Introduction

Golf, a sport of precision and accuracy, requires a deep understanding of the mechanics of swinging the golf club. Golf in San Diego allows us to golf all year, so minus taking some lessons, doing some research is the next best thing to improve your golf game! I just researched the science behind rotation via the article below

Mun, Frederick, et al. "Kinematic Relationship between Rotation of Lumbar Spine and Hip Joints during Golf Swing in Professional Golfers."

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-015-0041-5

Two of the most essential golf skills are directional accuracy and controlling the flying distance of the ball. Most golf lessons focus on improving the twisting of the trunk during the backswing, as this motion stores the rotational energy released during the downswing, leading to higher ball speed and longer flight distance. Proper weight shifting during the golf swing is also crucial for increasing the flight distance of the ball.

TLDR:

• 1. Introduction: Golf requires understanding the mechanics of swinging the club. T trunk twisting during the backswing and lifting weights are crucial for a successful swing.
• 2. Understanding the Risks: Golf can lead to injuries, especially low back pain (LBP). Identifying risk factors related to LBP can help prevent injuries and develop effective treatment strategies.
• 3. The Role of Lumbar Spine and Hip Joints: LBP is linked to lumbar spine and hip joint mobility. Understanding their kinematic relationships during a golf swing can help prevent LBP.
• 4. The Study: A study was conducted to examine the relationship between the rotational movement of the lumbar spine and hip joints during a golf swing.
• 5. The Results: The study found a high degree of relation between the rotation of the lumbar spine and hip joints during a golf swing.
• 6. The Detailed Findings: The study presented detailed plots of the rotational movements of the lumbar spine and each hip joint. The leading hip had a more significant contribution to the initial downswing phase, while the lumbar spine rotation occurred predominantly near the impact position.
• 7. The Connection to Low Back Pain: Hip joint mobility is closely associated with LBP. Time history patterns of the hips and lumbar spine kinematics can provide further insight into the movement and coordination of the joints during the golf swing.
• 8. The Importance of Hip Rotation: Each joint plays different roles in twisting motion in a complete golf swing. The axial rotation of the leading hip affects turning movement in the early downswing phase of professional golfers.
• 9. Conclusion: Most professional golfers used a similar coordination strategy in moving their hips and lumbar spine to complete their swings. Hip rotation played a more significant role during the downswing phase than the backswing phase.
• 10. Future Directions: Future research should involve the analysis of golfers with a history of previous lumbar spine injury. Electromyography data of muscle groups around the hip and lumbar spine among golfers with LBP will allow the development of effective rehabilitation and therapeutic strategies.
• 11. Stay tuned for more insights on golf swing mechanics and how to improve your game!
• 12. Citation: The blog post is based on a study by Frederick Mun and others, published in Biomedical Engineering Online in 2015.

Understanding the Risks:

Golf is a high-risk sport in terms of associated injuries. The injury rate has steadily increased over the years, with low back pain (LBP) as the most common injury, accounting for 25-36% of the reported injuries. There are several speculated causes of LBP, such as excessive twisting of the lumbar spine and subsequent derotation when the player reaches the top of the backswing or hyperextension and extreme torque of the lumbar during the downswing and follow-through. However, the accurate etiology of LBP is still unknown. Therefore, identifying the risk factors related to LBP is necessary to prevent injuries and establish effective treatment strategies.

 

The Role of Lumbar Spine and Hip Joints:

According to previous publications, LBP is strongly associated with altered lumbar spine and hip joint mobility. The lumbar spine and hip joint kinematics can be influenced in various ways by injuries and therapeutic intervention. Understanding the kinematic relationships and coordination between the lumbar spine and hip rotation during a golf swing is essential. This will provide valuable insight for determining the golf swing-specific factors of LBP and subsequently developing therapeutic strategies to prevent LBP.

The Study:

A study examining the relationship between the rotational movement of hips and the lumbar spine during the golf swings of professional golfers hypothesized that there would be a high coupling relationship between the rotational movement of the lumbar spine and each hip joint. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the characteristics of this relationship would differ significantly between the leading and trailing limbs and between the backswing and downswing phases of a golf swing.

