As we come out of isolation and with the easing of restrictions, many of us will be thinking of getting back to our sports and pastimes. If you are a golfer or know someone that is or even someone just starting, please feel free to pass this on as it contains important information to help prevent injury.

Golf is one of the most popular sports and pastimes in the entire world. It also happens to be one of the most misunderstood sports and pastimes as well.

You see, because golf is a fairly slow-paced and leisurely game, people consider it to be easy, relaxing, and not physically demanding in the slightest. This is not the case at all.

Golfers are actually prone to a number of serious sporting injuries as a result of the sport they’re taking part in, which is why golfers turn to Turramurra Sports & Spinal physiotherapists, not only to treat existing golfing injuries, but to help reduce the likelihood of them sustaining a new injury in the near future.

Physiotherapy will not only treat and prevent golf-related injuries, it will also improve your game as well, and make you a much better player whilst out on the course.

Here’s a look at how to improve your golf performance with physiotherapy.

Always warm up

Before football players, marathon runners, and any other athlete for that matter, begins their sport of choice, they set aside at least 10-15 minutes to stretch and warm up, and so should you.

Golf is a leisurely, low intensity, slow-paced sport and consequently, people often assume that the likelihood of sustaining an injury whilst golfing will be considerably lower than, say, playing a game of football.

This simply isn’t true.

If you begin your round of golf without stretching and warming up, not only will your risk of a rotator cuff injury increase exponentially, but so too will your risks of sustaining a back injury.

With each golf swing, because of the full-body mechanics involved, as much as 8 times your own body weight will be placed throughout the spine.

Stretching and warming up will help improve mobility, increase core body temp, increase muscle fibre elasticity, and condition your body for the stress it is about to be placed under when you tee off.

Work on your stability and flexibility

If you speak to your physiotherapist about improving your golf game and reducing your risk on injury, 99% of the time, he or she will tell you to work on your stability and your flexibility.

Golf requires a lot of bending and side to side movements particularly in the hips and lower back.

If there isn’t a good range of motion here, the muscles, nerves, ligaments, and discs in your back and spinal column will be placed under a lot of strain.

Work with your physiotherapist to improve your stability and flexibility and you’ll notice a big difference the next time you tee off.

Don’t fear the weights

Rory McIlroy is one of the best pro golfers to ever grace the game.

When he trains as a golfer, his training doesn’t just take place on the golf course, it also takes place in the gym.

Rory credits a great deal of his success to a strict weight and resistance training regime. He does a lot of compound movements such as deadlifts, pull ups, dumbbell plank rows, and lunges, to help improve his power, increase his range of motion, strengthen his muscles, and reduce his risk of injury.

During each golf swing, major muscle groups located in the deltoids (shoulders, especially the rotator cuffs), forearms, legs, and the buttocks, are placed under intense loads during each phase of the golf swing.

Training with weights and taking part in resistance-based workouts is a great way to improve your swing and stay injury-free.

Switch sides when carrying a golf bag

Finally, another top tip from physios is to switch sides when carrying a golf bag, if it only has one strap.

If you carry your golf bag continually over your left shoulder, after a while, imbalances will happen and you will overcompensate.

Not only will this affect your performance on the course, it will also put you at a greater risk of injury, and nobody wants that.

Be sure to alternate between your left and right when carrying a golf bag with one strap.

Getting Help

Turramurra Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy have experienced physiotherapists that will be able to help you prevent injuries and improve your score. Give them a call today on 9144 1510.