Golf most common injury and how to prevent it

Golf is a very popular sport around the world, and people from any ages can play this sport. But like any other sport, there is certain type of injury related to practising golf. So, here is a short summary of the most common injury that occur in golf.

BACK : Low back pain is a common complaint from golfer. There is an increase  weight load on the lombo-sacral area during the swing. The torque in the swing put a lot of pressure on the disc, the vertebra and the muscle of the area. To avoid getting low back pain, it is important to learn a good swing technique. Certain study shows that the amateur put more weight on his low back when he swing compare to the pro.

HAND : The tendon of the hands, can get inflamed from a to tight grip and cause tenosynovitis, or DeQuervain's disease. You can also get inflammation of the deep muscle of the forearm. Very rarely, we see fracture of the hamate, a bone at the base of the pinky finger.

ELBOW : Golfer  elbow also known as medial epicondylits, and Tennis elbow, lateral epicondylitis, are also two condition encounter frequently in golf. Decrease grip strenght, and more flexible club shaft will prevent those injuries.

SHOULDER : The shoulder is not injured as much as the other part, but we still encounter injuries involving the acromio-clavicular joint of the shoulder. We also find rotators cuff tear especially on older people due to the wear and tear of the tendon.

Here is a list of easy advice to avoid those condition:

1. Arrive early, before your tee time
2. Warm up, and than stretch, Swinging first at low speed and with short iron.
3. Stretch after the game also.
4. Make sure your club and grip are well adjusted to your shape.
5. Take golf lesson and learn the good technique.
6. Get in shape.

I recommend the book  Stretching, by Bob Anderson. In that book, there is a stretching illustrated routine for every sport, golf included.¸

If you encounter tennis or golf elbow, here is the link, to an article I wrote about easy exercise to treat tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow new treatment