So How Would You Know …? (Golf Injuries)
So how would you know …?
If you are about to get injured playing golf …
The injury could be simply annoying.
Performance reducing / score increasing.
Or, I hate to say it, at worst an injury could be career ending.
But is there a way to predict it …?
And if so, could you then work towards substantially lowering your injury risk …?
The answers: possibly, and definitely YES !!!
Let me elaborate …
So I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts last week - 18Strong …
It was an interview with TPI Certified Strength Coach Kaitlyn Sharpless.
(Listen HERE: http://18strong.com/kaitlyn-sharpless/ )
The first quote from Kaitlyn that got my attention:
"…If your round of golf is the toughest thing you do each week, then you are much more likely to get injured during the round …"
This makes total sense to me.
Think of it this way:
If you spend your week seated and office bound and ONLY rotate your shoulders 20 degrees at MOST in each direction doing day to day activities …
Then how hard is it on your body to try and rotate your shoulders 45 degrees at HIGH SPEED in both directions on a Saturday morning …?
Very hard.
And if you spend your week seated with your hip flexors in a tight, shortened position and your CORE doing nothing …
Then how hard is it on your body to stand up on the first tee and make a POWERFUL golf swing with tight hip flexors and a core that is sound asleep …?
Again, very hard.
So that's one predictor …
Ask yourself - is golf the hardest thing I do physically each week …?
If so, then your chance of injury is high ...
The second quote from Kaitlyn that got my attention was around golf fitness screening and 'Physical Limitations' ...
"...If golfers are playing with physical limitations they are unaware of - they are sticking a square peg through a round hole and setting themselves up for injury …"
'Physical Limitations' are the sort of things that would show up in a TPI Golf Fitness Screen ...
Think flexibility and stability benchmarks for the average golfer ...
So that adds a second layer of injury risk prediction ...
Now add the two together, and ask yourself these questions:
"...is golf the hardest thing I do physically each week, and could I be playing with flexibility & stability limitations that I don't know about…?"
Yes and Yes …?
Want to keep playing golf …?
You owe it to your future self to ...
HEAD HERE: Click here to request a complimentary Golf Fitness Consultation with Andrew. (In-person or via Skype. You choose.)
Cheers
Andrew "Risk Averse" Ransom, The Golf Fitness PT