Physiotherapy for golfers,why?

The first and most obvious reason pain.  Back injuries are the most common in amateur golfers followed by wrist and elbow injuries.  This is in stark contrast to professional golfers in which back injuries are the least common.  But why is there a difference? The possible answer to this is the quality of the golf swing.  Poor swing mechanics lead to excess strain on the spine and other parts of the body in an attempt to achieve the perfect swing.  Think of your body as a series of links of a chain, if one is stiff another link will incur more load and the stiff link will continually be forced to the limit of its range potentially causing injury through either a sudden force or repetition and the accumulation of load.  The role of Physiotherapy in golf is to assess links in the chain, or your body, to determine which parts of your body need loosening (or stretching) and which need strengthening in order to stabilize the link that is moving too much. 

The second reason to see a Physiotherapist for golf is performance enhancement.  This can be achieved through assessments called Musculoskeletal Screening.  Physiotherapist has performed these over the past two decades with increasing frequency for elite golfers and most sports.  Currently, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) performs it on all scholarship holders in all sports, including golf.  While it is important that the elite receive Musculoskeletal Screenings, arguably amateur golfers (or hackers as I like to be called) have more to be gained from screenings.  Most amateurs have flexibility, strength and pelvic stability that are less suited to golf that professionals.  Therefore there is a greater scope for change and improvement.  The trick to changing these insufficiencies is identifying them. If you are unable to achieve the desired ranges that are required for golf on the range or the course, it is unlikely that they will magically appear from just hitting bucket after bucket of golf balls.  Specific stretches and/or strengthening may be required to improve your game.  Most sportsmen and women perform stretching before taking the field and yet rarely do golfers. Why?  Don’t they want to get better?

If you to ask any questions on Musculoskeletal Screening I can be contacted at Essence Lifestyle Changes.

JEREMY HUNTER
Sports Physiotherapist|
M: 0402-244-754