The golf season may be in full swing, but is your body in swingin' shape?

The golf swing is a complex athletic movement involving the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, trunk, hips and lower body.  The body must move at high velocities, through maximum ranges of motion, storing and releasing energy to bring the club head to contact the ball at just the right speed at just the right time...sounds beautiful, doesn't it?  But for anyone who has ever sliced, duffed, or chunked a ball, we know that it takes a lot of practice to strike the ball well.  A bucket of balls at the range, an average of 90 strokes during a round (or a few more in my case!), a bunch of practice strokes, and you're looking at a lot of repetitions.  This is where the potential for injury arises, as the most common cause for injury in golfers is overuse.  Poor technique, poor conditioning, and age are also factors in injury.  The average recovery period is 4-5 weeks, which creates good incentive to avoid injury altogether.

• Strength train:  Pumping iron will help strengthen your muscles, tendons, and joints so that they can better tolerate the forces imposed on them.
• Stretch:  Improving your flexibility will not only lessen your chance of soft tissue strains, but it will also add yards to your shots!
• Warm up:  Loosen up your muscles and joints so that they can work more efficiently.
• Build up gradually:  Doing too much too soon will increase your chances of getting a repetitive strain injury.  Give your body time to adapt.
• Get assessed:  Poor technique can promote your body's subtle imbalances and cause injury.

At Athlete's Care we use the FitforeGolf^TM approach to treat and prevent injuries. 
Our FitforeGolf^TM certified therapists can identify your injury risk factors and help you to do the appropriate training before you get out on the links.