Play Longer, Feel Better - Improve Your Thoracic Spine Mobility

Golf is an incredible sport, activity, hobby, getaway, mental break, exercise etc. Those reading this blog know golf in many of the above contexts. The challenge for many of us is how can we stay healthy and happy while enjoying this game.

As with most things the answer isn’t simple. However for almost all of us playing there are a few things we can implement that will help our chances of staying on the course longer, feeling better, moving more easily and in turn likely hit the ball better. All of this equals happier you and I! 

So what can you do to help yourself improve your longevity? 

A great starting place is to better understand your physical limitations and work towards correcting them. This may mean taking care of that stiff shoulder you have always had, focusing on improving your lead hip mobility, and/ or stretching your lower and upper back more frequently. 

One of the key areas to making an efficient, repeatable and safe golf swing is having adequate mobility in a few key areas. The 2 most important being your hips and your upper back( AKA thoracic spine). For today I want to share with you 2 simple exercises to improve your upper back mobility. 

Why will this help?

 By improving your upper back mobility you will be able to rotate more easily in your back swing, while taking stress off of your shoulders, neck and lower back! This in turn should reduce the fault of swaying off the ball in your back swing, as well as less loss of posture, allowing you to make a more rotational based swing. 

This equals more consistent low point and better contact! Also, more rotation should = more power providing you use it appropriately. 

So where to begin? The below exercises are foundational mobility drills and can be done almost anywhere. They should always be pain free. I recommend doing them before you play as well as at the gym or home as part of a consistent program. 

If you have any questions about the above exercises please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at james@ashcroftphysio.com. I would love to help! 

To the continued pursuit of better golf! 

Have a great day and remember that consistency and repetition are key, 

Dr. James Ashcroft DPT, OCS, CSCS