Common injuries that plague golfers

Common injuries that plague golfers

IF I say more and more people are getting injured as a result of golf, not many people will believe the fact despite the number of golf clubs that are sprouting up in Malaysia.

But, do you know how many of the world’s top 20 male golfers made it through the past year without any injury? The answer is: None. Even the world’s best golfer, Tiger Woods, had to squat in order to stick a tee into the ground because he injured his back while, of all things, trying to improve his fitness. It’s a real eye-opener.

The fact is more and more people are playing golf and more and more people are getting injured. Even youngsters and women are taking up the game. I have client who are teenager, play and train in golf daily instead of going to school. Their parents have high hope they will become the next Tiger Wood from Asia.

Although the overall risk of injury appears to be low compared to many other sports, golf, despite being a non-contact sport, do provide more than its fair share of injuries.

Last year, I conducted a study on 50 golfers who visited my sports clinic over a period of three months. These golfers, most of them men in their 40s and 50s, live in the Klang Valley. As we get older, our muscle, tendon, ligament and joint became stiffer and more prone to injury. Other reason older golfers have more injuries and pain is the ability to self healed is slower.

Most of them sought treatment for back and neck pain. Tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow and shoulder pain are the other common injuries suffered by golfers.

The average time it takes them to seek treatment is three months. Most players ignored initial presentation of their injury or pain and continue to play. This aggravated their injury and delayed healing. Based on their feedbacks, it was found that accidents and overuse was one of the main causes of golf injuries. You get players hurting their shoulders from falls or spraining their ankles while walking down a slippery slope.

The latest craze about getting fit is partly responsible for golf injuries. More and more golfers are heading to gymnasiums and fitness centres to build up muscles. Some golfer’s injury actually occurred in weight training.

Some are spending hours on driving ranges performing hundreds of twisting motions to improve their golf swings. Golf has become a power game. As a result, players are swinging harder in their bids to make the ball go further. This is the so call overuse injury. Judging by the way they’re pushing themselves, their bodies are bound to break down and they are bound to get injured. Listed below are some of the main causes of golf injuries.

Causes of golf injuries

1. Too much golf.
2. Hit too many balls at driving range.
3. Poor swing techniques.
4. Too much twisting during swings.
5. Hitting the ground.
6. Aggravating old injuries.
7. No warm-up or cool-down exercises.
8. Lack of stretching exercises.
9. Wrong equipment being used.

Swing technique

The golf swing is a rotational motion that rotates the whole body at very high speed. The force that is generated is transferred from the foot, leg, back, shoulder, elbow and wrist.

It places a lot of stress on the body. Injuries to the back, shoulder, wrist and elbow are the most common.

Most of these injuries occur at impact or just before impact during the golf swing.

The right-handed golfer will generally develop “tennis elbow” in his left arm which is used to pull the club. Players suffer from “golfers elbow” in their right arm as a result of their club hitting the ground or the ball. Beware of hard ground in some golf courses when playing in foreign country.

Golfers are also prone to rotator cuff (shoulder muscles) tendonitis, or muscle tears in their shoulders. Pain usually occurs at the top of their backswing. Poor swing technique is one of the major contributing factors to golf injuries. My advice is to take golf lessons and practise your swing first under a qualified coach before rushing to the golf course.

Developing the correct technique can prevent injury. Professionals usually do not sustain as many injuries as amateur golfers simply because they play with better form and technique.