Dr. Michael Jaffe’s valuable guide to treating lower back pain and improving golfer fitness, Play Golf Forever, is an update to his popular earlier editions.

Jaffe is a board-certified specialist in physical medicine, rehab and chronic pain management. He devotes his career to functional training: teaching patients and the public how to strengthen the whole body through movements that keep muscles functioning as designed. Using conversational descriptions and related photos, he demonstrates the program he created to treat and prevent muscular low back pain and improve golf swing.

Motion is life, he notes, and the best way for individuals to enjoy life is through daily exercise that incorporates strength training, stretching and aerobic training. Overall, the body’s complexity makes it necessary for muscle groups to work together, especially the muscles that protect the back and spine.

From simple descriptions of the techniques for getting out of bed or lifting groceries from a car trunk, to photos analyzing the golf swing, the author points out issues and solutions to improve function. Although useful to general readers familiarizing themselves about preventing back pain, the book focuses on the possibility of “playing golf forever.”

The golf swing is an “almost violent action performed by the back and abdominal muscles” Jaffe writes. That’s why core abdominal and low back muscles must be strengthened to avoid pain and create optimal functioning. Jaffe concentrates on causes of pain, diagnosis, proper posture and treatment; his easy-to-follow directions are designed to train and strengthen these core muscles. The exercises can be done at home, in a gym, or on the golf course itself.

The author includes few patient anecdotes, and readers might wish for more examples from his successful career. This must-read book, however—vaunted by Golf Digest—is a beneficial teaching tool to enhance golf games and improve overall fitness for anyone wishing to avoid or treat lower back pain.

Also available as an ebook