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Why Injuries Occur In Golf?

Why Injuries Occur In Golf?

Injuries occur in all athletic events quite frequently, certain sports more so than others. Golf is no different than any other sport. The severity of injuries in golf usually are not as severe as in other sports. The scenario of a 300 lb. defensive lineman slamming into the side of your knee tearing every possible ligament structure in the knee will never happen in the sport of golf. An interesting visual if you combined the sports of football and golf onto the same playing field, but inappropriate for this paper.

There are two types of injuries classified by professionals in the fields of athletic training and sports medicine. The two types of injuries are: 1) acute and 2) chronic. The above example of the football player is classified as an acute injury. An acute injury can be defined as the trauma in the body occurring immediately after the injury. Refer to the football player example above for a reminder. (For us older golfers, remember Joe Theisman of the Redskins and Lawrence Taylor’s leg breaking tackle? Acute injury.) Relating an acute injury to golf is a little more difficult. Probably the easiest, and maybe most the common, acute injury in golf, occurs while swinging and you hit a rock or something that creates an injury to your wrist. That would be the best example in the sport of golf of an acute injury. Overall, acute injuries tend to be rare in golf because contact by the body with external forces is rare.

My back is always killing me!

The second type of injury, chronic, is much more prevalent when it comes to the sport of golf. A chronic injury is one that occurs over time. Think of it as a “wear and tear” injury. These are usually the result of the body breaking down over time. A great sports example outside of golf is when you hear about a baseball pitcher having tendonitis in the elbow. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the elbow resulting from the stresses placed upon it from throwing. Over time the elbow becomes tired and eventually injured from the number of pitches thrown. If you are a runner and, after a certain amount of time, your knees begin to hurt, this is usually a chronic injury. When we talk about golf, the majority of injuries are chronic. They tend to be a direct result of the golf swing (just like the pitcher’s elbow). Usually the chronic injuries in golf show up in the lower back. If chronic injuries are caught soon enough in the cycle, rest and proper treatment (i.e. massage, chiropractic care) will heal them. But if you wait too long the body is going to “break,” and then you will not be playing any golf for a long time. This is where the unfortunate situation of surgery and other invasive procedures are considered.

Shawn Clement, Director of the Richmond Hill Golf Learning Center and top 25 Canadian PGA Teacher as rated by Score Golf Magazine, shows you how to avoid injury when swinging and work in harmony with your anatomy and with the laws of the world.

So a couple of questions we must ask when it comes to chronic injuries in relation to golf are: how do they occur, and how do we prevent them? Chronic injuries occur as a result of the body becoming fatigued and eventually “breaking down.” The muscles, ligaments, and tendons of your body are required to perform the activity of swinging a golf club. Over time this activity causes fatigue within your body. As the body continues to fatigue, or get tired, the body gets sore. This is the first indicator of a developing chronic injury. If you continue with the activity you’re participating in, with soreness in the body, eventually your body will break down. This “break down” will be in the form of maybe a pulled muscle, muscle stiffness, tightness, or some other type of inflammation. All of the above examples are a result of structures in your body breaking down from fatigue and overuse. Even if just on one swing you feel “your back go out,” nine out of ten times it is a chronic injury, and that last swing was the “piece of straw that broke the camel’s back.”

How to Prevent Chronic Injuries in Golf

We all know that the golf swing is a repetitive movement, meaning the body is performing the same activity over and over again. This creates fatigue in the body over time. And if over time our body can’t support the number of swings we are taking, it is eventually going to break down. There are three variables we have when it comes to the prevention of chronic injuries in golf. Number one is workloads. Workloads can be defined as the number of swings that the body takes with a club over a given period of time. That time frame can be seven days or an entire tour season. Number two is efficiency of your mechanics. When we say “efficiency of mechanics” we are talking about how biomechanically correct your individual swing is. “Why is this important?” you ask. Let me tell you. I think most of us would agree that the tour players have very “efficient” swings; their swings are smooth and look almost effortless. A swing like this asks less out of the body to perform and requires less effort from the muscles; hence fatiguing levels in the body are lower. Some amateur swings look like they take a lot of work to perform, and in reality they do! These types of swings ask a lot more out of the body and fatigue it more quickly. The final variable is what we term “golf strength.” Golf strength is a measure of the required levels of flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, and power to successfully support the mechanics of the swing. Large amounts of golf strength allow the body to support an efficient swing. Low levels of golf strength do not provide the support needed for the swing.

