Keep on Course by Preventing Golf Injuries

Unfortunately, golf injuries are all too common. Generally, most of them are due to overuse—repetitive movements that exceed your body's capabilities.

The most common injuries seen in professional golfers are to the back, followed by the wrist and shoulder. In amateurs, elbow injuries top the list, followed by the back and shoulder. However, it is not uncommon to develop musculoskeletal (involving both muscles and bones) injuries anywhere in the body.

Golf injuries aren't simply a problem for the occasional golfer. In fact, quite the opposite. The more you play, the greater your chance for injuries. The incidence of injuries in golf increases when playing four or more rounds per week or hitting more than 200 range balls per week.

Golf injuries can easily become chronic as a result of continued activity, or by not resting or seeking treatment. The solution? Golfers need to be physically conditioned to handle the stress the golf swing produces on the body.

Key to Prevention
As a fitness professional, I take injury prevention very seriously. My goal is not just helping clients gain a good fundamental golf swing. It's helping clients strengthen their bodies to achieve a well-conditioned and balanced musculoskeletal system. In other words, making sure you start with a good strong foundation.

Major Cause of Golf Injuries
Injuries, like those resulting in low back pain, are due to your body's inability to handle the stress (of forceful movements) generated in the golf swing. Fortunately, this problem can be corrected by flexibility and strength exercises that restore and build a balanced muscular system.

Let's back up a little and define "balanced muscular system." It's simply a wordy phrase that refers to your body's joint mobility and stability. In golf, it's the key to a strong swing.

For example, if you don't have good mobility in your right hip during your backswing, your pelvis and lumbar spine will compensate by twisting or bending excessively. This will cause increased torque and stress to your lower back.

A common swing fault associated with this lack of hip mobility is then a hip sway to the side or a hip slide. Additionally, if you have poor stability through the pelvis and lumbar spine, the situation is even worse. The result? Back pain.

Golf injuries are frustrating as well as painful. However, rest assured that a comprehensive physical assessment, in addition to working closely with your teaching professional, can lessen the chances of golf injuries.

I hope that Golf Fitness Chicago will be your choice to staying on the course!

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"As a health professional, it was important to me to work with a highly trained instructor who understood back injuries. Mark not only holds a masters in exercise physiology, but he's earned multiple fitness certifications. The program he tailored for me is science-based and incorporates exercises to address my back problem. I'm very pleased with Mark's approach and with the progress I've made."

Karen Conrad
Professor
Oak Park