Over the past 10 years, there has been a big transition toward golf fitness. Most PGA tour golfers now have their own physical therapist or athletic trainer year-round. Each golfer is trying to find another way to get an edge and — most importantly — to prevent an injury.
Most golf injuries (82 percent) are related to the repetitious nature of the sport. The average golfer takes about 9,000 swings per year, including rounds played and time spent practicing at the range. This high number of repetitions can potentially lead to an injury, even with a golfer who has sound mechanics, good strength and good flexibility.
The region of the body that is most susceptible to injury is the lumbar spine. This is because each full golf swing places the spine at (or near) the end-range of available spine movement. And this is true during several phases of the golf swing, thus potentially setting up the golfer’s lumbar joints, discs and muscles for micro-trauma.
Therefore, improving your core strength and flexibility is important in golf, as it can help prevent or minimize trauma to the low back, as well as improve your performance.
Flexibility for a better swing
Golfers with mobility limitations in their lumbar spine are more likely to take their spine to the endpoint of their available flexibility. This not only increases the repetitive stress placed on specific joints and muscles in the back region, but also makes it difficult to achieve the proper swing plane and may also encourage a faulty swing pattern.
In some cases, when the spine is too inflexible to complete a full backswing, golfers will bend their spine in an abnormal direction, or another body segment has to adapt, both of which increase their likelihood of injury.
Improving flexibility can not only decrease injury risk, but can ultimately lead to improved performance. Golfers who are more flexible are able to hit the ball further, because they are able to recoil more energy into their backswing and release this energy when they strike the golf ball.
Stretching is an exercise that should not only be performed prior to a round, but something a golfer should do year-round to maintain that flexibility.
One good stretch for the lumbar spine is the open book stretch. This stretch improves lumbar rotation range of motion and is helpful in improving your backswing flexibility. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and repeat the sequence three to five times. You can use this stretch daily.
Strength for stability
Improving core strength and stability is a very important aspect of a golf conditioning program, as the core region is a good source of overall power. Additionally, a strong core allows the golfer to maintain his or her spine angle and the stability of each spinal segment while the body moves through each phase of the golf swing.
This is important because, as the number of strokes increases, so does the potential for fatigue and therefore injury to the lumbar spine. Fatigue leads to a gradual loss of coordination of the deep muscles that control and stabilize the spine. The lumbar joints, disc and muscles are then more susceptible to forces leading to a potential joint breakdown, sprains and strains.
Incorporate a good core strengthening exercise into your regimen three to five times a week. One to try is the prone alternating leg extension.
To complete this exercise, lie over an exercise ball and find your center of balance by touching your hands and forefoot to the floor. Then alternate lifting each leg off of the floor, without hyper-extending. Do twenty repetitions to complete a set (ten for each leg), and work your way up to three sets.
Timothy Ertle, MPT, Physical Therapist, Cleveland Clinic Sports Health
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