What Physiotherapy Can Do For You and Your Golf
The health and wellbeing effects of golf are well documented. Studies have shown that those who golf regularly live longer and have a better overall quality of life. If you think about it, that makes perfect sense, golfers are physically active (18 holes of golf are typically 8k-12k steps), and the social interaction you get from playing a round with your mates (or complete strangers) keeps the mind ticking over. Physiotherapy can help you keep playing and play better.
Golf can be very physically demanding as well. In order to get that little ball in that tiny little hole 100s of metres away requires a very complex combination of movements. Strength, power, endurance and flexibility are all vital on every shot. These are often overlooked by amateur golfers and if they are insufficient can lead to injury, pain and time away from the game.
Common causes for injury include:
- Overuse, doing too much of something causing overload of the tissues
- Prior injury (maybe not even golf related)
- Poor swing mechanics
- Poor warm up or lack of
- Incorrect set up
*Amateur golfers are more prone to poor swing mechanics. This can be from technique dysfunctions or physical limitations which can cause compensatory movements, overload and further injury.
The most common injuries in golf:
- Low back pain
- Elbow pain
- Knee pain
- Shoulder & cuff injuries
- Wrist injuries
- Foot and ankle
Physiotherapy can help with your injuries, manage your pain and get you back to playing, and playing at your best!
Initial Physiotherapy will comprise of a thorough assessment resulting in injury diagnosis, treatment and a management plan to get you back to where you want to be.
A Physiotherapist who has a special interest in golf can also look at your overall physical capabilities and how that might be impacting your swing and causing injuries with the use of a specially designed screening assessment. Following this your Physio will provide you with clear explanations of what is going wrong and how to fix it. Afterall, if you don’t know what the problem is then how are you supposed to fix it? Depending on what your golfing goals are, an individualised management plan can be created to help you achieve those under the guidance of our trained Physios.
If you would like help with your golfing injury or are interested to know if your technique could be improved with Physiotherapy, give us a call on 6281 2499 or click the MAKE A BOOKING button below.
If you have an injury, we would recommend seeing one of our Physios for a Free Initial Assessment and consultation. If you are injury-free but would like to know how we can help your golf swing, then we would recommend booking in for our specialised Golf Screening with our Physio Evan.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 & 3 in the second half of the year!
Author: Evan Clayton, Physiotherapist (B. PhEd, B. HSc (Physio))