Don’t let your pain hinder your golf game!! Golf injuries affect 15-20% of golfers annually, with backs, elbows, shoulders, and wrists the most common areas. Recreational golfers sustain more golf injuries than professionals and the rate of injury increases with advancing age. If you are carrying a golf injury or have a problem that it is aggravated when you play you may need to be assessed at Archview Physiotherapy Clinic by a Chartered Physiotherapist.
The Most Common Golf Injuries
Low Back Pain: The lower back is the most commonly and frequently injured area of the body in golfers. The golf swing requires flexibility and rotation in the back. Back pain can me due to many different factors and can appear as pain in the lower back, muscle stiffness, spasms, or pain radiating down into the leg.
Golfer’s Elbow/Tennis Elbow: Pain, tenderness and inflammation on the outside (Tennis Elbow) or the inside (Golfers Elbow) of the upper arm near the elbow. Tennis Elbow is at least four times more likely to occur than Golfers Elbow. Overuse during excessive practice or decreased forearm muscle strength can be part of the cause of these injuries.
Shoulder Pain: Shoulder or upper arm pain can catch at various phases of the golf swing, at night time, or with overhead activities. Rotator cuff tendinitis, tearing or impingement in the rotator cuff, AC joint arthritis, and joint instability can all lead to shoulder pain. Additionally shoulder soft tissues can become aggravated with repetition. Older golfers may have pain due to bursitis or rotator cuff injuries with reduced circulation to the shoulder muscles. In younger golfers joint laxity or a high-velocity swing can cause micro-trauma to the rotator cuff.
Knee Pain: Knee pain, clicking, swelling of the knee aggravated by twisting, squatting, and walking can present in golfers. This can be caused by any of numerous underlying issues involving the meniscus or cartilage, knee osteoarthritis, or kneecap pain.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Golfers may experience numbness and tingling of the fingers (especially at night), decreased grip strength and clumsiness. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a repetitive stress injury that occurs in the nerves of the hands.
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: This causes pain, swelling, and tenderness in the wrist near the base of the thumb and due to inflammation in the tendons that control the thumb. Typically pain can present in the left wrist at the top of the backswing.
Fractured Hamate Bone: Pain and tenderness in left palm, numbness in ring and little finger can be due to a fracture of the hamate.This is a small bone on the little finger side of the wrist. If like many golfers you grip the club by putting the butt-end of the club right up against the hook of the hamate during the swing a fracture can develop.
Trigger Finger: Trigger finger can cause a finger to lock up and I can become stuck in a bent position. Your finger may straighten with a snap like a trigger being pulled and released. This is caused when the area through which the finger tendons run is damaged. Repetitive gripping actions used in golf increase the risk of developing this injury.
If you think you are suffering from any of the above injuries or want to learn how to avoid injuring yourself while playing golf contact Archview Physiotherapy Pain and Sports Injury Clinic on 01 4913228/01 2963490 or at [email protected] for an appointment.
