflammation
in the small intestine. In most cases it’s unbeknownst to
the person. The small intestine has nerves running to them. Some
of these nerves share the same neurological junction as the nerves
running to the lower back. Now, back pain is felt when the small
intestine becomes inflamed and then refers pain signals to the lower
back. The reason the back picks up the signal is because it shares
the same nerve junction as that particular spot of inflammation
in the small intestine. This is called visceral somatic referral.
And not only will pain be present, but game performance is likely
to suffer.
A painful muscle can downgrade performance
by inhibiting it. When pain is felt the body will try to protect
the area by shutting down the muscle (to a certain degree). If this
muscle isn’t fully functioning then swing faults and power
loss are likely. Remember, in the case of food intolerance, there’s
nothing ‘wrong’ with the back. It’s the intestine
that is having the problem. What’s unfortunate is if the golfer
plays through the pain, he can start an inflammation process in
the back, and engender damage to the connective tissue.
If you suspect a food is creating your back
problems, the best approach is to try eliminating the suspect food
for up to 10 days. This ensures all food particles have traveled
out of your system. If you feel better, then it’s likely to
have been the cause. You could try re-introducing it to see for
sure. (Incidentally, another sign of gastrointestinal distress is
a pop belly or lower abdominal pooch that doesn’t have a large
body fat pinch. The belly sometimes feels hard but yet pops out
like a soccer ball that is trying to break free.) In any case, removing
these offending foods from your diet can be as difficult as some
of them are addictive. Be sure to replace them with very nutritious
foods as this will help you adhere to the plan and keep your gut
cleaned out.
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