One of the most common golf injuries is lower back pain. But can alternative health remedies such as acupuncture work for golfers?
Golf is a low-impact sport, but it can still take a toll on your body, especially your back. Poor swing mechanics, lack of flexibility, and overuse can contribute to this issue.
Golfers may experience stiffness, soreness, or even acute pain, especially if they play frequently without proper conditioning or warm-up.
Understanding the causes, prevention strategies, and treatment options for back injuries in golf is essential for maintaining your health and your enjoyment of the game.
Having pulled a muscle getting out of an office chair (yep, really!) resulting in no golf and a huge amount of discomfort for five months, The Social Golfer Editor, Ian Mullins, decided to take alternative action.
In this article, Ian visits TSGer Shuge Zhang at the DR Han’s Chinese Natural Health Clinic in Romford, Essex and he shares his experience of acupuncture and why it changed the way he thinks about Eastern medicines.
Having been blessed with good health all my life (I have never broken a bone or spent the night in hospital), I have mostly relied on the UK’s National Health Service for the treatment of coughs, colds, and other minor ailments.
However, in April this year, upon getting up from my desk, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back and quickly became locked up. I assumed that I had sprained ‘something’ and took plenty of ibuprofen.
Over the next few days (and weeks) the issue got worse, and I was soon on Co-codamol.
I decided to book an appointment with my GP and was referred to the Muscular Skeletal (MS) Connect Health team within the NHS. However, that was going to take some time for them to get me through their system. In fact, it took three months to get a telephone interview with them.
In the meantime, I was recommended by a friend that I see a chiropractor but after six sessions, I saw no improvement and started to get disheartened.
This had cost me £350. Meanwhile, they did refer me for an MRI scan, which cost another £250, but I never got the results from them directly, in fact, I never heard from them again.
Eventually my NHS appointment arrived, and I then was subjected to a telephone ‘Counselling session.’ Alas, they seem more interested in my mental health than my physical health.
Given the time that had now passed since my injury, they recommended I visit them in person, which took another month to arrange.
On meeting with the NHS MS team, I was again subjected to an interrogation of my mental state.
At no point did they even examine my back? And showed no interest in my MRI scan. I left after 30 minutes disgusted with how I had been treated; with no confidence they were going to help. It would seem they only want to give you an exercise program to complete on your own at home.
I later made a complaint to Connect Health, and was asked to see another practitioner, who apologised for the service I had received. But was then told it would be a long slow recover but that home exercises were the only answer.
Now, still in constant pain, I decide to consult a surgeon at a private hospital, paying more than £200 for a 20-minute consultation. They concluded I would need either injections or surgery. That is either £2K or £10k. Spare money I don’t have just lying around.
So, now I had played NO golf for five months. I was ‘bent double’ and constantly felt like someone was sticking a knife into my left buttock. The only relief I could get was sitting down.
Consequently, I started to wonder if I would ever play golf again.
It was now mid-September. I was running the end-of-season TSG Matchplay Final at Farleigh Golf Club when one of the finalists, Shuge Zhang, enquired about my condition.
“What’s going on with your back Ian? Why haven’t you come to see me? I can fix it.” he said as he prepared to hit his opening tee shot. “Sorry, what do you do?” I retorted.
He replied, “I am a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture; I treat golfers with back issues all the time. I can treat you. No problem.”
It felt like a huge claim. However, no one else has provided me any respite, so what have I got to lose. He gave me his card and told me to call him in the week. Which I did.
Fortunately, Shuge’s clinic is only six miles from my home. As instructed, I called him 48 hours later, booked my appointment and the very same day I attended his practice.
I was hesitant but hopeful. I was greeted by the smiling face of Shuge’s wife Yan. She ushered me into a small office and I sat down to discuss my issue with Shuge.
He quickly explained his approach, drawing on his more than 17 years of practice in the UK. That he was a fully licensed GP, and that he spent 37 years honing his trade.
However, unlike my GP, the NHS Musculoskeletal team, and the private surgeon, Shuge started treating me immediately. He explained that my back was locked from the top of my shoulders to my glutes.
His recommendation was to address each locked muscle one by one and not doing so would prevent him from reaching the root cause.
This approach made a great deal of sense to me.
Acupuncture involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to restore the flow of energy, or qi (pronounced ‘Chee’), along pathways called meridians. It aims to balance the body’s yin and yang, promoting natural healing and pain relief.
The stimulation of nerves, muscles, and tissues during acupuncture is believed to boost the body’s natural painkillers and increase blood circulation.
I laid down on the bed face down, and within minutes he had inserted more than fifty needles into my back. Hang on, I only felt a few minor piercings. ‘How did you do that and without me knowing!’ I commented.
He then applied a heat lamp to my back and said “Right, relax, we’ll be back in 25 minutes”.
Right on cue, his wife Yan popped in and began attaching wires to specifically chosen needles, which resulted in a very subtle vibration at the point of contact with the skin. And then reapplied the heat lamp.
