Whether you are an avid golfer or someone who is better off sticking to mini golf, optimal fitness can improve your performance and prevent golf-related injury. Golfers with muscle tightness, joint restriction, or poor body mechanics may struggle to consistently execute their golf swings. If your body is not running smoothly when the season starts, you will not hit the ball properly, which often leads to further injury, poor performance, and ongoing frustration. If an injury occurs, it is important to seek the help of a medical professional, like a physical therapist who is specifically trained in golf rehab.
To the untrained eye, golf looks rather simple. It is only when you dismantle the mechanics of golf that you begin to appreciate the numerous motor skills involved, as well as the importance of core strength and flexibility. Because of its precision and power, if a golf swing is performed incorrectly, it can cause injury to various parts of the body. The most common injuries include wrist injuries, elbow tendonitis, knee pain, hip pain, lower back pain, and rotator cuff tendonitis.
Physical therapists have been treating injured golfers of all levels for decades. It does not matter what experience level you are at- specialists can help improve your game and protect you from injury. Advanced training to treat these specific problems is necessary in order to ensure that golfers are getting the best treatment technology has to offer. Therapists will work with patients who have undergone surgery or suffered an injury, and who are looking for help returning to the golf course.
When you begin golf rehab, a certified golf specialist will take you through a thorough golf movement screening to address your physical abilities and limitations for proper mechanics during a golf swing. The screen covers 16 different movements that assess your mobility, stability, and balance. After a thorough physical examination, your physical therapist will create a treatment plan to address your specific injury or the deficits impacting your golf game. Our golf certified rehab specialist will guide your treatments focused on golf-specific mobility, stability, strength, power, and improvement of overall performance.
Rehab therapists will begin with a targeted treatment to quickly treat pain that impedes performance. This may involve stretches, exercises, and soft tissue treatment to address your specific needs.
Once the pain has subsided, your mobility will be assessed to focus on areas of improvement. This includes problematic areas such as the neck, shoulder, back, and hips. Any unaddressed joint limitations could negatively impact all aspects of your golf swing and prevent you from recovering properly.
Due to the stationary nature of golf, flexibility is often an area players overlook. By assessing and addressing key muscle group issues, your golf rehab therapist will evaluate the flexibility of your hips and shoulder musculature; both areas are critical for your follow through and backswing.
Another part of evaluating the muscles involved in swinging a golf club is balance. Poor control of hip, abdominal, and hip musculature could cause you to finish your swing off-balance, increasing your rate of injury. Evaluation of these areas can help your therapist develop a more individualized treatment plan for improved shot follow through.
After the evaluating process is over, your work begins. By now, your golf certified rehab specialist has a pretty clear image of areas in need of improvement. When swinging a golf club, your muscles work in a chain reaction to provide the most powerful swing. If one or more of these areas is weaker than the others, your body will try to compensate, eventually resulting in injury. Improving core and limb strength can help address related swing faults.
IMPACT Physical Therapy strives to offer the most advanced and effective golf services to the golf community. Our talented staff utilizes their expertise in golf fitness and golf rehabilitation to successfully tend to injured golfers, work on individuals’ fitness conditioning needs and to prevent future injury. To learn more about our golf rehab program and our other physical therapy services, please contact us today!
