Golf looks gentle from the outside. No contact, no sprinting, no jumping. But the golf swing is one of the most demanding movements in sport. It involves your entire body rotating at speed through a large range of motion, and you repeat it dozens of times per round.

So it should not come as a surprise that over half of amateur golfers and nearly three-quarters of professionals will deal with a significant injury at some point. A 2024 systematic review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found a lifetime injury prevalence of 56.6% in amateurs and 73.5% in professionals.

Here is where golfers get hurt most, what causes it and what you can do about it.

The lower back: golf’s number one injury

The lower back is the most commonly injured area in golfers, across every study and every level of play. A 2023 study of over 1,100 male golfers found that 37% had experienced low back pain in the past seven days alone. A 2025 UK study found that lower back injuries accounted for the highest incidence of any body region, with an average recovery time of 54 days.

Why it happens. The golf swing puts enormous rotational force through your lumbar spine. During the downswing, your lower back absorbs significant compressive and shearing loads. Repeat that 60 to 80 times in a round, several times a week, and the structures of the lower back accumulate strain.

Interestingly, a 2024 systematic review found no conclusive evidence that “poor” swing technique directly causes low back pain. The relationship between swing mechanics and injury is more complex than many coaching models suggest. What does matter is training volume: golfers playing four or more rounds per week have a significantly higher injury rate.

Shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands

After the lower back, the upper limb takes the most punishment.

Shoulder. The lead shoulder (left for right-handed golfers) is stretched to its limit at the top of the backswing. Rotator cuff irritation, impingement and labral strain are common, particularly in older golfers or those with limited shoulder mobility.

Elbow. “Golfer’s elbow” (medial epicondylitis) gets all the attention, but the lateral side (tennis elbow) is actually just as common in golfers. Both result from repetitive gripping and wrist action through impact. Amateurs tend to experience more elbow injuries than professionals, likely because of less efficient swing mechanics.

Wrist and hand. Professionals appear to be significantly more likely to injure their wrist or hand than amateurs, largely because of the volume of balls they hit in practice. Impact vibration, ground contact (especially on firm or thin lies) and excessive practice are the main culprits.

The thoracic spine: your hidden power source

Your mid-back does not get as much attention as the lower back, but it plays a critical role in the golf swing. The thoracic spine is where most of your trunk rotation should come from. When thoracic mobility is limited, the rotation has to come from somewhere else, usually the lower back or shoulders, and that is when those areas start to break down.

Research suggests that rotational mobility and strength account for a significant portion of the variability in ball speed and total distance. In other words, a mobile thoracic spine does not just protect you from injury. It helps you hit the ball further.

Over 80% of golf injuries are overuse

This is the single most important thing to understand about golf injuries. A 2023 review found that 82.6% of injuries in golfers are caused by repetitive overuse, not a single bad swing or traumatic event. That means most golf injuries are preventable with the right approach.

Despite this, relatively few golfers do any form of injury prevention exercise. If you are not doing any preparation before you play, you are in the majority, but you are also at higher risk.

How to prevent golf injuries

Warm up properly

This does not mean a few arm swings on the first tee. A proper warm-up takes 10 minutes and should include:

Trunk rotations to prime your thoracic spine
Hip circles and leg swings to open up your hips
Shoulder mobility work
Progressive swings starting at 50% effort and building up

Build rotational strength and mobility

The golf swing is a rotational movement. Your body needs to be strong and mobile through that plane. Focus on:

Thoracic rotation mobility (your mid-back needs to move freely)
Hip internal and external rotation (restricted hips overload the lower back)
Core stability in rotation, not just sit-ups, but exercises that resist and control rotational force
Shoulder mobility, especially external rotation

A 2025 randomised controlled trial tested a targeted golf injury prevention exercise programme on young golfers. The group that did the exercises had just 16 low back pain incidents over the study period compared to 100 in the control group. That is an 84% reduction.

Manage your training load

More is not always better. Playing four or more rounds per week, or hitting hundreds of range balls in a session, significantly increases your injury risk. Space out your sessions, vary your practice (short game, putting, course play) and give your body time to recover.

How chiropractic can help

Golf requires your spine and joints to move freely through a large range of motion. When mobility is restricted, whether in your thoracic spine, hips, shoulders or lower back, your body compensates. Over time, those compensations lead to overload and injury.

This is where chiropractic fits in:

Restoring joint mobility. Chiropractic adjustments restore normal movement to stiff spinal and extremity joints. For golfers, the thoracic spine, lower back, hips and shoulders are the key areas. An early study on golfers found that those receiving spinal manipulative therapy alongside stretching improved their full-swing distance by the fourth session, while stretching alone did not produce the same result. Larger studies are needed to confirm the size of the effect, but it aligns with what we see in practice.

Treating pain. If you are already dealing with low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain or rib pain, chiropractic care can help reduce pain and get you back on the course. Clinical guidelines consistently recommend spinal manipulation for the treatment of spinal pain.

Identifying restrictions before they become injuries. A chiropractic assessment can pick up joint stiffness and muscle imbalances that you might not notice until they cause a problem. Addressing these early helps keep you playing.

Exercise and rehab. We prescribe targeted exercises to improve your rotational mobility, hip stability and core strength. These are specific to the demands of golf and designed to complement your game, not replace your practice time.

When to get assessed

If you are playing through pain, losing range in your swing or noticing stiffness that was not there before, it is worth getting checked. Most golf injuries are overuse injuries, and the earlier you address them, the quicker they resolve.

At our Sandton practice, we treat golfers of all levels and understand the biomechanical demands of the game. Whether you are dealing with a current injury or want to stay ahead of one, we can help.

Get in touch or book an appointment and let us get you playing comfortably again.

References

COMMON GOLF INJURIES: HOW TO PREVENT THEM AND KEEP PLAYING PAIN-FREE