|
Avoid
Injuries To The Lower Back In Golf
Our last series of
articles provided a road map on how to develop a
golf fitness program to enhance your game. We've
discussed a series of topics, ranging from
flexibility exercises to improve rotation in your
backswing to power training to increase clubhead
speed. Golf fitness training will improve your
swing, and each component of such a program
(flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, and
power training) is integral in the process of
achieving this goal.
Each one of these
components has an additional benefit in relation to
your game--the prevention of injury. Over the next
few weeks we will discuss some common injuries in
the game of golf and look at how a golf fitness
program can assist in the prevention of these
injuries. As I always say, it is much easier to
prevent an injury than to rehabilitate from one.
This week we will
begin with the lower back, one of the most common
injuries in the sport. Research indicates that one
out of two recreational golfers will incur a lower
back injury at some point during their playing
career.
Why is the lower back
so often injured while playing the game? Research
studies have provided us some clues as to why this
may occur. The golf swing is commonly broken down
into phases: address, take-away, backswing,
downswing, impact and follow-through.
Each phase of the
swing can be performed either efficiently or
inefficiently. A PGA TOUR player is likely to
perform the swing in a highly efficient manner, with
optimal mechanics and requiring just a small amount
of activity from the muscles to execute the swing.
An amateur or
less-skilled golfer is more likely to have less
efficient mechanics. To compensate for these
improper mechanics, the golfer will attempt to
generate extra force from specific muscles.
For example, research
from Hosea indicated that, in certain situations,
amateurs may develop up to 80 percent more peak
torque in their lumbar spine (i.e. lower back) than
a professional, and muscles required to generate
excessive amounts of force are at a much higher risk
of overuse injury.
In addition, Hosea
also found professional golfers were generating 34
percent more clubhead speed than the amateur, yet
amateurs were producing spinal forces 50 to 80
percent higher and had 50 percent more trunk muscle
activity than the professional. A swing can cause
problems for your back.
All this information
points to the first reason why the lower back is
commonly injured- inefficient mechanics cause the
muscles of the body to work harder to generate force
in the golf swing. Over time, these muscles will
become fatigued from the repetitive movement trauma
caused by inefficient mechanics and thus increases
dramatically the possibility of an overuse injury to
the lower back.
The next question to
ask is how can the amateur counteract such a
situation? First and foremost is the development of
more efficient golf swing mechanics. This can only
be done through proper instruction and practice. For
example, proper information can be found in the My
Game section of PGATOUR.com or from your local club
professional. Once properly instructed, it is then
the responsibility of the amateur to practice. Over
time, the correct golf swing will become engrained
in the body.
Next week, we will
discuss the second reason why the lower back is so
often injured in the game of golf.
Sean Cochran
|
