By: Charles W. Boatright
Preventing Lower Back Pain Issues and Opioids Use to Address the Pain
SUBJECT– Fundamentals on how to prevent lower back pain Issues.
ISSUE– Not properly using Ergonomics in the prevention of lower back pain.
QUESTION– What simple prevention measures can be used to avoid lower back pain?
When it comes to lower back pain, an ounce of prevention, ergonomics, is worth a ton of medication and treatment procedures. There are 50 million Americans who are affected by lower back pain, to some degree, each year. As part of the treatment, the process typically includes pain management that includes the prescription of Opioids for a period of time, usually three weeks or less. While pain management is part of the treatment process, it doesn’t address the root cause and prevention in improving the patient’s health and fitness.
I was playing golf in early March with three other men. I noticed one of the men had severe restriction to his rotation during the golf swing. While standing on the seventh tee box waiting for the fairway to clear of the group ahead, the gentleman with back restrictions explained that he had two bulging discs to his L4 and L5. He explained he had seen several orthopedic surgeons and received no relief.
I asked him did his doctors go over any simple methods that he could use to prevent his back pain and improve mobility? To my surprise, he replied, “They did not.” That’s shocking to me that a simple prevention was not covered as part of his treatment process.
Lower Back Pain Issues that can Sideline Golfers
For golfers, one of the major injuries that can sideline them is back issues, that for the most part, can be prevented. One of the coaching fundamentals that my coach, grandfather, and his playing partner, Dr. Choate, preached to me all the time was:
- Bend at the knees and hips and turn at the waist. Never bend at the waist!
- Take one step forward to bend or follow a rear leg extension.
(See the diagram below)
On the seventh tee box, two of the men actually tried the step forward methods and were surprised how taking one step forward in the above illustration actually prevented them from bending at the waist.
Regardless of how minor the reason for bending forward is, like to pick up a newspaper, and especially if it is a newspaper, take one step forward to prevent a repetitive damage to the lower back. Minor prevention equals major benefits to your health and fitness. Also Yoga is another fitness process the golfer can use like the ones I follow in the chart below:
Another side effect of Opioids is depression, Yoga has been proven to not only improve a person’s physical health and fitness, but also their mental health and fitness. Yoga and exercises in general can improve a person’s outlook on life. And 90 percent of well being is mental. I workout in my golf trainer home gym three times per week.
Opioids Use in the United States
The last thing you want to encounter in your golf game are back issues where most often pain management is prescribed. With the Opioid epidemic that we are experiencing in the United States, where one out of seven people are taking some form of Opioid prescription, prevention is more important than ever. This is especially true since seven percent of the people in the United States have experienced an overdose.
The reason that overdose occurs in patients is that the patient builds up a tolerance to the Opioid level they are presently taking; and the patient needs to take more to suppress the pain they are experiencing.
The ESPY Golf Swing Technique for Golfers
So, in conclusion, prevention is worth a ton of medication for preventing debilitating injuries. This is the reason for my book, The ESPY Golf Swing Coach. In the acronym ESPY, E stands for Ergonomics, S (Syncing with the Supinator muscle), and P (Presetting with the Pronator Teres muscle). These are two key muscles used to sync the golfer’s forearms and arms with their shoulders. This allows the golfer to use their elbows and shoulders as sprockets that provide a significant mechanical advantage of power and speed, while taking stress off the lower back. If the golfer doesn’t preset their wrists, they will have to create the power with their lower back.
Arnold Palmer’s Suggestion to President Eisenhower about His Right Elbow.
If the golfer coils their shoulders with their elbows, as Mr. Arnold Palmer was trying to get President Eisenhower to do at a Pro-Am, the golfer will naturally slightly raise the forward heel off the ground. The forward knee will point toward the golf ball, as I describe in my book in Section 1.11 and the Palmer- Eisenhower experience in Section 2.16.
Presetting the wrists allows the golfer to prorate the tension that their back will experience during the golf swing. This is a huge advantage for the golfer, instead of placing the tension on the lower back.
If you want a sport activity that you can enjoy for the rest of your life and enjoy developing friendships with others, take up the sport of golf. If you have no prior experience, are not proficient at this fascinating game, or would like to improve your golf game, purchase your copy of The ESPY Golf Swing Coach from the links below, or visit your local bookstore:
My book can also be purchased at Edwin Watts Golf Store in Jackson, Mississippi. Phone No. 601-956-8784
820 East County Line Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157
This book is a self-coaching guide that provides basic and advanced fundamentals to help you play golf with confidence and start lowering your handicap.
Please take advantage of my SR-925 Diet Program, where I lost 6 inches in my waist in 3- months (FREE of CHARGE) with the CASPER Workout Program, detailed in Section 20 of my book:
Please include an exercise routine in your weekly schedule.
Also, learning The ESPY Golf Swing Coach process is an excellent way to develop Rhythm without experiencing the Blues: