1. You have increased your practice time rapidly
Have you been practicing more than normal? Have you got a big competition coming up? Then you may increase your chances of becoming injured. Poor practice structure is the number one reason golfers get hurt.
Our bodies become accustomed to a certain amount of work we do on a daily basis and we build a tolerance to this work. If you sharply increase your practice amount, your body hasn’t got time to adapt to this. As a way of protecting you, your body may then start to send pain signals and an injury develops. Injuries that can often occur from this spike in training load include tendon injuries, muscle tears and stress fractures.
2. You have been training off hard surfaces Do you feel the difference between practicing off mats and on grass? There is a stark difference between the two surfaces. Obviously when you hit off mats there is greater force being applied to your hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Below most of these mats there is a concrete slab. The muscles around your hands and arms need to work hard to control the clubface after the descending blow is made into the firm surface. When practicing off grass, the club glides through the surface easily and this obviously means less force is going through your upper body. If you practice off mats extensively, try to shallow your attack angle so that the club doesn’t have a heavy impact with the ground.
3. You have poor swing technique
Some swing faults place your body in an awkward position which may lead to discomfort. Some swing positions that may influence injury include:
- Early extension (lumbar spine injury risk)
- Chicken wing (lead elbow injury risk)
- Slide (lead knee injury risk)
Because these positions influence your body's movement substantially, compensations need to be made. You may able to put up with these compensations, or you may not, time will tell.
4. You lack flexibility
Flexibility is important so that your body can move fluidly throughout your entire swing. If you do lack flexibility, your body is likely to make adjustments so that you can swing with the easiest path of resistance. Unfortunately, with some of these adjustments, your body can be placed into unpleasant positions.
For example, when you lack lead hip mobility, often you can’t ‘clear’ the hip out of the way prior to impact. So instead of this happening you may early extend and come out of your swing posture when hitting the ball. The combination of excess extension and side bend can aggravate the lumbar spine.
5. You haven’t had a TPI screen
Do you know how your body functions for golf? Do you know if you have adequate flexibility, strength, power and core endurance? A TPI screening is a great way to identify exactly how your body performs from a golf perspective.
The screening process involves
1. Taking your past medical and injury history
2. Performing a swing analysis
3. Taking you through 16 golf flexibility tests
4. Giving you a summary of the findings
5. Providing you with a plan to play your best golf.
This TPI screening can be done online via zoom or be done in person. To book your online screening click the button below.
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