Not every injury is acute. Basically any type of physical activity, when conducted with enough repetition, can lead an individual to suffer a chronic injury. The key is adjusting form in a way that minimizes the damage and maintaining a healthy lifestyle so that the body is more capable of bouncing back from harm.
A new report takes a look at those injuries that are often associated with a sport we don’t often think of as being all that injurious: golf. Even though the weather will soon be getting cold around the country, the advice is worth considering among those hoping to get a few last holes in before golfing becomes impossible.
In golf, avoiding injuries hinges on your ability to engage in the proper technique when taking your shot. Many rookie golfers make the mistake of trying to put as much power as possible into the swing, but in doing, they expose their back to serious stress, especially if their swing is particularly awkward.
What you want to strive for is to keep your back straight when in your swing. If you’re twisting excessively, your back is going to be endangered the same way it would be if you’re twisting while lifting a heavy load. Minimizing this action can keep back pain at bay, as can getting in the habit of bending your knees to pick up your ball rather than keeping your legs straight and bending down with your back.
Think rotation instead of twisting. You want to rotate your body as if it were on a horizontal plane rather than wrenching it around too quickly. And whereas many golfers will place additional stress on their back by bending downward while swinging, try to leave the bend in your knees rather than your back. This should be done for the same reason you don’t want to repeatedly bend to grab your golf balls.
You also have to be aware of the movement of your wrists while you’re in the midst of a swing. Every time you strike the ball, you’re placing impact pressure on your hands, and the issue gets exacerbated if you’re rotating your wrists awkwardly at the wrong part of the swing. This is especially the case if you find yourself striking the ground almost as much as you hit the ball.
You can invest in a better club if you find that you can no longer take the shock that comes along with such an impact. If you’re set on the clubs you have, though, get in the habit of squeezing a stress ball or a tennis ball. More than just relieving stress, this can strengthen your wrists, freeing them up to a greater range of motion.
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