Accounts of Spine and Paraspinal Injury While Playing Golf

The twisting motion associated with the golf swing puts the intervertebral discs and the paraspinal musculature under stress. The objective of this study was to characterize the spinal and paraspinal injuries associated with golf and their outcomes.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was queried for emergency department visits between 2003 and 2023 for golf-related injuries with body part codes "neck," "upper trunk," and "lower trunk," which includes the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, respectively. Narratives were screened for relevance and reports related to spinal and paraspinal injuries were included. Weighted survey analysis was used to construct national estimates. Injury and diagnosis trends were analyzed using binomial logistic regression, and time trends were analyzed with a linear model. P value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

A total of 1441 relevant samples led to a national estimate of 69,153 emergency department visits for golf-related spinal/paraspinal injuries between 2003 and 2023. The weighted mean age of those injured was 52.8 years, and the majority were male (85%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 83-87). Strain was the most diagnosed injury (57.5%, 95% CI 54-61). Those aged ≥55 years constituted more injuries than any other age group (50.1%, 95% CI 47-53). Injuries in the lumbar region accounted for most cases (76.9%, 95% CI 74-80). Injury frequency did not change over the years (P = 0.54), although the age of injury did increase over time (P < 0.001).

Golf-associated paraspinal injuries are more common than neurological injuries, necessitating study into their mechanisms and onset.