Fall ball season is here, and it’s time to polish up that swing. We want you crushing softballs, not wincing in pain and grounding out to second base. Low back pain is a very common among rotational athletes, especially softball players, often because of faulty swing mechanics. If your swing feels more like a choreographed mess than a powerful motion, it’s time to break down your swing and address the source of your discomfort. Let’s make this off-season count!
I’m here to break down why lower back pain keeps showing up like that unwanted party guest and share the top swing faults that might be sabotaging your hitting potential. Softball, much like golf, is a rotational sport. But here’s the issue: if all that rotation is coming from your lower back, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Your lower back wasn’t built to spin like a lazy Susan. That job belongs to your mid-back and hips. Combine poor mechanics with low strength, and your swing will produce more warning track power than home runs. Let’s dive into 5 common swing faults that I frequently see with softball athletes.
1. Improper Load
The initiation of your swing is where it all begins, and if your load is wacky, your whole swing is in trouble. What’s an improper load, you ask? It’s either failing to get into your back hip or drifting outside it like you’re about to topple over. Either way, you’re not setting yourself up for power or speed. Why does this happen? It could be bad technique, poor strength, or maybe your legs just gave up on you entirely. However, if you have excessive lower body movement away from the ball during your load, the hip will often leak outside your back foot. This fault most often occurs when the athlete lacks appropriate hip rotation or poor lower body strength/control. In an effort to generate “more power”, the athlete will shift further on the back foot to back up for the lack of mobility. If either of these faults are present, it affects the transition from the load to foot contact and elbow drive. An improper load is like baking cookies with salt instead of sugar: you’re going to be disappointed.
2. Casting
For all my casters out there … you aren’t alone. This is probably one of the most common hitting mistakes I see in my softball athletes. Casting is when your hands wander away from your body during your swing. Why does this happen? It could be mechanics like spinning off the ball, early arm extension, or releasing your wrists too early. You may have also heard this referred to as an “outside-in” swing versus staying “inside-out” on the ball. The fix? Better sequencing, along with more core strength, mid-back mobility, and front-side strength. You want to create that beautiful “bat lag” where your hands lead and the bat head trails. Remember: keep it tight, and allow your elbow pull to lead the movement.
3. Hip/Torso Disassociation
Hip/Torso what-now? It’s a fancy way of saying your hips and torso need to move independently to create torque. Hip/torso disassociation refers to the ability to move the upper and lower body independently of each other. If your body can’t disassociate these areas, your power goes down the drain. This requires great hip and mid-back mobility.
Limitations in either area can prevent you from developing the coil and stability required to transfer force appropriately. It all starts from the ground up. The lower body initiates the swing, followed by the hip, torso, shoulders, arms, and finally, the hands and bat head. If this sequence falls apart, swing flaws will result and accuracy/consistency at the plate will decrease. Get it right, and you’ll be smacking dingers. Get it wrong, and your power, speed, and consistency will be on the same vacation as your long-lost homers.
4. Back Side Collapse
Ah, the culprit of many a sky-high pop-up. You see that perfect pitch coming, load up, and BAM! Pop fly city. You run to first, frustrated and cursing gravity. What went wrong? Most likely, your back side collapsed. It is often seen when the hips leak forward or spin open while the hands are still traveling through the zone, versus driving into the front leg, or popping up early out of your swing. When you pop up out of the swing, the upper body and torso no long have a fixed base to rotate around (aka no hip/ torso dissociation). So instead of transferring your weight smoothly, you’re folding like a lawn chair, losing all that precious power. Collapsing doesn’t just ruin your chances of hitting bombs; it puts stress on your lower back. And nobody wants that.
5. Poor Contact and Extension
I bet this is something that you hear from your coach during hitting practices. I would also gamble to say that you often work on both of these portions of the swing at almost every hitting session. If something is falling apart at contact or you are not getting full extension, you can kiss those homeruns goodbye. Ball contact occurs after we have built up all the power on the back end of the swing and are now transferring all of our force into the ball with that “whip-like” pattern of the bat. At contact, your arms should make a diamond shape with the elbows bent close to 90 degrees. We are looking for palm up/palm down, and our contact point should differ based on the location of the pitch. Inside pitch? Hit it early. Outside pitch? Let it travel. And after contact, make sure your bat stays in the zone as long as possible. Poor sequencing can force your hands out of the zone too early, and poor forearm strength can lead to a floppy bat head at contact —- ground ball city. Pulling out of the zone early is a common cause of muscle strains for softball athletes. I know you heard it, but I’m going to say it again… “Where’s your head?!”
Wrap Up
Back pain while hitting? Not normal. As a previous collegiate softball athlete myself, I understand pushing through discomfort to continue playing; however, this only causes further issues down the road. Poor movement patterns, mobility limitations, and decreased strength are all causes of these movement faults described above. Don’t let continual tweaks to the lower back become part of “your normal”. At The Charlotte Athlete, we specialize in assessing your mechanics and fixing these issues, so you don’t spend the season watching from the sidelines. We’ll attack the root cause and keep it from coming back so you can have longevity in your sport and life after competition. Let’s load up and make this off-season your best one yet—because you deserve to hit bombs pain-free.
Thanks for reading,
Dr. Leah