When people tend to think about sports injuries, they picture concussions associated with football, ACL injuries associated with soccer, or maybe shoulder injuries that may come along with baseball and tennis. However, it doesn’t require high-octane sports like these to take a toll on a person’s body. Even golf can contribute to its share of injuries if a person isn’t careful to maintain their technique and to exercise in conjunction with the sport.
A new report from Golf Week delves into injuries and how to prevent them, and it’s an essential read for any golfers who find themselves feeling excessively sore after going a few holes. By taking care of pain before it’s allowed to get out of hand, you can protect your body and enable enjoyment of the game for years to come.
Stretching is one of the most important things you can do to protect your body. When you do this, particular attention needs to be paid to those parts of your body that are going to be stressed during your swing.
That means that much of your focus should be placed on your lower back and the area around it, as the twisting motion you’re going to be engaged in could otherwise contribute to pain over the course of time. If your lower back, torso, and overall core aren’t strong enough, you will be unable to repeatedly engage in the appropriate rotation maneuver that allows you to drive the ball down the fairway. Not only will your body suffer, but your golf game will suffer too.
You should speak with a physical trainer to determine the best set of stretches and exercises to develop strength in the aforementioned areas. Oftentimes, he or she will help you establish a regimen that allows you to get more comfortable with body rotation and improves your overall flexibility. The more limber you are, the more likely you’ll be to swing the club properly.
You can also speak with a qualified golf instructor to make sure your technique is sound. If it’s not, then every swing you take could be causing damage to your back. Although this damage may be minimal at first, it can accumulate it you golf on a regular basis, causing severe pain to eventually radiate throughout your body.
Golfers also mustn’t attribute soreness to a simple result of the game. If you’re doing things right, there shouldn’t be any soreness. You need to rest from golf just like you would from any other sport, and if you feel pain on the heels of a round, you ought to consider speaking with a doctor. Serious pain could be indicative of an underlying disc issue or some other malady, and you don’t want to make things worse than they already are.
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