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Although plenty of sports have much higher injury rates, you can get hurt playing golf too. One recent survey showed that during a two year period, 60 percent of golf professionals and 40 of amateurs suffered either a traumatic or overuse injury while playing. Over 80 percent of the reported injuries were related to overuse.
Of all injuries lower back pain is the most common and costly problem for professional and amateur golfers alike. It’s the single most common injury in male professionals and the second most common injury in female professionals (second to golfer’s elbow.) According to a recent survey statistics among amateur golfers look similar with almost 30% of participants admitting to playing with some form of lower back pain.
As alarming as these figures are, the reality is the lower back is rarely the actual cause of the pain. More often than not, abnormal motions or forces coming from adjacent or distant areas of the body force the lower back to do excessive work until it gradually breaks down itself. In other words, the lumbar spine is usually the area that is being unnecessarily overworked to the point of injury.
Common causes of this include:
- An overly asymmetrical swing
- Repetitive play and practice; or ‘overuse’
- Age related changes eg. decreased hip or spine mobility
- Ill-fitting equipment (too short or too long clubs)
- Poor warm-up routines
- Poor physical conditioning
So… Before heading to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls with your new driver, here are some simple strategies to prevent a back injury and help you play pain free.
This should be obvious for any sport but it’s worth repeating. Regular exercise not only helps prevent injury, keeping your body and nervous system active reduces overall stress and will improve your game. Stretch & strengthen your ‘golf’ muscles (abdominals/core, hips, trunk, shoulders, elbows, wrists) and warm up properly (at least 15 minutes) prior to playing. Think Rory McIlroy; not John Daly.
Think about your choice of shoes. On a 6’000m course, a mid handicapper will walk almost 9km. More if you spend a lot of time looking for lost balls. If you lack flexibility in your ankles then a minimal shoe is not your best choice, regardless of how cool it looks.
If you already suffer from back problems consider using a cart. I love walking the course and always carry my own bag. However, golfers who carry their own bag have twice the incidence of back, shoulder and ankle injuries as those who don’t.
Also, have your golf clubs fitted to you. This isn’t a luxury. It’s not expensive and may mean the difference between playing better golf and your clubs sitting in the cellar all season because you’re injured.
Massage is one of the best ways to reduce soreness, flush inflammation and revitalize the soft tissue. Including massage therapy as a regular part of your training program can help you to avoid injury, enhance performance and play more pain free golf. The benefits include:
• Increasing circulation in muscles prone to overuse and the repetitive motion of the golf swing.
• Improve range of motion and muscle flexibility resulting in increased power and performance
• Decrease anxiety and stress levels
Since lower back pain and other golf related injuries are often the result of poor technique, taking a lesson from a certified golf professional can also be an important part of injury prevention. Instruction by a golf pro to improve technique is one of the best ways to decrease your chances of being injured. And you’ll play a much better game too.
Similarly, chiropractic, physiotherapy and massage can all be extremely effective in reducing the recovery time for muscle strains and ligamentous sprains. Whether you’re injured or not these options help promote proper blood flow in the lower back (to help with healing), loosen tight lower back muscles, maintain proper joint mechanics, and aid in the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. All of these things promote accelerated healing and recovery in the lower back.
As with most injury prevention strategies, the earlier you work on these the easier they will be to implement. If you already have an injury which originated or is aggravated by golf, then a massage therapist in Noosa familiar with golf bio-mechanics (like Noosa Back Massage!) can provide personalized advice on appropriate treatment solutions for the specific problems.
Good luck, and have a great day!
Åsa
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