Golf is Back
Golf Physical Therapy
As many of you know and have been greatly anticipating, golf is now allowed in the state of Washington! Just in time for the start of our glorious season here in the Pacific Northwest that many of us wait 6-7 months for. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our usual workout routines and activities that we would normally be doing have been disrupted as our gyms and access to health care providers have been greatly limited.
How many of us finished the last golf season with nagging injuries, aches and pains that we were unable to address this Winter and Spring due to staying at home with limited access to healthcare? I want to encourage everyone in this boat to take the time to take care of your bodies and make sure you are primed to start your season in peak physical condition.
Golf Injuries
Injuries in golf are very common. 15-41% of amateur golfers report an injury every year, the most common of which are low back injuries accounting for up to 36% of these reported injuries. Other common injuries include the hip, elbow, shoulder and wrist.[1]
These injuries are often overuse injuries that start to add up as we keep playing because we don’t want to miss out on any of our special golf season here in Washington. An overuse injury is caused by repeated stress to an area that is unable to tolerate the demand or load over a period of time. [2]Sometimes our bodies don’t yet have the capacity for the load we need it to for golf. What if you could train the area and/or surrounding areas by improving strength, mobility, endurance and power? What if we could avoid trying to get through a golf season by trying to manage symptoms (icing, pain killers, altering our swing) by rehabilitating our injury and correcting the root cause?
TPI Guided Golf Fitness
In order to do this, you need a structured rehabilitation program designed to increase your capacity to load your joints and/or tissues. I am obviously biased but I would strongly recommend an evaluation from a certified specialist from the Titleist Performance Institute. Lake Washington Physical Therapy has three TPI certified therapists that are well equipped to perform a physical screen specifically tailored to golfers and develop a program specific to the individual based on the impairments that are found during the evaluation. We are also very lucky to have a TPI certified physician in our area as Dr. Messerli is a TPI certified medical professional at Evergreen Sport and Spine and is a great resource to help diagnose and treat golf injuries that may require more than an exercise program to recover from.
Your physical therapist can help your golf game
Many golfers see their aches and pains as isolated incidents or chronic issues that are just something they have to deal with and/or work around. They don’t realize that they may be due to an unknown physical impairment that could be corrected with proper training and an appropriate exposure to load in order to improve swing mechanics, power, and most importantly eliminate those aches and pains that keep us from golfing our best and enjoying every beautiful golf season we have here in Washington.