Back and neck pain can get in the way of daily activities, including improving your golf game. “We know everyone has back pain,” said Dr. Philip Louie, spine surgeon, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. “Everyone has neck pain. And that can be normal.” When it isn’t just normal pain, though, it’s important to get it checked out by a doctor. With lower back pain, if you start feeling tingling down to your legs and feet, or you feel numbness or weakness, you should see a healthcare provider. “If you start losing your balance a bit or you realize it’s harder to do those fine motor skills, like buttoning buttons or zipping zippers, it’s certainly concerning,” Dr. Louie said. The biggest emergency you can have with this type of pain is losing control of your bladder or bowels, and you should be seen about this immediately. After an injury or a procedure, you’ll likely be eager to get back to activities like golfing. Right now, there isn’t an exact protocol for when you can return to those. “It really depends on the type of injury or type of operation,” said Dr. Venu Nemani, spine surgeon, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. For a simple neck or back strain, you can get back to activities when you no longer experience pain and have a full range of motion, but for some more complex surgeries, it may take six months to get back to a full round of golf. To help prevent spine issues, it’s important to take care of your body. “It’s refraining from smoking, keeping your weight in a normal range, getting regular exercise on a daily basis, eating healthy,” Dr. Nemani said. “I think especially as we get older, maintaining flexibility and stretching frequently is really, really important.” The team at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health partners with you to make the best decisions for your care if you do have pain or an injury. “It’s a journey and a decision we make together,” Dr. Louie said. “It’s not just today but it’s going forward as well.” Some of the world’s best golfers will be in Northwest Washington this week for the Boeing Classic. Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and the Seattle Seahawks founded the Boeing Classic in 2005. The beneficiary of the tournament is the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, a world leader in human immunology. The Boeing Classic has generated more than $8.5 million to date for BRI. The Pro-Am kicks off Wednesday, August 9 with the first round of the tournament August 11. Learn more about the Boeing Classic. Sponsored by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Segment Producer Joseph Suttner. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.