Fore! Early season golf injuries
Posted Mar 14, 2011 12:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Does the spring-like weather have you hauling out the golf clubs and heading to the driving range?
Dr. Phil, Phil Conway at the Calgary Back & Sports Injury Clinic, tells 660News you should be heading to the gym instead.
“What” (you need) “is a pre-season exercise program where you start to restore normal movement patterns associated with your sport, such as golf, it will prevent injuries,” says Dr. Conway. “So if someone goes out to the golf course without doing anything, they’ll likely get an injury. Whereas someone who has worked through the pre-season to get their muscles in shape, to get their body movement in shape,” (they’ll) “have less likelihood of an injury and will enjoy the game much more.”
Dr. Conway warns weekend warriors not to hit the range at this point and hit buckets and buckets of balls in search of that perfect drive.
“What happens is that you get the ‘too much, too soon’ syndrome,” adds Dr. Phil. “So someone goes out and just completely overuses their abilities, they do way too much activity, and this will lead to a much greater likelihood of an injury. It should be a gradual process. Hit a few balls the first day, hit a few balls the next day and gradually increase” (it) “before the season.”
Conway says back injuries are very common at the start of the season.
“Typically what we see is a lot of lower back pain, where people over rotate with their follow through, or they don’t address the ball properly,” says Conway. “As the season progresses, you see things like shoulder injuries, some neck injuries.”
He adds one cautionary note, saying the same practices that will give your lower back trouble early in the season are still factors in September. In other words, he says, if you don’t want to visit him, get a conditioning program in place.
