Not many people would associate injuries with a low impact game like golf, but there are over 50,000 patients visiting the Emergency Room each year due to injuries to the elbow, ankle, wrist, spine and knees sustained while playing golf. What steps can you take to prevent these injuries?
Golfer’s elbow
This is the leading golfing injury. It is caused by the inflammation of the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the bone and is caused by over use of the muscles and tendons by repeating the same stroke over and over. To prevent this injury do exercises to strengthen forearm muscles and slow the swing to lessen the shock to the arm when hitting the ball.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
This is caused by the damage to the nerves in the hands due to the repetitive motion of the golf swing and causes pain and could require surgery.
Lower back pain
The stress placed on the back muscles and the spine by the rotation of the golf swing can cause considerable back pain to golfers. Do exercises like rowing and pull downs to build strength and to improve flexibility of the back muscles.
Shoulder injuries
Slow the back swing to lessen stress on the shoulders.