Golf - Physiotherapy Advice
There are some unusual injuries associated with golfing. Low back pain is the most common injury or complaint among both professional and amateur golfers, followed by injuries to the upper extremities (elbow and shoulder). Professional golfers experience a higher number of wrist injuries, and amateur golfers experience more elbow problems. Both groups have a relatively high rate of shoulder injuries.
Low back problems can occur as a result of the powerful rotation and extension motion in the golf swing. While the elbow is the second most commonly injured area.
The two most common problems are medial epicondylitis (also known as golfer’s elbow) and lateral epicondylitis (more commonly known as tennis elbow). Both are thought to occur as a result of poor swing mechanics. Medial epicondylitis is thought to be caused by, hitting the ground first, and lateral epicondylitis may be caused by over-swinging with the right hand in right-handed golfers. Both of these problems increase with age and frequency of play.
Another commonly injured area in golfers is the shoulder. There are specific muscles in the shoulder that are most active in the swing. These are the subscapularis (one of the rotator cuff muscles), pectoralis (“pecs”) and latissimus (“lats”) muscles. Impingement syndrome (a bursitis and tendonitis in the shoulder), rotator cuff problems, and arthritis are the most common shoulder problems. These occur most frequently in the lead arm
INJURY PREVENTION
Warming up before golfing has been shown to decrease the incidence of golf injuries.
Warm up
A quick warm up will help you to develop effortless power right from the first tee.
Actions – Walk briskly for 5 minutes to heat the muscles you use with play. Areas which have suffered injury in the past need to be loosened to prevent any further damage. Follow your stretches with a few practice swings using different clubs to help limber up. The following exercises will help you to increase your power and control faults during play.
Stay loose during the round
Because golf is a stop start sport, the muscles which you use most when you swing the club will stiffen with play, often causing muscle imbalances to develop which alter your swing path.
Actions – Stretch during the game to loosen the areas which stiffen up. Improve your posture
Posture is a reflection of your golfing potential. If your shoulders are rounded forward, this will alter your ability to direct the swing path.
Action – Square your shoulders out as regularly as possible, lifting your chest bone up and avoid sitting slumped forward.
Loosen your middle back
When your middle back is loose, you will develop more wind up to power the club. By loosening here, there will be less stress directed into your lower back.
Action – Place your club behind your upper back and hook it into your elbows. Now twist your upper body, keeping your hip bones facing forward. This will loosen and stretch the middle back which will reduce the stress on your body and improve power.