When I’m working with Phoenix and Scottsdale golfers, I’m constantly amazed at how interconnected the body is. I’m also amazed by how much the golf swing challenges that interconnectivity. Today I want to share a story of a Junior golfer I have worked with. It’s a story of how an old basketball ankle sprain caused low back pain and shoulder pain in the golf swing.
The Issue: Pain In The Golf Swing:
He was an amateur junior golfer with aspirations to play D1. Playing at an elite golf school, he had all the access you could want when it comes to training. But for whatever reason, he was getting back pain and lead shoulder pain. This was causing him to mis-hit, and unfortunately, to doubt himself.
What We Saw In This Golfer From Phoenix and Scottsdale Area:
He had some hip stiffness and could have done with some more strength in some of the stabilizing muscle in the shoulder blade. When we reviewed his workouts, he was hitting all of these groups regularly with weight training. There were some asymmetries in the shoulders secondary to his pain, but nothing so glaring as to be the cause of the issue.
His low back was slightly restricted in forward bend, and he had a noticeable limitation turning into his lead hip at address and follow through. After a week or so of hip work, we still didn’t see much improvement on the range.
Missing Piece For The Golf Swing:
As we were evaluating his squat for more complex loading, we noticed he deviated slightly to his trail side. Upon further inspection, his L ankle was stiff and painful. He didn’t think to mention his history of ankle sprains, and notes that he still got some anterior ankle pain when playing basketball with friends.
We attacked this with stretching and strengthening and within a week, hiw low back pain and shoulder pain were greatly reduced at the range.
But Why Was The Ankle Causing Shoulder Pain?
This particular patient was apprehensive to fully follow through because of the torque created at this lead ankle. He would open his lead foot with driver, but this would limit his backswing. It also made irons harder to control. Because he wasn’t confident quickly shifting his weight to a rotated lead ankle, he was trying to slow down his swing prematurely, causing low back pain.
As a good golfer, he knew this would sap his power, so he compensated by pulling hard with his lead shoulder through impact. This not only fatigued his lead shoulder, but put extra torque on his low back that he then had to stop.
The Expert for Golf Swing Shoulder Pain in Phoenix and Scottsdale:
The cool thing here is I didn’t have to adjust anything with his swing. Nor would I want to. He’s spent a lot of time and money on that swing. He has some of the best coaches in the country. By adjusting the body slightly and giving him more range of motion and strength, we allowed him to make the progress he and his coaches knew he could achieve. We were able to alleviate his low back and shoulder pain in the golf swing by addressing the root cause. If you have golf swing shoulder pain in Phoenix and Scottsdale, reach out via our contact page.
