What Are The Most Common Injuries In Golf And How To Prevent Them

Golf Injuries: Overview

The data (taken from the British Journal of Sports Medicine) has shown an annual rate of injuries among amateur golfers between 15.8% to 40.9%; however, the lifetime injury rate among amateur golfers ranges from 25.2% to 67.7%. Among professional golfers, the injury rate is higher and ranges from 31% to 90% annually and 31% to 88.5% over a lifetime. It indicates that nearly 7 in 10 amateurs and 9 in 10 professional golfers may suffer from the injuries once in a lifetime.

A Norwegian School of Sports Sciences has studied golf-related injuries and concluded that 15.2% to 34% of all golf injuries comprise lower back injuries, followed by elbow injuries ranging from 7% to 27% and shoulder injuries ranging from 4% to 9%. As well as this, an Australian study of upper limb injuries in Golf has concluded that 10% of all golf-related injuries are comprised of wrist injuries. The further discussion is a detailed account of the most common golf-related injuries and their causes and symptoms. However, you can also get the potential preventive measures to avoid all these injuries.

Common Golf Injuries

Both amateur and professional golfers may suffer from the following injuries:

1. Lower back injury in Golf

Lower back injury is one of the most common issues among golfers. Prolonged bending over time and spinal compression throughout the session can put extra stress or pressure on your lower back. Although this condition is not usually traumatic; however, continuous play with back pain can lead to other severe injuries, such as a herniated disc.

The most common cause of lower back injury in Golf is the repetitive motions. The lower back pain may result in pain on one side of the lower back. The pain may also extend to the hip. However, stiffness in the lower back and lordosis are other common symptoms of the lower back in Golf.

How to prevent lower back injury in Golf?

You need to follow the given preventive measures to avoid the chances of lower back injuries in Golf:

• Perform warm-up before golfing
• Improve your swing technique
• Limit the forces on the lower back
• Carry your golf bag safely
• Always cool down your body after every session
• take rest before every session
• wear lower back braces to support your back during playing

2. Rotator Cuff Injury

As golfers put extra pressure on their shoulders while swinging the shots, they can damage the shoulder tendons. More severe conditions can cause shoulder bursitis and other injuries. Most often, shoulder injuries in Golf are caused by overuse or traumatic conditions. The common symptoms of shoulder injury may include recurrent pain, limited ability to move your arm, and muscle weakness.

Acute rotator cuff injuries may recover with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs. However, some severe conditions may require surgery to heal.

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How to prevent rotator cuff injuries in Golf?

Professional trainers suggest some effective preventive measures for rotator cuff, helping you play safely during your session:

• Make sure to practice goof form
• Warm up your muscles before playing and cool down when the session is over
• Always use the right equipment
• Be mindful of overuse
• Wear shoulder braces to protect and support your shoulders against overuse

3. Golfers Elbow

Golfers elbow is a painful condition that occurs where the forearm tendons are connected to the bony bump on the inside of your arm. Well, the condition is not limited to the golfers. Tennis players and people involved in an occupation requiring the repetitive movements of the elbow joints may suffer from golfers’ elbow.

The common causes of developing golfers’ elbow may include wrist and finger motions and improper techniques (including lifting, hitting, and throwing). As well as this, poor muscle conditioning and little warm-up may also contribute to the golfers’ elbow. The common symptoms of Golfers’ elbow may include pain, tenderness, stiffness, weakness, numbness, and tingling sensation.

How to prevent golfers’ elbow injury in Golf?

The following are the preventive measures for elbow suggested by the healthcare professionals or golf trainers to get a safe playing experience:

• Strengthen your forearm muscles
• Improve your form
• Do stretching exercises before every activity
• Use the right equipment
• Take frequent breaks
• Wear golf elbow supports and sleeves to support your elbows

4. Wrist Tendinitis

You may have developed wrist tendinitis when you feel or notice a gradual increase in wrist pain during or after golfing. Overuse and poor form are the most common causes of wrist tendinitis. Stress from swinging the club can cause tiny tears in the tendons of the wrist, causing inflammation and pain.

The common symptoms may include pain in the wrist and elbow, stiffness, reduced range of motion, decreased grip strength, tenderness, swelling, and creaking noise.

How to prevent wrist tendinitis in Golf?

Adopting the given preventive measures help you to avoid the chances of wrist tendinitis when golfing:

• Do exercises to warm up your body
• Do stretching exercises to keep your wrist tendons flexible
• Use the eight equipment
• Avoid excessive wits motion learn proper hitting and swinging techniques
• Wear wrist braces to protect your wrists against overuse injuries

5. Foot and Ankle Injuries

Foot and ankle injuries in Golf may occur due to traumatic injuries; however, some are more likely to occur from overuse type injuries. Golf motions, such as practice swings, may be repeated several times, putting much stress on the foot joints. This stress can cause some injuries.

Ankle sprain, tendinitis, and subungual hematomas are some common foot and ankle injuries resulting from Golf. Swelling, pain, instability, and bruising are the most common symptoms of foot and ankle injuries in Golf.

How to prevent foot and ankle injuries in Golf?

You need to adopt the given preventive measures that will help reduce the risk of foot and ankle injuries during practice or competition:

• Warm-up your foot and ankles muscles before every session
• Condition your muscles before every session
• Wear proper athletic footwear
• Avoid running or practising on uneven or hard surfaces
• Wear ankle supports to protect your foot and ankles

Conclusion

Golf is one of the most exciting games played by both men and women. However, the game requires the repetitive movements of different parts of your body, resulting in overuse injuries. Whether you are an amateur or a pro player, injuries are common in Golf. The above discussion will help you know what conditions can harm you while playing Golf. As well as this, the given preventive measures will help you avoid the risk of injuries. Wearing golf supports is the most effective way to avoid the risks of injuries when practising or playing Golf. At 360 relief, you can find a variety of golf supports, helping you prevent injuries and get a safe playing experience.