Prevent Golf Injuries with Fitness

Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 8:50 am

Many golf injuries can occur due to an improper grip or swing mechanics, but a lack of fitness and flexibility also contributes to the most common golf injuries. These golf injuries usually occur in the soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons) and joints (back, elbow, wrist and shoulder).

Let’s look at what can cause golf injuries?

Overuse
Mis-hits or duffs (hitting the ground during the swing)
Poor swing mechanics
Over-swinging
Skipping the Warm-up
Twisting the Spine During the Swing
Incorrect Golf Club Grip

What can help prevent golf injuries?

Proper swing mechanics and club grip
Proper conditioning
Proper equipment

You can reduce this stress and prevent back injuries by:

Rotating the shoulder and hip about the same amount during the backswing
Keeping the spine vertical (perpendicular to the ground) during the follow-through (and avoiding hyperextension of the spine).

To reduce shoulder pain and injuries by:

Shorten the backswing slightly (end with the club head at a 1 o’clock rather than 3 o’clock).
Strengthen the rotator cuff and scapular muscles.
Strengthen the chest and back muscles.

To reduce hand, wrist and elbow pain and injuries by:

Selecting larger club grips
Using softer grips
Using a neutral grip
Selecting irons with large heads and “sweet spots” to lessen vibration
Selecting graphite shafts are to lessen vibration
Selecting the correct club length (the end of the club should extend slightly beyond the palm of the leading hand)
strengthening the forearm muscles

If you are looking for a good fitness program I have a couple of recommendations for you.

You can check out Perform Better Golf or Turbulence Training.