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- Rory's Back...
“I was at the bottom of a squat, a body-weight squat, and my whole lower back spasmed, seized up. I couldn’t move,” McIlroy said. “So to get to where I am today is good.”
Back injuries are tough… especially in golf.
Even more so for a golf swing like Rory’s.
He commented after the round that every year he deals with tightness and some discomfort on his right side towards the end of the season.
The pain escalated from discomfort to disabling in a gym session Wednesday morning while performing bodyweight squats.
The fact that bodyweight squats were the catalyst for a total lockdown of movement and severe pain is concerning.
Bodyweight squats are very low threshold. Said differently, they aren’t very challenging. Most people will have no problem performing a bodyweight squat without much challenge and little to no pain.
The fact that an athlete of Rory’s caliber and physical capability was triggered by such a basic movement hints at the potential of a bigger underlying issue.
At this point, this is all speculation. The speed, swing style, and accumulation of thousands and thousands of reps across Rory’s life and career seem to be taking a toll.
Are you struggling with back pain? Is it keeping you from playing as much as you want or not playing the way that you want?
Here are some takeaways and potential solutions we can learn from Rory’s situation:
(This is not medical advice, I am not a medical professional, and any information that I provide is based on my experience only as a former gym owner, trainer, and online coach. Please seek medical consultation before embarking on any training plan.)
In any acute pain situation, the first course of action is to avoid the painful movement. This is short-term, as soon as we can start to perform movements with minimal pain we will want to get moving.
Consult with an expert on the potential underlying cause of the pain. Pain is a signal from the body letting us know that something we are doing is not good for us. We should listen and figure out why.
The golf swing (especially at the pro level) is a high-velocity, rotational movement that creates a lot of force. When these forces are not properly managed they can put significant stress on a joint, muscle, ligament, or tendon.
Rory’s physical training and strength routine are crucial to his ability to maintain such high swing speeds and ball speeds with a relatively low injury rate over his career.
For the average golfer, increasing swing speed without proper physical preparation could lead to a greater risk of injury and pain.
The first place to look when experiencing low back pain are the closest joints above and below. Limited hip rotation will potentially put undue stress on the lower back, especially in extreme rotation at speed. The same is true of the thoracic spine (upper back).
The body is a complicated system with hundreds of components that must work in unison to perform a golf swing at a high level.
The solution for Rory is unfortunately likely complex. And the best solution would probably be to take the weekend off from golf. He does not have that luxury if he hopes to compete or finish in the top 10 of the FedEx Cup.
It is incredible what he was able to do in the first round, shooting even par, while clearly in significant discomfort.
Hopefully, he and his training staff can get him in a better place physically to go out and compete over the final 3 days.
The Tour Championship is the most fun to watch when all of the top players are playing at their best.
Who is your pick to take home the $18 million for first place on Sunday?