How Physical Therapy Can Help Prevent Golfing Injuries
Are you concerned about an old injury that seems to pop up every golf season? Have you wondered what to do to get ready for golf this year? At Coast Rehab, our physical therapists are highly trained movement experts. We can help figure out any limitations or restrictions that may be affecting your swing and/or causing pain.
Golf is a sport that can be played by people of all ages, both male and female, and by varying degrees of ability and experience. Most golf injuries are overuse-type conditions that are often due to poor swing mechanics, poor core strength and/or improper warm-up.
Our physical therapists are experienced at caring for golfers and helping resolve injuries, old and new. We understand the mechanics of golf swing and the specific demands on individual joints, soft tissue, and your body as a whole.
Request an appointment at Coast Rehab today and let one of our physical therapists assess how your body moves and teach you how to resolve any issue standing in your way of getting out on the course again!
Most common injuries in golf
Whether you are a skilled golfer with a low handicap or a new golfer still trying to hit the ball every time, the most common injuries are similar in the body location. The differences tend to be seen in the percentage of injury at each site.
Although often thought of as a leisurely activity, golf requires considerable coordination and force generation, resulting in injury. The most common type of injury is overuse due to the total repetition of swings and, even worse, poor technique.
The most common injuries in golf occur to the following regions of the body:
Lower back: Improper swing technique is one of the leading causes of lower back pain among golfers. Swinging too forcefully and/or with too much or too little motion can lead to muscle strains and abnormal pressure on the spine’s discs.
This is particularly important for senior golfers who have lost spinal mobility as they get older.
Neck: New golfers, in particular, are not used to twisting their bodies as far or as many times as a round of golf requires. Although the head should stay relatively still while swinging, the movement of the rest of the spine causes rotation of the neck from the bottom up instead of our usual top-down sensation.
You can sometimes avoid neck pain/ injuries by first warming up properly, taking frequent breaks, starting with fewer holes in the beginning, and slowly working up to more extended periods of practice and play.
Shoulder: Shoulder pain/injury can occur at any phase of the golf swing but tend to be due to faulty swings, a traumatic force like hitting a root or rock, taking a deep divot, and/or fatigue/overuse.
Golfers typically develop problems with their tendons (i.e., rotator cuff muscles) or degenerative and arthritic changes to the joints. Fortunately, most injuries respond to physical therapy intervention.
Elbow: Golfer’s elbow is a common issue for golfers. It is a form of tendinopathy that causes inflammation or micro-tearing in the tendons surrounding your elbow’s inner aspect. This condition is often the result of repetitive gripping and/or swinging and may be related to grip on the club handle. This condition can make holding and swinging a club impossible.
Hip: The hip joint typically has a lot of mobility and can withstand large amounts of forces. The hip is subjected to repeated stresses during the golf swing and is particularly vulnerable to injury.
Due to the nature of the extreme rotational and shear forces, injuries such as groin strains and joint sprains are common. Improper swing mechanics can leave you vulnerable to injuries to the cartilage and muscles in the joint itself. Warming up muscles before play and proper foot position and swing mechanics can limit or prevent damage.
Knee: Knee pain is one of the most common types of injuries in the lower body of a golfer. The most common type of knee injury amongst golfers is a meniscal tear. This injury may be caused by sudden, forceful, twisting motions while bearing weight through the knee.
At Coast Rehab, our therapists thoroughly understand movement and specifically the biomechanics of a golf swing. We use our expertise in the musculoskeletal system to identify and manage golf injuries. Our goal is to help you recover from an injury and improve your overall movement and strength so you can get back on the course doing what you love!
What to expect at your physical therapy sessions
Most golf-related injuries result from overuse and/or poor swing mechanics. Our team has a good understanding of the biomechanics and forces of the golf swing to diagnose and treat any musculoskeletal injury.
We will conduct a comprehensive evaluation at your first visit that includes a thorough history and movement assessment. We will identify your unique joint range of motion along with how your joints move in relation to one another. In addition, we will test your strength, coordination, and balance to ensure we determine any weaknesses and/or limitations that may impair your ability to swing correctly.
This information will help us design a program tailored to your individual needs. This program will consist of flexibility/mobility, strength, and power training with the correction of faulty movement patterns to help the golfer reduce the likelihood of injury and improve their overall performance.
Our team will show you warm-up routines and in-season and/or preseason strength and conditioning programs that include education on how to enhance performance so you can hit the ball with greater confidence!
Request an appointment today
At Coast Rehab, our physical therapists will design a golf-specific plan to help you find relief and protect your body from future injuries and pain. No matter what condition you are dealing with, we can help you golf pain-free! Contact us today to get started!
Sources:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546504267346
https://www.scielo.br/j/rbfis/a/qGqt8m5GKpc8HtkqT5Wnzmg/abstract/?lang=en
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735827/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6088115/