Why Hip Flexibility and Mobility Play an Important Role In Your Swing Mechanics 

This article was written by guest author, Hetal Acharekar, Owner of PerformanceAbove PT, MPT, CAFS, MAT
Hetal has led a distinguished career as a clinical physical therapist for the past 15 years, is a leading authority in Orthopedic and Sports injuries, and is the owner of PerformanceAbove, LLC. She graduated with her Master's in Physical Therapy in 2006

 

As a physical therapist and golf performance specialist, many of my clients work with me to improve their performance and remedy pain preventing their game longevity. Since swing mechanics play such an important role in golf, it’s essential that golfers of all levels consistently work on improving their hip flexibility and mobility. As you’ll see, your hips directly correlate with your swing. 

Among professional and amateur golfers, back disorders remain the most common injury, comprising 55% and 35% of injuries in these groups, respectively.

Source American Association of Neurological Surgeons

Let’s take one of my clients as an example; he’s a junior golfer who has won golf tournaments and is naturally talented at the sport. He came to me complaining of lower back and neck pain after playing. He enrolled in my Golf Performance Program, where I assessed his mobility, strength, agility, and flexibility thoroughly. Based on his assessment results, this revealed that his hips lacked mobility and stability. His results aligned with his aliments, as poor hip flexibility can be correlated to lower-back pain. It’s important to remember that good stability and mobility are essential for the hip and core and are required for good swing mechanics

"Limited flexibility of the hips and spine has been correlated to low-back pain in golfers as well and, therefore, should be the focus of any therapeutic regimen.”

Source American Association of Neurological Surgeons

After a client completes their assessment, I prescribe exercises to improve their dysfunctions. In this case, to help the Junior Golfer improve his hip mobility and stability, I prescribed strength and mobility exercises. It’s important to note that these exercises simultaneously strengthen the core and lower back. Keep in mind the core must be stable for the hips also to be stable. 

In addition to his at-home exercise program, we would meet in the studio to keep track of his progress and add additional exercises. One tool that I use with many of my clients, including this Junior Golfer, is the GravityFit cap. This innovative cap automatically aligns your spine and activates the core muscles needed for good posture and alignment. You can use it with many exercises to ensure proper form and improved posture. I recommend that my clients purchase this cap and incorporate it into their at-home exercises for improved results. 

“Professional golfers experience about 7500 N of compressive force on the spine during the downswing, which is about eight times the average human body weight and comparable to forces calculated for football linemen while striking a blocking sled."

Source American Association of Neurological Surgeons

Now to keep track of his progress, I would continuously reassess his strength and mobility, which is why it’s so important to have an ongoing evaluation program to ensure progress is made with at-home exercises. In no time, his strength and mobility improved and his neck and lower back pain completely disappeared. This is why my golf performance program is so successful. We target the areas of the body that need correction and it results in higher performance and ceases any pain felt before, during, or after a game.

Here are the mobility and strengthening exercises I used with my client: 

Exercise #1 - Bow Pose: Reps: 5-8

Image by PerformanceAbove

Setup:

• Begin lying on your stomach.

Movement:

• Bend your knee and squeeze your buttock muscles, then lift both your heels toward the ceiling. Grab the ankles with both your hands, until you feel a stretch in front of both your hips. Rock forward and backward

Pro-Tip:

• Make sure to keep your core engaged during the exercise. 

Exercise #2 - Standing Controlled Articular Rotation: Reps: 5-8

Image by PerformanceAbove

Setup:

• Begin standing upright with your hand on a chair or countertop for support as needed.

Movement:

• Lift your leg straight out in front of you with your knee bent. Rotate your thigh so that your ankle crosses your midline. Bring your hip up as high as you can. Then, sweep your knee out to the side as far as possible. 
• Next, turn your thigh in the opposite direction so that your ankle moves away from your body. 
• Continue to circle your hip out to the side and back, so that your hip is now behind you in extension. 
• Next, reverse the entire motion. 
• Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise.

Pro-Tip:

• Make sure to keep your core muscles engaged throughout the exercise so that you are moving from the hip rather than your body.

Exercise #3 - Butterfly Stretch: Reps 5-8

Image by PerformanceAbove

Setup:

• Begin by sitting upright with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together.

Movement:

• Using your arms, gently pull your heels toward your body until you feel a stretch in your groin and flap like a butterfly.

Pro-Tip

• Make sure not to let your low back slouch. 

Exercise #4 - Hip 90/90 Rotation: Reps: 5-8

Image by PerformanceAbove

Setup:

• Begin sitting upright on the floor with your legs bent, one out to your side and one in front of you.

Movement:

• Bending at your hips, slowly switch the position to the other side. 

Pro-Tip:

• Make sure to keep your shoulders facing forward and keep your lumbar region in a neutral position.

Exercise #5: - Hip Strengthening with Good Posture using GravityFit Cap

 

Here we are focusing on proper posture using the GravityFit cap, which activates the spinal core muscles.

 

Setup

Video by PerformanceAbove

• Begin standing upright with a resistance band looped around your thighs and for good posture using the gravityfit cap. Bend your knees slightly so you are in a mini squat position.

Movement

• Slowly step sideways, maintaining tension in the bands both in the hand and with good breathing technique and in the thighs.

Tip

• Make sure to keep your feet pointing straight forward. Do not drag your feet on the ground or let your knees collapse inward during the exercise.

If you or someone you know is suffering from pain during or after a round of golf, there is a systematic approach to solving your pain. With my virtual assessment and Golf Performance Program, I will pinpoint what areas need strengthening. Based on your assessment results, I will create a custom exercise program to improve mobility, stop pain, and enhance game performance. 

To schedule your virtual assessment, please send me email to Hetal athetal@performanceabove.com. I welcome you to visit my website to learn more about myself and my life-changing program athttps://www.performanceabove.com/

Make sure to support Hetal by using code PERFORMANCEABOVE when purchasing any GravityFit products. As a bonus you will receive a 10% discount!