As the snow continues to melt, we begin imagining hitting a golf ball down a long, green fairway and, hopefully, experiencing the feeling of placing the ball within 10 feet of the pin. Yes, the time has come to dust off the golf clubs and start reserving tee times.
Many enjoy golf. But there are a few things to remember to stay healthy all season.
Injury occurrence and cause differ between amateur golfers and professionals. For our purpose, we will present information relating to amateurs.
The most common site of injury with an amateur golfer is the back. The large range of lower back rotation required to produce the desired golf swing with a good shoulder turn generates exorbitant stress on the back.
There are several issues that could contribute to a golfer having low back pain: poor flexibility in the low back, poor flexibility in the hips, adequate flexibility but lacking good strength, endurance or control of movement. Furthermore, a quality shoulder turn is not only produced by low back rotation but it is a combination of hip and low back rotation. Therefore, decreased internal hip rotation could also lead to increased strain on the low back during the back swing and follow through.
The two main causes of injury are poor swing technique and overuse.
The best way to address poor swing technique is to work with a golf professional. Many professionals are using golf swing video recording and analysis, which is an excellent way to perfect your golf swing.
Golf doesn’t generally produce traumatic injuries. Instead, a golfer’s back suffers from more overuse. Overuse injuries occur from performing the same movement repeatedly over a long period of time (sounds like a golf swing). Poor conditioning and failure to warm up properly contribute to the occurrence of overuse injuries in golfers.
Warming up and performing a regular stretching routine are fine ways to start toward a golf season free of injury.
Several stretches will help the body survive a round of golf: seated hamstring stretch, standing calf stretch, standing quad stretch, double knees to chest stretch, and lower back rotation stretch. Each stretch should be held for 15 seconds and performed twice.
Chuck Williams and Kim Ferrick are physical therapists at Howard Head Sports Medicine. For more information, go to www.vvmc.com.