“Ok, relax, I’ll be back in 25 minutes” she said.
Despite initially feeling an unusual sensation of what I described as ‘someone tapping a tiny hammer into an area of my back’ – none of which were close to the root cause of my back pain – I quickly forgot the vibrations and relaxed.
OK, let’s be realistic. What result was I expecting? After five months of debilitating and restrictive pain, I was not going to be cured in one session.
However, Shuge’s enthusiasm for his craft told me he was happy with my body’s response to the treatment.
He then explained how we would need approximately six or seven sessions before he could attack the original issues that was causing my pain.
He elaborated by saying that he believed I had pulled a tendon in my lower back (upper glutes) and that to drink plenty of water, drink no caffeine for the rest of the day.
I went home unchanged, still unable to walk more than 150 yards, but he had given me hope.
Wow. I feel so much better.
Shuge said we still have some way to go, and your body will now start to feel slight fatigue over the next few days, but we are getting to the underlying cause of your back pain.
He later told me I would be playing golf within two weeks. Really?! I don’t believe it.
Does acupuncture work for golfers, I certainly think so.
Shuge explained that my body will need to adjust to its new posture.
He went on to say that as a desk-based worker, he would recommend prevention therapy i.e. do not sit for longer than 45 mins (or longer) without getting up and moving about.
Continuous sitting without breaks, could (and will) put me in danger of the problem reoccurring.
He also suggested light running (something I’ve always hated).
But instead I have started Pilates, which will increase the strength in my core muscles, helping to prevent any future injuries.
I also have a new puppy Dave (after Rodney!), to keep me motivated.
Obviously, every practitioner of Chinese Medicine will have their own fee structure. The Dr Han Clinic does not charge for the initial consultation.
He charges £60 per session for treatments. And I do not think any one of my sessions lasted less than 90 minutes.
And whilst I still have more treatment to go, my six sessions have only cost me a total of £360 so far.
I spent £354 on Chiropractors (I did later negotiate the refund of this cost), £250 on an MRI scan (that nobody has looked at), and a further £250 on a seeing a private back surgeon – who two months, on is still yet to come back to me – I believe Shuge’s fees are very reasonable.
In addition, he actually cares about you and your health.
I am now considering consulting Shuge again, but this time regards an on-going skin irritation.
His clinic has also helped women regarding pregnancies, resulting in more than eighty births that western medicine could not create, through IVF, and the like.
He also offers Chinese herbal remedies and can treat a multitude of ailments.
These include dermatological issues, high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches, impotence, anxiety, and depression and many more.
Prior to my experience, people have told me it did not work for them. I get that. But it did for me.
Acupuncture has not only alleviated my back pain but also reshaped my perspective on healthcare. For golfers and others dealing with chronic pain, exploring acupuncture might offer a natural and effective path to recovery.
Furthermore, according to a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, acupuncture has been shown to significantly reduce chronic lower back pain for those that love sports.
However, it’s essential to consult with healthcare professionals to determine the best treatment for your specific condition.
When I consider what a miserable summer I had (without any golf), acupuncture has transformed me, and the way I feel about Western health practices. e.g. chiropractors will treat you without doing their due diligence and private hospitals and consultants are just as inefficient as the NHS.
Sadly, in my opinion, our National Health Service does not really care about you, you are just a number on a spreadsheet.
Meanwhile, Eastern medicines have been developed over thousands of years, yet in the west, we refer to it as an ‘alternative medicine.’
Acupuncture is affordable, effective, and holistic and I like the principles of treating the whole person and that the alignment of your posture is key to good health.
Furthermore, acupuncture is a drug free solution and natural, whereas the NHS is ONLY legally allowed to prescribe you drugs and painkillers.
Finally, I cannot thank Shuge and his wife enough. A chance meeting has transformed me and my health. I am now looking forward to inviting him for a round of golf at his convenience.
And I do not care if he wins either!
The Dr Han Clinic is named after the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) which was a pivotal era in Chinese history. The period played a crucial role in the development and formalization of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine.
While acupuncture had existed prior to this, it was during the Han era that it became more systematized and widely practiced.
Texts like the Huangdi Neijing (“The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon”), written during this time, laid the foundation for Chinese medical theory, including the concepts of qi, meridians, and the balance of Yin and Yang.
Acupuncture was used to restore the flow of qi by inserting fine needles into specific points on the body.
In addition, the Han Dynasty saw acupuncture become a respected medical practice for treating various ailments, from pain relief to internal diseases.
Its medical literature and techniques continued to influence traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, helping acupuncture become a cornerstone of health care in China and beyond.
Ian is the Editor of The Social Golfer. He has been reviewing golf courses for more than ten years. Ian was the Marketing Director of the London Golf Show from 2011-2016. He has had golf articles published in Golf News Magazine, Today’s Golfer and Golf Business News. Ian is also the Communications Director for The Cairns Cup (Golf’s Premier Disability Match Play Event).
