Struggling with Your Golf Swing? Why You Should See a Physical Therapist

We are in the golf capital of the world here in Central Florida. There are so many golf courses around our area that we can enjoy. But if you’re struggling with your swing, your round can turn from enjoyable to frustrating very quickly.

Everyone has a different swing and different nuances to their specific technique. You may be trying to alter your swing to improve your game. You may be taking swing lessons, or looking up videos online, or researching articles to change your swing.

It’s great to improve your swing, but we have found that most people plateau or get stuck. This isn’t because they can’t swing properly, but because they lack the mobility and strength to be able to execute the necessary swing modifications.

We often find that you lack thoracic mobility to adequately rotate especially during the backswing. The thoracic spine is the section between the base of your neck and your lower back. This area is critical to wind up the backswing and generate torque to be able to powerfully rotate through the ball at contact.

If you’re lacking mobility in this area, you won’t be able to rotate properly resulting in decreased swing speed and decreased distance overall. About 46% of patients seeking physical therapists do so to find relief for their backs and to increase their spinal mobility.

We will also notice limitations in hip mobility specifically with rotational mobility. The two measures we look at are internal and external rotation. Each of these motions occur at different points in each hip during the golf swing. If you are lacking sufficient hip mobility, then you will not be able to appropriately rotate in the backswing nor rotate through the ball and finish your swing appropriately.

Most often, we’ll see people have limited ability to complete their backswing and then compensate with the arms. We’ll also find that limited hip mobility will cause compensations in the follow-through potentially causing you to push or pull the golf ball.

Overall, thoracic mobility and hip mobility are crucial to appropriately swing the golf club, no matter your body type or swing style. The good news is that physical therapists can create a specific plan to improve your mobility, and then reinforce and strengthen these movement patterns. This technique allows you to maintain the mobility you’ve gained in order to make the necessary changes to your swing to increase accuracy, distance, and consistency.

B Physical Therapy focuses on thorough examination and analysis of mobility, movement patterns, and strength. Our local physical therapy services prescribe specific treatment techniques to address your areas of needed improvement. This technique yields results so that you can get back to enjoying golf and often improve your swing to shoot lower scores!

Interested in physical therapy exercises? Contact our experienced physical therapists at B Physical Therapy today. Our local physical therapy office would love the opportunity to help you improve your swing, hit longer drives, and improve your game!