Workloads, Swing Mechanics, and Golf Strength

All three of these variables work together to determine if you are a candidate for a chronic golf injury. Golf strength is essentially the foundation upon which your swing is built. This variable indicates how many times you can swing a golf club with your current mechanics before you come up injured. If you have high levels of golf strength then regardless of how efficient of a swing you have, you will be able to play for quite awhile before you get sore. The flip side can also be said. If you have low levels of golf strength, regardless of your swing mechanics, you will come up sore in a shorter amount of time.

Secondly, let us look at swing mechanics. If you are a player that has a very efficient swing that places very little stress on the body, you will undoubtedly be able to play many rounds before your body starts screaming at you. Again, if you have poor mechanics, it is going to take its toll on your body and your game.

Finally, we have workloads (i.e. number of swings). The number of swings one makes must match up with levels of golf strength and swing mechanics. The golf swing is a “stressor” of the body and breaks it down over time. If you have an efficient swing, each swing does less “damage” to the body. If you have a poor swing, the body has to work harder, thus fatiguing it more quickly. In addition to this is golf strength. If you have high levels of golf strength, you can swing the club more (i.e. workloads) before you get tired. Low levels of golf strength present the situation of the body’s fatiguing more quickly. “So what is the magic formula?” you ask. My first suggestion is twofold: 1) work on your swing to improve the efficiency of it, and 2) increase your levels of golf strength in order to support your swing. For the time being, match up your swing and golf strength levels to determine what workload levels you can get out of your body.

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Common Golf Injuries Explained

Common Golf Injuries Explained

A lot of golfers sustain injuries to their spine and elbows that causes them a lot of pain and soreness. Some of these aches are persistent, while other symptoms just seem to disappear by themselves without the need of any further or in some cases no treatment at all. While some golf players, more often than not, suffer recurring symptoms of pain usually at the same body points mentioned above, they search for the cause as well as a cure to these afflictions.

You are not alone, in case you were not aware of the following fact, these aches and pains are commonly suffered by the majority of golfers. A few unlucky players suffer, even though they follow a good exercise and training program. As a golfer, you should familiarize yourself with these common injuries in order to protect your self from sustaining serious and possibly long term and permanent injury.

Common Golf Injuries Explained

Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness (DOMS)
DOMS also known as muscle fever, is a pain and stiffness felt in muscles about 24 to 72 hours after unaccustomed or/and strenuous exercise. It is a symptom of muscle damage caused by rigorous exercise.  After such exercise, the muscle adapts rapidly to prevent muscle damage, and thereby DOMS, in repeated bouts. Muscle soreness will occur frequently. DOMS is perceived as a dull, aching pain in the affected muscle, often combined with tenderness and stiffness. The pain is felt only when the muscle is stretched, contracted or put under pressure, but not when it is resting.

Although there is variance among exercises and individuals, DOMS usually increases in intensity in the first 24 hours after exercise and peaks from between 24 to 72 hours, then subsides and disappears after about three to five days after exercise. You may only feel a little sore but still be able to move the body normally. These types of injuries require only 1-2 day recovering without any additional treatment. Over time you will notice that the muscle has become fitter and stronger.

Muscle pain during or immediately after exercise
Muscle pain generally happens when you exercise one particular muscle group continuously. Using one particular muscle group continuously, the body will generate Lactic Acid, which is the chemical reaction within the muscle cells that cause you to feel pain. However, this type of symptom is not actually a deep pain, If you rest it for a while until the muscle gets enough oxygen then the pain should cease. However, you must be careful about the symptoms of pain that may happen to specific areas during or immediately after physical exercise, if you feel sharp or burning pain when moving you should be aware that there might be an injury to that area. Stop exercising/playing immediately and seek urgent medical advice from a competent medical professional.

