GOLF
The most common golf injuries occur in the lower back, elbows, shoulders, hands and wrists, and are generally defined as either cumulative (overuse) or acute (traumatic) injuries. The impact and stress of the repetitive motion of the swing is sometimes hard on the muscles and joints, especially if you ignore the early warning signs of an injury.
These include:
- Joint pain
- Tenderness at a specific point
- Swelling
- Reduced range of movement
- Comparative weakness
- Numbness and tingling
The most common golfing injuries occur in these 5 main areas:
- Back – see Back Pain
- Shoulder – see Shoulder pain
- Impingement syndrome
- Rotator cuff problems
- Shoulder instability
- Frozen shoulder
- Arthritis
- Elbow
- Golfer’s Elbow - The most common elbow pain in golfers, it occurs over time from repeated use of the muscles of the arm and forearm.
- Bursitis of the elbow
- Tennis Elbow
- Wrist and hand
- Knee Pain – see Knee pain
All the joints in the spine play a big role in the effectiveness of your swing!! The more restricted or painful these joints are, the less rotation of the spine and body and hence the smaller range of back swing as well as follow through. Apart from the joint restriction, arthritis can also cause localised pain, which will also limit the player’s abilities as it can lead to muscle spasm and gradually muscle wasting.
ROLE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY
Your physiotherapist can help reduce the joint stiffness with mobilisations and giving you a stretching program to maintain joint mobility and muscle strength and to correct any muscle imbalance that may occur.
Correcting posture will only maximise the body’s potential to produce power and good technique. Your physiotherapist will also give you advice on how to manage the pain and stiffness at home so you can get on with golfing and spend more time on the green than in treatment!!
Exercises should include:
- strengthening for the deep abdominal muscles, shoulder muscles and thigh muscles
- stretching for the neck, back, shoulders and arms
- rotation mobility and stability using a broom in the entire swing
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