Golf has become an extremely popular sport with approximately 4 million players across the UK. Golf may be perceived as a low-risk sport with regard to injuries but golfers can still be open to injury. These can be reduced by warming up prior to tee-ing off.

Types of Golf Injuries

Injuries include wrist, elbow, shoulder and low back injuries occurring amongst both amateur and professional players. Players may be injured by mis-use of golf clubs, ie clubs thrown in anger or striking the ground in error.

Wrist

Injuries to the wrist often follow back injuries in professional golfers, the lead wrist being the most common to be injured. Overuse injuries of the wrist flexors and extensors are the main cause. Treatment can be rest, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections and splinting. Strengthening of hand and forearm muscles, with improvements in swing technique, can help.

Elbow

Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) and tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) are two of the most common elbow injuries in golfers and are thought to arise from poor swing technique. The risk of these injuries can be reduced by a regular stretching and strengthening programme.

Shoulder

Common shoulder problems include impingement syndrome, rotator cuff problems and arthritis. Specific warm-up exercises to the shoulder can help avoid these injuries.

Back

The most common injuries are low back problems which may occur as a result of powerful rotation and extension motion in the golf swing. A previous study suggests that an increase in the range of motion of lumbar spine extension and rotation of the lead hip (left hip in right-handed golfers) may decrease the incidence of low back pain. Golfers who do not carry their bags tend to have less back, shoulder and ankle injuries than those that do.

What You Can Do

Warming up exercises to strengthen and stretch muscles can considerably reduce the risk of injury. Improving your swing technique can also help and a golf instructor will be able to advise you.

Contact us to find out how we can help prevent and treat sports injuries and strains.

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