Key Takeaways
- Your lower back is built to stay steady. Your hips and mid-back are built to turn. When the hips stop turning, the swing borrows that turn from the lower back.
- That’s why stretching your back, wearing a brace or taking ibuprofen before the round often doesn’t change much. Those treat where it hurts, not where it starts.
- Dr. Matt checks three things in a golfer: rotary control, hip turn on both sides, and how the feet load.
- A 30-second test at home can show whether one hip is stuck.
- The SYMETRx Movement Score combines how you move, how you stand and how your feet meet the ground into one number out of 100. Think of it as a handicap for your body: a starting line you can measure against later.
- Some back symptoms call for a medical doctor first. They’re listed below.
Your lower back isn’t built to turn
A golf swing is a turn. The question is where the turn comes from.
Your lower back is built mostly for stability. Your hips and your mid-back are the joints built to rotate. When the hips stiffen up, which is common after years of sitting, the swing still has to get the club around somehow. So it borrows rotation from the one place that isn’t designed to give it: the lumbar spine.
Do that on every full swing, every round, for twenty years, and your back eventually files a complaint.
That’s why so many golfers get stuck. Ibuprofen before the first tee. A hot shower after. Skipping the range because a bucket of balls makes it worse. Those quiet the alarm for a while. But you’re treating the room where the smoke alarm is going off, not the room that’s on fire.
What Dr. Matt checks in a golfer
Dr. Matt Frahm worked with Olympic wrestlers at the 2012 London Games. What surprised him back home in Bradenton: an Olympic wrestler and a 65-year-old golfer usually have the same problem. Something in the chain stops doing its share. Something else quietly picks up the slack. And the place that finally hurts is almost never the place that failed first.
So before he looks at where it hurts, he looks at three things:
- Rotary control. Can you resist twisting when you don’t mean to twist? That’s golf, and it’s also reaching across the car for your bag.
- Hip turn on both sides. Left against right. The difference between the two sides usually tells more than either side alone.
- How your feet load. A foot that flattens more than its partner shows up at the hip and lower back above it.
As Dr. Matt puts it, three measurements that agree are worth more than thirty minutes of guessing.
Try the 30-second hip-turn test
You can try this tonight. Stop if anything hurts.
- Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Cross your arms over your chest.
- Keep your shoulders facing straight ahead, and turn just your hips to the right, as far as is comfortable. Come back to center.
- Now turn your hips to the left.
- Compare the two sides.
If one side feels locked, or your shoulders keep wanting to follow, that’s a clue. It isn’t a diagnosis. It’s the kind of thing worth measuring.
One golfer’s goal
One of Dr. Matt’s patients came in saying what most golfers say: “I can’t move like I used to.” He had quietly gone from three rounds a week to one and called it getting older.
His goal wasn’t to be pain-free forever. It was specific: three rounds a week again, with as little discomfort as possible. Dr. Matt loves a goal like that, because then they both know what they’re working toward.
So they started where Dr. Matt always starts. He watched him move. He didn’t start with where it hurt. He looked at how he turned, how he stood and how his feet met the ground.
Every body is different, and what’s right for one golfer may not be right for you. But if you’ve gone from three rounds to one, it’s worth having someone watch you move before you accept it.
What the SYMETRx Movement Score is
The Movement Screening at SYMETRx Chiropractic and Injury Care measures three things:
- How you move. Seven simple movements, about ten minutes, no equipment. Nothing here should hurt.
- How you stand. A posture screening from the front and the side, including how far forward your head rides over your shoulders.
- How your feet meet the ground. A digital scan of both feet, the foundation everything above it stands on.
Those readings are combined into one number out of 100: your SYMETRx Movement Score. The instruments don’t produce that number on their own. It’s built here, and Dr. Matt reviews every screening himself.
He explains the results in person, in plain words, and writes his findings down. You leave with a folder that has your name on it. Inside are your score, Dr. Matt’s written findings and his 29-page Movement Guide.
A screening is not an examination or a diagnosis. It’s a measured picture of where you are today.
Why a number helps a golfer
Golfers keep track of everything: handicap, fairways hit, putts per round. Most have never had a number for the body that swings the club.
A Movement Score gives you three things:
- A starting line. You can be measured again later and see what changed.
- A direction. It shows which link in the chain is doing the least, so you know where to start.
- Something to share. Dr. Matt doesn’t coach swings. Many golfers bring their results to their golf pro or trainer, and the two work well together.
Here for the season?
Many golfers spend the winter in Bradenton, and the rounds pile up fast once you arrive. A screening early in the season gives you a baseline before your body has to keep up with three rounds a week.
When to see a medical doctor first
Some symptoms call for medical care before a chiropractic visit:
- Weakness in a leg or foot that is getting worse
- Any change in bladder or bowel control, or numbness in the groin or inner thighs (go to an emergency room)
- Back pain with a fever, or with weight loss you can’t explain
- Pain after a fall or a hard hit
- Pain in the chest, jaw, shoulder or arm that comes with shortness of breath or sweating (call 911)
Booking a Movement Screening
The Movement Screening takes about 45 minutes. It’s booked by phone and paid when you book, which is how the office holds your time. Call the office at (941) 746-2612. You can see everything the screening includes here.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be in pain to book? No. A good number of people book precisely because nothing hurts yet and they want to keep it that way.
Will this fix my swing? Dr. Matt doesn’t teach the swing. He measures how your body moves, so you and your golf pro know what the body can do and where it’s holding back.
Does insurance cover it? A screening like this isn’t a covered service for anyone. It’s a simple cash service, with no paperwork surprises later.
I’m only here for the winter. Can I still come in? Yes. Winter residents are welcome, and a screening early in the season gives you a baseline for the months ahead.
Educational only, not medical advice. Individual results vary. SYMETRx Chiropractic and Injury Care has served Bradenton since 2003.