Why Is Golf So Tough On The Body ?

Golf is one of the toughest sports on your body when talking about repetitive sprain/strain injuries.  Research has shown that amateur golfers put out about 90% of their peak muscular activity in to driving the golf ball.  So why do we see over 60% of golfers with injuries such as back, shoulder, hip and wrist? It is because many golfers out there are deconditioned; meaning “not in shape”.  Think about hitting a golf ball, lifting a weight, jumping, or throwing a baseball using 90% of your muscles power with your joints and muscles not being in condition to do so.

Golf is unique because it is a unilateral sport; you swing to the same side every time; so the same joints and muscles get used over and over again.  Many professional golfers with great mechanics and a beautiful golf swing still get repetitive, overuse injuries.  So you can imagine how often do we see these injuries in amateur’s when mechanics are so so and their swing is shall we say “less than desirable”.

Typical overuse injuries like sprains and strains can heal in about 6-8 weeks; but they will not heal if you continue to irritate them; this is common sense but many a golfer have a hard time not golfing.  When healing of the muscles and tendons occur, they do not come back as strong and flexible as they were before; this is the time for specific golf related stretches and exercises to ensure return to proper function.

If proper healing does not occur then this causes considerable stresses on the joints of the body involved in the golf swing; i.e. shoulder, back, hips, knees and ankles.  A typical scenario in golfers is that an injury or dysfunction left untreated can cause another injury or dysfunction somewhere else in the body.

Injured golfers who do not consider improving their flexibility, strength and conditioning will always be injured golfers; injuries or dysfunctions do not go away on there own; it’s impossible.

This is the perfect time of the year to work on the physical side of playing golf; you can and will improve your scores if you just improve your body.