Golf is a sport with great health benefits and is played by people of all ages. When walking a standard 18 hole course you will clock up roughly 8km! However, golf can be a very demanding sport placing repetitive stress on the body. Without adequate strength, flexibility, endurance and technique, injuries can arise.
Common causes of injury:
- Overuse - Not allowing enough rest/recovery between playing and/or practice
- Poor Swing technique - Eg Incorrect grip, over swinging, excessive rotation
- Poor/Inadequate warm up
- Previous Injury
- Miss-hits - Eg hitting the ground during the swing
- Incorrect setup/poor golfing posture
Common Injuries
Low Back Pain
Low back pain is the most common complaint among golfers. This is across both amateur and professionals golfers. Due primarily to poor technique and lack of mobility in the back and hips. Increasing the flexibility of your lower and upper back and the lead hip (left hip in a right handed golfer) will help to reduce the impact to the low back during the swing.
Elbow Pain
Medial (golfers elbow) and lateral (tennis elbow) pain is common for golfers to experience. This pain often comes about due to repetitive use with an incorrect grip, poor technique or poor contact with the ball. This causes overload to the muscles and tendons in the forearm attaching to the elbow.
Shoulder Injuries - Including Rotator Cuff injuries
Wrist and Hand Injuries
Foot and Ankle injuries
Preventing Injuries and Increasing Performance
Correct swing technique, proper warm up and a strengthening program have been shown to significantly decrease injuries and also improve performance.
It has been found that increasing core and hip strength leads to increased rotation, increased ball speed and hitting distance. Having good strength and stability of these core and hip muscles will also prevent the overuse injuries to the lower back.
If you are having troubles with your swing it will be worthwhile to seek lessons from a golf pro.
Our physiotherapists at Active Answers Physiotherapy in Seaforth will be able to provide warm up routines and a strength program specific to your needs. If you have any questions about your golf, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.