Most amateur golfers have had to take some time away from the sport due to nagging injuries they’ve sustained while playing. If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid these injuries, you’ve probably still had a time or two when you’ve had to play through some pain. Or, at the very least, experienced significant soreness for a few days after playing.
These things are all avoidable if you understand the demands golf puts on the body!
•Almost ½ of all golf injuries are sustained during the golf swing
-Pre-requisites for a smooth, technical swing
•General shoulder mobility
•Thoracic spine rotation
•Hip internal/external rotation
•Trunk stability
•Most golf swing injuries occur at the point of ball impact
-Suggesting stability plays an important role in injury mitigation
•The low back is the most common site of injury
-Elbow/forearm, shoulder/upper arm, and foot/ankle injuries are also quite common
•Too much play/practice (i.e. “overuse”) is the most common reported mechanism of injury
-Tissue demand (100 swings/week) > Tissue tolerance (50 swings/week) = Injury
Now that we understand both the biomechanical demands and common injuries in golf, we can begin to formulate a plan that will prepare our body for the physical demands of the sport. The following exercises are a great start to pain-free golfing...
Shoulder CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations):
Thoracic Rotation Mobilization:
90/90 Hip Switches:
These exercises are best utilized as a warm-up prior to any golf activities.
Again, these are general mobility recommendations based on the biomechanics of the golf swing and associated injuries. They are in no way a full-proof injury prevention routine, but we feel that they can provide a lot of value to many amateur golfers. So if you want to increase your longevity in the sport give these a try and let us know what you think!
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