The Results:

The study found that the rotational angle of each joint peaked at different times. Still, progression from the address to the backswing top involved clockwise rotation of the lumbar spine, external rotation of the leading hip, and internal rotation of the trailing hip joint. During the downswing phase, each joint rotated in the opposite direction to return to a posture similar to the address position. The cross-correlation of the golf cycle represented a relatively high degree of relation between the lumbar spine and leading hip joint and between the lumbar spine and trailing hip joint.

The Detailed Findings:

The study presented detailed angle-angle plots of the rotational movements of the lumbar spine and each hip joint for a representative golfer. The shapes of the curves were quite different when the angle graph of the leading hip versus lumbar spine was compared to that of the trailing hip versus lumbar spine. In the chart comparing the top hip versus the lumbar spine, the curve was a reverse 'C' pattern, indicating that the leading hip contributed more significantly to the initial downswing phase of rotational movement. In contrast, lumbar spine rotation occurred predominantly near the impact position. However, the curve of the trailing hip versus lumbar spine graph exhibited a reverse 'V' shape, suggesting that the relative contributions of the trailing hip and lumbar spine rotation were near equal during the downswing phase.

The study concluded that the contribution of hip rotation markedly achieved rotation movement in the downswing phase. This insight is crucial for golfers as it highlights the importance of hip rotation in attaining an effective golf swing.

The Connection to Low Back Pain:

Previous publications and case studies indicated a close association of hip joint mobility with Low Back Pain (LBP). Significant differences between groups of professional golfers with and without a history of LBP were observed in lumbar extension, FABERE's distance, and hip internal rotation of the leading leg. A group of amateur golfers with LBP displayed a significantly reduced active and passive medial process of the leading hip joint. Such results demonstrated a strong relationship between the mobility of the lumbar spine and hip joint. However, the kinematic relationship during the golf swing has yet to be studied extensively. Time history patterns of the hips and lumbar spine kinematics can provide further insight into the movement and coordination of the joints during the golf swing from a biomechanical perspective.

 

The Importance of Hip Rotation:

The study found that the rotational angle of each joint peaked at different times, indicating that each joint played different roles in twisting motion in a complete golf swing. The precedence of the peak rotation timing of both hip joints compared to the lumbar spine is closely related to the separation between the upper torso and pelvis rotation, which is defined as 'X-factor' or 'X-factor stretch.' This is a swing strategy to increase the flight distance of the ball by maximizing the stored energy due to an increase in torso coiling. The remarkable contribution of hip rotation in the downswing phase to the backswing phase is attributed to pelvis-lead swing characteristics among commonly skilled golfers. In particular, it could be suggested that the axial rotation of the leading hip affects twisting motion in the early downswing phase of professional golfers; therefore, the training for the proper process of the top hip allows to help joint coordination strategy between the lumbar spine and leading hip joint.

Conclusion:

The study concluded that a reasonably strong coupling relationship was displayed between the lumbar spine and hip rotational movements, indicating that most professional golfers used a similar coordination strategy in moving their hips and lumbar spine to complete their swings. During the downswing phase, the leading hip was markedly rotated in the early stage, while the lumbar spine had a more significant contribution near the impact position. However, the relative contributions of the trailing hip and lumbar spine were nearly equal throughout the downswing phase. Rotational movement of the hips played a more significant role during the downswing phase than during the backswing phase, which suggested that hip rotation was quite efficient during the downswing phase.

Future Directions:

This study provided essential information to investigate golf swing-specific factors associated with LBP. Future research should involve analysis of golfers with a history of previous lumbar spine injury, and an in-depth understanding will need to be obtained by comparing such golfers with a control group. Additionally, electromyography data of muscle groups around the hip and lumbar spine among golfers with LBP will allow the development of effective rehabilitation and therapeutic strategies.

Stay tuned for more insights on golf swing mechanics and how to improve your game!

Citation:

Mun, Frederick, et al. "Kinematic Relationship between Rotation of Lumbar Spine and Hip Joints during Golf Swing in Professional Golfers." Biomedical Engineering Online, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-015-0041-5.

Also in Golf Upgrades Blog