Dr. Barry L Marks, Chiropractor
Spinal Decomrpessioin Specialist in Orange County, CA
Jack had it. Tiger has had it. Freddie too. Many of the elite of golf have had it.
The “it” is low back pain.
While very few recreational golfers have much in common with these legends, low back pain is the one thing shared by golfers of all skill levels.
Low back pain is reported to be the most common ailment affecting working age adults in the U.S., second only to the common cold. An astonishing 80% of Americans over the age of 30 will suffer at least 1 week of debilitating back pain during their lifetime.
About Golf Back Pain
Amongst the nations 30 million golfers, back pain is even more prevalent.
According to back pain expert Dr. Barry L. Marks, DC who focuses much of his practice on golf related injuries, “Golf and back pain go hand in hand.” Dr. Marks adds, “Many people, even golfers themselves, do not realize what a physically demanding sport golf really is. The amount of strain placed on the lower back joints, discs and muscles is tremendous.”
Dr. Marks reports that overstretching and straining muscles that are cold and tight cause many injuries. “Golf can be rough on the back, but it is made even worse by golfers not stretching or warming up before a round.”
“Often overlooked is the fact that on public courses players take a shot and then wait around quite awhile before their next swing. This slow play causes the muscles to cool off and tighten up. Your next swing is with tight muscles making injuries more likely. Walking rather than riding a golf cart can help prevent this, but many courses do not allow walking.”
The most serious problems for golfers according to Dr. Marks include disc bulges, degeneration and herniation.
Golf Back Pain a serious problem…
“Symptoms of back pain that radiates to the buttocks, thighs or legs are very serious,” warns Dr. Marks. “These symptoms often mean that the cushions between the spinal bones of the low back have deteriorated or are bulging outwards into the nerves.”
Once this occurs, it’s definitely time to seek specialized help according to Dr. Marks. Severe back pain and sciatica (leg pain caused by disc material irritating the sciatic nerve) can come and go and is often helped by chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture or physical therapy. But questions often posed to Dr. Marks are: What about golf back pain that does not respond well to these treatments? And what can be done about golf back pain cases that seem to go away only to return a month of two later?
Surgery may not be the answer…
“Moderate to severe back pain and/or leg pain caused by deteriorating discs that fails to improve with non-invasive procedures or often reappear, were often thought to require surgery” replies Dr. Marks. “But today physicians realize that surgery has its place in treating these resistant cases, but only as a last resort.”
Searching the medical literature you will soon find that the most common type of back surgery (discectomy) has at most a 50% success rate and that at 12 months post-surgery surgery patients are no better off than non-surgically treated patients.
Additionally, patients undergoing surgery are prone to additional surgeries later on. Second surgeries are usually fusions where two or more spinal bones or vertebrae are in various fashions tied or bolted together.
A study at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago found complications including infection, bleeding, nerve injury, severe pain, and repeat operations occur in 14% of fusions.
A 2004 Spine journal article found an 18% early complication rate with fusion. The Spine article also indicated no difference in pain or disability between surgical fusion patients and patients who did not have surgery, but who performed exercises and behavior modification.
A Cochrane Review in 2005 also found that surgical fusion did not experience any less disability or any better quality of life two years after the surgery than those who did not have surgery. These results seriously bring into question the efficacy of spinal fusions for back pain.
Despite the risks and apparent lack of success of surgical fusions, they are on the rise in the U.S. The increase in fusion rates was 100% from 1979 to 1990 according to a National Institutes of Health study. A Canadian study reported in the Canadian Medical Journal in August of 2005 found an astonishing 300% increase from 1996 to 2001.
In the past this very invasive form of treatment was saved for unstable spines, but over the past few years U.S. surgeons have increasingly began performing fusions for chronic low back pain. Some studies from the NIH have indicated that U.S. surgeons are 40% more likely to fuse than their counterparts in any other parts of the world.
Medical researchers say that surgery is mandatory in cases of severe and rapidly progressive neurologic signs such as loss of use one or both legs, inability to control the bladder or bowel or loss of sensation around the anus. “Other than those severe signs of spinal cord pressure, which is quite rare,” reports Dr. Marks, “studies show a lack of lasting results with surgery purely for pain relief.”
A better alternative…
The good news for golfers with severe back pain or leg pain is that advances in medical computer technology have lead to a promising new treatment called “non-surgical spinal decompression.” This new treatment for disc problems that cause back pain and sciatica has been clinically shown to relieve pain and can actually reduce the size of disc herniations. All without the risk and potential side effects of surgery.
“Golfers with severe back pain and/or sciatica have new hope with this new tool,” exclaims Dr. Marks. “More research is underway on non-surgical spinal decompression, but it is far from investigational.” The equipment Dr. Marks recommends is called the DRX9000, which is gaining favor in the medical field as a safe and effective means of relieving back and leg pain.
“The results I have personally seen with the DRX9000 are truly miraculous. I wouldn’t believe it unless I had seen it,” proclaims Dr. Marks. “Patients that have failed acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy – even patients who have had previous surgery and failed, have gotten tremendous relief in a very short time. Best of all, they have gotten these results without the risks or side-effects of drugs, shots or surgery.”
Warning…
Dr. Marks warns golfers suffering from severe back and leg pain, however that treatment with the DRX9000 is not a cure-all. There are some patients who cannot receive this care due to underlying spinal problems. In fact, Dr. Marks reports that there is a careful screening process he conducts for anyone interested in this care.
“In my spinal decompression center, we go over the spine with a fine tooth comb,” explains Dr. Marks. “There is a standard checklist for DRX treatment, which we perform, but there are additional tests and procedures I have developed to make sure of the correct diagnosis, exact location of the troublesome disc or discs and a functional assessment to ensure maximum success of the decompression.”
“I do not accept anyone for care unless there is a clear indication that they are going to be an excellent candidate. Many cases are not accepted and sent to other specialists, but the only way to know if this treatment is possible is to be evaluated carefully,” concludes Dr. Marks.
Free Golfer’s Guide to Back Pain 
For Golfer’s considering this new form of treatment, Dr. Marks has prepared a free booklet entitled “The Golfer’s Guide to Severe Back, Disc and Sciatica Pain.”
The booklet is free of charge and reveals what golfers must know about golf back pain and how to get off the couch and back onto the course.
The booklet can be obtained by visiting PainlessGolf.com
Dr. Barry L. Marks, DC is the founder and medical director of Orange County’s first dedicated DRX non-surgical spinal decompression center, Orange Spine & Disc Rehabilitation Center in Orange, California. He has been in practice for over 22 years, has extensive post-doctorate training in golf related injuries and is a former Associate Clinical Professor at a leading chiropractic college. His expertise on non-surgical spinal decompression is often sought from physicians and patients nationwide and globally. Axiom Worldwide, the manufacturer of the DRX9000, often refers other doctors to tour his model decompression facility.
Free Back Pain
