It's golf time! Do you break out the clubs and drive to the course (and the wait)? Do you sit there and imagine yourself as Tiger Woods or the Golden Bear, uncorking the beautiful, picture-perfect drive? Then when it is your turn, do you step up to the tee, pull back the club and swing away? Does it hurt? Are you sore after a few holes? Ever wonder why?? Well the pros don't just step up to the tee, so why do you? What you don't see on TV is the preparation before that first swing.
Injuries are common in golf. The most common being low back, neck and shoulder strain. Seventy-five percent of golfers hurt something on the course. Just imagine your swing; you twist your back like a pretzel and untwist it even faster. This is a very unnatural position and increases the risk for injury. After age fifty, the aging process increases the risk of injury as muscles get tighter and strength decreases. With some simple warm-up and stretching techniques, these risks can be decreased.
WARM-UP: This is important. It is not a good idea to do any activity without warming up. This is easier than you might think. Instead of sitting and waiting to play, walk around for five minutes to increase your heart rate and get your cardiovascular system pumping. If there is a practice range, try chipping a few balls or just swing an iron lightly.
STRETCHING: You should stretch before swinging the club. This will increase your flexibility and allow you to turn more easily during your swing. The areas to focus on should be the neck, shoulders, low back and legs.
*NECK: Move your head slowly through its full range of motion holding it at the end for 5-10 seconds to allow for a good stretch.
*SHOULDERS: Arm circles and crossing arms in front of your body are good exercises to be done. You could also take a club and lift it overhead holding for 10-15 seconds then slowly swing arm side to side overhead, or stretch each shoulder on the golf cart.
*LOWER BACK: This could be the most important part to stretch out. A good exercise is to place the club behind your back and stand like you?re addressing the ball. Then turn slowly each direction a few times, then bend side to side slowly. This will help loosen up your back.
*LEGS: Hamstrings and calves are important muscles to stretch in your legs. To stretch the calves, you can use the golf cart and keep one leg behind the other and lean forward keeping the back foot flat. To stretch hamstrings, you can perform the old toe-touching exercise, or put one foot up on a step, keeping that leg straight and bend from the hips until you feel a stretch in the back of the leg. Remember to hold each stretch 10-15 seconds and do 3-5 on each leg.

If you perform these stretches and warm-up activities before each round, you will be able to reduce your chance of injury. You should also do the stretches after your round to help prevent soreness and stiffness. The muscles and areas to pay attention to after the round of golf should be shoulders, hamstrings and hips.
Following these simple steps before and after each round will allow you to enjoy golf with a lower risk of injury. It may also help to increase distance and accuracy on your shots, allow you to play a full round without pain or fatigue, play more often because you are not sore the next day, and be on your way to being just like Tiger.
However, if you do continue to have pain or soreness playing golf, contacting a Physical Therapist or Athletic Trainer may help. There are some golf-specific exercise programs that may help improve your game and allow pain-free play for many years, or at least until your first hole-in-one.

For more information, contact Atlantic Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, Inc. in Myrtle Beach, SC. at (843) 293-7713.