Chiropractic and your Good Golf Game
Spring time is when many amateur golfers pull out the clubs and polish them up for another season. Golf can be frustrating enough as a pastime without adding other issues such as backache, sciatica or hip, knee and foot issues.
Many of my practice members over the years have remarked on how regular chiropractic care helps to improve their golf game, prevent those nagging injuries, reduce their down-time and increase stamina.
Typical golfing injuries
- tenderness and inflammation of the inner forearm
- lower back ache from spinal joint irritation
- lower back ache from bulging disc and nerve root irritation
- hip joint irritation
- knee, ankle and foot problems
Mechanism of Injury
Golf is an extreme sport in the sense that the body goes through extreme movements. Gripping the club and striking the ball repetitively stresses the forearms. The twist and torquing of the lower back however is the greatest area of repetitive stress when driving the ball. Depending on pelvic and lumbar spine alignment, a multitude of problems can result. The lumbar spine, pelvis (sacroiliac joints) and hip joints (which attach to the pelvis) are all connected and codependent. A problem in one area can cause a multitude of problems throughout the entire kinetic chain (lumbar spine to foot).
How does chiropractic care help?
Chiropractic adjustments for the golfer focuses on the lower back and pelvis. Specific adjustments to balance the pelvis left and right and to correct any twist or torque in the pelvis are critical. These two postural distortions result from prolonged sitting. Most golfing injuries happen in people who sit at their job all day and then engage in this extreme sport on evenings or weekends. The muscle system adapts to your structural alignment. Every degree of postural distortion causes tense and weak muscles in the lower back, pelvis and legs. These two issues together increase the risk of injury.
Your next step
Having a proper evaluation of your entire posture system is where to start. This will identify any posture distortions in the lower back and pelvis, deteriorating spinal discs, degenerative changes in the hip joints and imbalances in the supporting muscles. This would include the following; a detailed posture scan, orthopedic and neurological tests, and most likely some spinal/postural xrays. And then we can formulate a specific treatment plan. And yes, you will be required to do some exercises at home; pre- and post-golf sessions as well. I will help you with these of course but everyone has to take some responsibility for their own health. My job is to educate, align your spine, support and coach you throughout the process. Most professional golfers are under regular chiropractic care and if it is good enough for them, it is good enough for you as well.
Contact
You may reach me at 905 335 5433 here in Burlington, Ontario.
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Dr Bradley Ivanchuk Chiropractor, Certified Posture Expert