Golf and injury
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Golf is a terribly unfair thing to do to your body. It is based around the precise and controlled repetition of a powerful, yet one-sided movement. The muscles, ligaments and joints are (respectively) contracted, stretched and compressed or opened on one side of the body and neglected on the other. This means that the more you practice, the greater the imbalance in your body becomes, and the greater the risk of injury. I told you it was unfair.
No two golfing injuries are the same, however, because of the nature of the movement, 95% of them fall into one of 4 categories.
The first is a rotational injury of the low lumbar spine: As you follow through your swing, the inertia of the club head, particularly if it’s a wood, may take your lowest joint or two into more rotation than they can comfortably accommodate. This forces open the small joints to the right of the spine (the facet joints) and can stretch the joint capsules. The plus side of this injury is that you know you’ve done this straight away and if you have a mind to, you can stop. No, really.
Second is the opposite injury in your neck. As you keep your eyes on the ball during the swing, as every good golfer knows you should, your shoulders turn underneath the neck. If you are unlucky the shoulders turn far enough to compress the facet joints on the right at the base of the neck, before pulling your head away from its line. This crick in the neck is rarely obvious at the time but you’ll know about it the following morning.
Third, the knee. As you transfer your weight form right to left during your swing, the outside edge of the left knee becomes increasingly stretched, and turned inward. At the end, all the weight of your body is on your left leg with your knee turned half way around and pulling at the front. After a while this can lengthen the ‘lateral co-lateral’ ligament that supports the side of the knee, leading to an inherent weakness and tendency to injury.
Classically the ‘Golfer’s Elbow’ is an injury that occurs at the ‘left lateral epicondyle’ of the arm where the muscles of the forearm join the bone at the elbow. The tendons are repeatedly tugged at as you hit the ball, absorbing much of the shock.
These last two you would notice an increasing ache as the round went on, that may, at times, be quite sharp.
Putting is painful in the low back for many people, but it would be unkind to lay blame for this with golf. If you feel discomfort bending forwards to putt, it is more likely to be the symptoms of a problem caused by something else, it’s just more obvious on the golf course, when you’re trying to concentrate.
Whether the discomfort is caused by the game or just more apparent when you play, reducing the pain can help you to enjoy the game and perhaps even shave a shot off your handicap.
No two golfing injuries are the same, however, because of the nature of the movement, 95% of them fall into one of 4 categories.
The first is a rotational injury of the low lumbar spine: As you follow through your swing, the inertia of the club head, particularly if it’s a wood, may take your lowest joint or two into more rotation than they can comfortably accommodate. This forces open the small joints to the right of the spine (the facet joints) and can stretch the joint capsules. The plus side of this injury is that you know you’ve done this straight away and if you have a mind to, you can stop. No, really.
Second is the opposite injury in your neck. As you keep your eyes on the ball during the swing, as every good golfer knows you should, your shoulders turn underneath the neck. If you are unlucky the shoulders turn far enough to compress the facet joints on the right at the base of the neck, before pulling your head away from its line. This crick in the neck is rarely obvious at the time but you’ll know about it the following morning.
Third, the knee. As you transfer your weight form right to left during your swing, the outside edge of the left knee becomes increasingly stretched, and turned inward. At the end, all the weight of your body is on your left leg with your knee turned half way around and pulling at the front. After a while this can lengthen the ‘lateral co-lateral’ ligament that supports the side of the knee, leading to an inherent weakness and tendency to injury.
Classically the ‘Golfer’s Elbow’ is an injury that occurs at the ‘left lateral epicondyle’ of the arm where the muscles of the forearm join the bone at the elbow. The tendons are repeatedly tugged at as you hit the ball, absorbing much of the shock.
These last two you would notice an increasing ache as the round went on, that may, at times, be quite sharp.
Putting is painful in the low back for many people, but it would be unkind to lay blame for this with golf. If you feel discomfort bending forwards to putt, it is more likely to be the symptoms of a problem caused by something else, it’s just more obvious on the golf course, when you’re trying to concentrate.
Whether the discomfort is caused by the game or just more apparent when you play, reducing the pain can help you to enjoy the game and perhaps even shave a shot off your handicap.
