By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
By RODNEY PAGE
Times Staff Writer
Golf is not a contact sport. So why can the game be so physically painful sometimes?
There is golfer's elbow, wrist problems, shoulder problems, hip problems and leg problems. But the most common injury in golf is back pain. The golf swing starts and stops with back movement. With over 100 swings (practice and real) during an 18-hole round, it's easy to see why golfer's come down with back pain.
"When you play a sport, you're at risk for an injury,'' said Lisa Chase, a physical therapist who owns Back 2 Normal Physical Therapy in St. Petersburg. "It's just part of sports. But there is a lot that you can do to prevent it.''
Warm up
Chase has worked with athletes for over 20 years. From 1998 to 2009, she worked with the World Tennis Association as the Director of Sports Sciences and Medicine Athletic Care before focusing on her own practice. She is also an adjunct professor at Michigan State University.
She treats numerous patients who have suffered back injuries while playing golf. According to Chase, there are ways to prevent back injuries.
"Just doing a proper warmup is going to decrease your injuries,'' Chase said. "Golf is a rotational sport. If you don't have good rotation throughout the joints that need to rotate, and commonly people don't, then you rotate right through and create a lot of repetitive stress in the back.''
Chase's advice is to mimic the actions of a golf swing prior to the first tee. She suggests putting a club behind your neck and doing rotational movements.
"We like to see something that is more dynamic,'' Chase said. "You want to try to mimic the movement you're getting ready to do. Instead of passively stretching, you want to do a little bit of cardio. Increase the blood flow to the muscles.''
Once the round is completed, Chase suggests stretching as part of a cool down. Just putting the clubs in the trunk and sitting down could cause the back to tighten. Golfers can use a band, or a towel, stretched above the head. Do some trunk twists and waist bends to give the back one final stretch.
If these steps are taken and back pain persists, then there is likely a bigger problem.
The next step
Chase believes many back injuries are caused by inadequate spinal, hip and shoulder mobility. Before seeing a therapist like Chase, she suggests seeing a golf pro to clean up mechanics.
"They can look at how you move to make sure you have good rotation throughout,'' Chase said.
But even the best golfers in the world succumb to back pain. A golf swing puts tremendous torque on the back. When golfers complain about any sort of golf-related injury, Chase goes to the back.
"If they complain about golfer's elbow, for example, I'm going right to the spine,'' Chase said. "It's because they can't rotate enough in their spine and they overcompensate either at the shoulder or the wrist. That's putting a load on the elbow or shoulder or neck.''
Chase said she will watch how a golfer moves and will try to get them better aligned. Many golfers bend over too much, or have swings that are too reliant on the back. Her main focus is to make sure a golfers rotation fits their body.
"We can look and make sure you have good rotation throughout the body,'' Chase said. "That should definitely decrease the impact.''
Once that is done, it's all about maintenance.
Staying flexible
Camille Raciopio is a trained pilates instructor who works with Chase. She is also a golfer, so she knows the kind of stretches and exercises that will benefit the golf swing. Raciopio believes the key to avoiding back problems is to stay flexible.
Flexibility increases the amount of turn and club head speed a golfer has, which makes for better and longer shots.
"There have been several golfers who have told me their games have gotten better after doing some pilates,'' Raciopio said. "They are hitting it farther than they ever have.''
That may be true, but the main focus is to have golfers stay on the course instead of on a physical therapist's table. Raciopio will not only use stretching exercises, but there are also pilates machines that simulate a golf backswing and follow through, and that simulate the side-to-side trunk movement.
"The key is to inhale on the upswing,'' Raciopio said. "And exhale on the downswing. That's where all the power comes from.''