Cramp
Cramp is a reaction of the muscles that suddenly shrink and stick for very short time, generally 1-5 minutes. Cramps are unpleasant, often painful sensations caused by muscle contraction or over shortening. The common causes of skeletal muscle cramps are muscle fatigue and a sodium imbalance. Smooth muscle cramps may be due to menstruation or gastroenteritis. Skeletal muscles can be voluntarily controlled. Among skeletal muscles, those which cramp the most often are the calves, thighs, and arches of the foot. These cramps are usually associated with strenuous activity and can be intensely painful. Muscle cramps due to fatigue can be treated by stretching and massage. Exertional heat cramps due to electrolyte abnormalities (primarily sodium loss and not calcium, magnesium, and potassium) appropriate fluids and sufficient salt improves symptoms.

(R.I.C.E.) Injury Recovery Method
Rest: Do not continue exercising/playing if you are in pain.
Ice: Use ice contained in a plastic bag, gently massage the injury for about 3-4 hours
Compression: Bind the affected area of pain using a bandage to restrict movement, being careful not to bind too tight and restrict blood flow.
Elevation: Raise the affected limbs that ache to improve blood circulation. If you have an arm injury, hang the arm so that the hand is higher than the level of the elbow.

THE CONTENT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE, OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT, BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS WEB SITE. NEVER RELY ON INFORMATION ON THIS WEB SITE IN PLACE OF SEEKING PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE.

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Golf exercise benefits are many.  Golfers have struggled for years with their games and have become very frustrated.  I can’t tell you how many times I play with golfers who are about to quit the game.

To explain golf exercise benefits to a golfer takes a little convincing, but in a short amount of time they become believers.  There are so many I can’t possible list them all in this article, but you will be motivated to take this approach.

Some of the main golf exercise benefits are; improved power for longer drives; dramatically improved stability for better consistency; a body that moves freer, removing tension from the swing; more energy for 18 holes; elimination of injuries; weight loss; improved concentration due to a reduction in fatigue; I could go on-and-on.

Improved Power For Longer Drives

If your body is weak and inflexible you will not be able to achieve optimal swing mechanics.  Such things as a full shoulder turn, with minimal hip rotation; creating and retaining torque (energy) in your core for maximum clubhead spead; proper sequence of motion with muscles firing at the appropriate time; being able to swing just a little harder on long par 5’s and still be in control.

Removing Tension From The Swing

When you improve your flexibility (range of motion specific to your golf swing) you are able to make a full backswing with no tension in the supporting muscles of the swing.  Like the shoulders, lower back, upper back (lats), and even the wrists.  It is known in most athletics that less tension equals more power.

More Energy For 18 Holes

One of the biggest culprits of back nine blow-ups is loss of energy resulting in poor mental confidence and swing mechanics.  I see this one all the time when I play…golfers who are out of shape and lack appropriate fuel intake and maintenance.  Having energy for 18 holes builds tremendous confidence and a higher level of play.

Elimination Of Injuries

Golf injuries are prevalent among all amateur golfers, especially senior golfers.  The golf swing is a damaging movement on the human body.  Swinging a club between 80-100 mph in less than a second can be traumatic.  Golfers who don’t have an adequate level of golf strength and flexibility are susceptible to injury every time they swing the club.  The lower back usually takes the brunt of the stress and strain.  Then hips, knees, shoulders and even wrists.  A stronger, more flexible golfer will avoid injuries indefinitely.

Weight Loss

I have worked with over 10,000 golfers via my online golf performance website and they all fill out an initial golf fitness profile.  Since I review every one of them personally, I see how many of them have weight loss of 10-30 pounds as a goal.  There are more overweight golfers on the course than fit ones.  This is because golfers have not come to the conclusion the fitness plays a critical role in golf performance.  Exercising will not only improve lean muscle, but melt fat away.  To not only improve their golf, but lose weight is icing on the cake for any golfer.

Improved Concentration

How many times have you had a good score going into the back nine only to have a couple of blow-up holes that ruined your score?  It happens all the time.  Why?  Because your body fatigues and your brain doesn’t maintain a high enough level of concentration.  The result is poor club selection; swing mechanics and diminishing confidence.  A fitter golfer will always have the edge over an out-of-shape one.  When the round progresses and tension creeps in they will prevail every time.

The above are only a few golf exercise benefits…but enough to hopefully convince you that it’s worth looking into.  The golf swing is now being viewed as a very athletic movement, like baseball, tennis, etc…and should be approached from a conditioning emphasis.  I hope you now realize the return on investment from these golf exercise benefits.

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