You vs. Golf, who's winning?

Let me ask you a question guys (and girls), Have you been hitting the links this summer??? Or have the links been hitting you?! The THREE most common injuries due to golf are: back pain, tennis elbow/ golfers elbow, and shoulder pain. Although, we eventually get back at the course when our ball finds the pond, trap, O.B., or just doesn't travel as far as the divot or the club we just threw... in those instances, we get our revenge by using some specific and creative 4-letter words!

Although golfing doesn't strike one as being among the most physically abusive sports, throughout an 18 hole round, your body can absorb a considerable amount of physical stress. It begins from the very moment you put the first tee into the ground and continues to the point you scoop your ball out of the cup on hole 18. In these instances, did you bend at the knees as you would with "proper lifting technique"? Or did you lean against your driver or putter and bend at the waist to the fullest of your flexibility? Now that your ball is all teed up, it's time for your Tiger and Phil impersonations. First off is the continuing bending over to address the ball and set up your swing and quickly following is the torque you stress on your body while you twist to strike and admire that (hopefully) 300 yard drive that splits the fairway.

Lets continue with this vision. You're walking down the fairway on hole one up to your 300 yard drive already having birdie on your mind, and you're carrying those 14 clubs, dozen balls, tees, umbrella, and bag on your back because no one assigns you a caddy when you're playing Sunday afternoon at your local public course. Finally you approach the ball for your second shot and go through everything you did the first one (poor posture, torque, stress) and begin that smooth swing and right before you hit the ball, your seven iron digs into the ground like a car coming to a halt after rear-ending the car in front. Imagine the stress you put on your wrists and forearms and the rest of your body acts as the shock absorber.

Anywhere from 60-120 shots later (depending on your skill) of the same repeated stress, not to mention the weight of those clubs bearing down on you throughout your trek of spanning the course, and you begin to feel the stress and the abuse that golf puts on your body. It becomes clearer why BACK PAIN is so relevant due to our continued bending over, poor posture, repetitive stress carrying (or pushing/pulling if you've got a cart) your clubs cause, and the force it takes to swing and hit the ball. Now, one understands TENNIS ELBOW/ GOLFER'S ELBOW (both are inflammatory conditions within the elbow caused by excessive stress and strain on the muscles) due to the aggressive and numerous swings we take and the divots that accompany them. Lastly, the SHOULDER PROBLEMS, that are caused by the stress your rotator cuff undergoes throughout the day make sense all of a sudden.

Each of these problems can be treated or corrected by chiropractic, so if by chance you're not golfing with your local chiropractor, seek him or her out if these problems arise and/or persist! Good luck golfing this season!