Unbearable back pain, please help.

[nico002]

Hey guys,

I've recently developed a stabbing pain in my upper left back, right around the shoulder blade area.

It's a stabbing pain that feels like a pulled muscle or something.

When not playing golf it hurts when I get up from bed, or when I sneeze.

It hurts the most during the down swing, when I make contact with the ball it just stabs and is unbearable. I cannot play with this.

I am only 23 years old. I just started playing golf again after a long absence, I've been hitting the range pretty heavily (synthetic mats) and have played about 30 holes carrying my bag.

Does anyone have a clue on what my back pain could be? Why was it caused? How can I get rid of it? How can I prevent it?

Thanks guys, I'm dying here.

[Craig Mac]

Sounds like you need to go see a doctor, we can all guess what may be wrong, but you need to see a professional.

[Oh that felt good]

Like Craig Mac said, SEE A DOCTOR!!!! Lots of good info is passed on these boards, but when it comes to physical pain and the body I highly recommend you just go see a professional. Nobody here can determine what the problem is online, and you could hurt yourself more by swinging a club.

See a doc and feel better knowing someone who knows what they are talking about determined your problem.

[MellowYellow]

Well it says your handicap index is 360??? are you hitting the ball WITH your back?

I've had lots of back pain before, i think usually the lower back is the scarier or more serious stuff, but I'm definitely not a doctor, hopefully you just strained a muscle. I went golfing once at about 6am once cause i couldnt sleep, they put me with a group where one of the 2 already teed off, i ran down to the tee and hit away without getting a chance to stretch or warm up, after the 3rd hole or so my chest and upper back hurt really bad, stretching helped some but it was pretty painful for a week or so, I definitely take time to get loose before golfing now, especially really early when im more stiff anyway... Hopefully it's just something minor, but if it persists you should definitely figure it out

Good luck..

[RX Phoenix]

Chances are you just overdid it, hit too many balls and the muscles have gone into spasm. 23 is kind of young for that to happen. Work on your short game and stop swinging. Also, hitting off of synthetic mats with irons will add a lot of shock to your body, better to hit off of grass if you can.

Give it some rest.

[QWKDTSN]

You just overdid it and pulled a muscle. I have done this about 4 times in the past two months to my back and neck, including the exact area you are describing... Just go easy for about 4-7 days. My doc recommended a good dose of Motrin and heat to relax the muscle and help the medicine get to the area. I go to sleep on a heating pad which automatically turns off after two hours. Take it easy for a while and work on your putting game instead of beating balls at the range. By the way, I am 23 also. Nobody's immune!

[tm22721]

Had same problem turned out to be rotator cuff injury due to over-straightening left arm in backswing. Good news is it heals quickly if you back off a little.