The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work, socialise and perform everyday activities. While people are beginning to return to offices across the UK where they can, many remain working from home and most people are spending less time being active.
A study by Bupa found that since lockdown 11 million people have suffered aches and pains due to working from home. Only a third have a dedicated workstation leaving many working from sofas, beds and even beanbags.
For many, one of the key things to be affected by a makeshift home workstation is their posture – often leading to pain or discomfort. Add the decrease in physical activity while increasing the amount of time you will spend in a state of bad posture and you can see how this will all affect your golf swing and general health.
One simple test that you can do at home to see if your posture is affecting your swing is the “wall test”. To perform this test, follow these steps below.
Stand so that the back of your head, your shoulder blades and your buttocks touch the wall, and your heels are 2 to 4 inches from the wall.
Put a flat hand behind the small of your back. You should be able to just barely slide your hand between your lower back and the wall for a correct lower back curve.
If there's too much space behind your lower back, draw your bellybutton toward your spine. This flattens the curve in your back and gently brings your lower back closer to the wall.
If there's too little space behind your lower back, arch your back just enough so that your hand can slide behind you.
Walk away from the wall while holding a proper posture. Then return to the wall to check whether you kept a correct posture.
Unfortunately, ideal posture is often the exception rather than the rule. Poor posture can affect you from head to toe, contributing to several problems including pain, injuries and an improper golf swing.
Improve your swing, game and health by working on all of the above points.
To explore this further and gather some key knowledge about you and your swing i'm offering FREE assessment / consultation session!
This includes some key tests and a one to one session.