Every year one of the most iconic tournaments in golf takes place in the first full week of April—the Masters Tournament, held in August, Georgia. As one of the four major men’s golf tournaments, it invariably features a high level of play among competitors at the top of their game, demonstrating enviable form for golf-loving spectators to try to imitate. However, with opportunities to buy tickets for even the practice rounds regulated by a strict lottery, the chance to go see the Masters in person is rivaled in difficulty only by trying to obtain a Super Bowl ticket. 

This means that most golf enthusiasts are only likely to experience the Masters by watching it on television or the internet. The irony is that instead of being out on a course to practice their own game for hours a day, like competitive golfers, watching round after round of the Masters puts them on the couch instead, engaging in an activity that can be far more destructive to the health and comfort of the spine than swinging a club: sitting.

Why Prolonged Sitting is Bad for Your Back and Body

If you’ve ever stood up from your desk chair after a long day of Zoom meetings with a wince as every stiff muscle protests, you’ve already experienced some of the effects of prolonged sitting. Unfortunately, modern life seems designed to keep us in our chairs, often in front of a screen. The effects of this lifestyle can be so damaging that some have even begun to think of excessive sitting as a disease.

Why does your back feel so sore and stiff when you’ve been sitting and doing nothing for hours on end?

• Sitting reverses the normal curves of the spine.
• Moving the head forward, away from the body, increases the functional weight of the head on the body, putting extra stress on the cervical spine (neck).
• Sitting stretches the spinal cord, increasing tension and stress on the nervous system.
• It puts abnormal stress on the vertebrae, accelerating degenerative changes (arthritis).
• It abnormally stresses the intervertebral discs as well, leading to degenerative disc disease through the breakdown of disc tissue.
• Sitting abnormally stresses the muscles of the back, causing spasms, pain, and limited range of motion.

A strong, healthy, flexible back is vital for a good golf game, because maintaining correct posture and being able to move smoothly through the arc of a swing is crucial for maximizing distance and accuracy. Improper form can increase your risk of injury on the course, but it’s difficult to achieve the right form if your back is already compromised by the effects of sitting too long day after day. Here’s what you can do to help ensure that your back is up to the rigors of your next afternoon out on the course.

Protecting Your Back from the Effects of Prolonged Sitting

Fortunately, simple changes of habits can be highly effective in protecting your back from excessive sitting. This starts with taking frequent breaks to get up and move, about every 20 minutes. Move for about 30 seconds to “reset” your posture before you sit back down again—arm circles, high knee steps, or trunk twists can help get your blood moving and stretch out your muscles.

Consider changes to your work environment such as adding a sit/stand desk and a wobble chair or balance disk to sit on. The former lets you change your position regularly throughout the day (about every 20 to 30 minutes is best), while the latter continually stimulates movement throughout the spine. Your routine should also include daily exercise, but this doesn’t have to be a strenuous workout to be beneficial. A twenty-minute walk is a highly effective and sustainable way to get moving every day.

Finally, make sure you are getting checked out by a chiropractor on a regular basis, especially if time on a chair or couch leaves you with an aching back. Sitting too long can cause misalignments in the spine, known as subluxations, that must be corrected to restore healthy movement and relieve pain.

Supporting Back Health for Active Lifestyles

The demands of daily life shouldn’t leave you unable to enjoy the sports you love in your free time. If back pain is holding your golf game back from where it should be—even if you’ll never be competing at the Masters!—Divine Spine can help. Our gentle chiropractic method uses precisely targeted, computerized adjustment to comfortably correct misalignments, without twisting or popping. With in-house X-rays, we can quickly identify the root cause of discomfort and limited movement and design an individualized treatment plan to get your spine properly aligned again. To schedule your consultation, contact us here today.