Golf Health: Warm Up Now or Pay Later

As golfers ramp up their playing and practice sessions during the summer months, many repeat a time-honored bad habit that can lead to injury.

It’s almost a rite of passage – running straight from your car to the tee box, swinging a handful of times, and then heading out.

But the most common injuries for golfers are typically not ones that come from sudden impacts or twists. Instead, golf overuse injuries of the lead wrist, forearm, shoulder, hips and knees develop over time, especially when the players don’t make a routine of warming up properly.

Dr. Rajshri Bolson, an orthopedic and hand surgeon at Advent Health Medical Group in Denver, is among the medical community urging patients to add simple stretches and preventative measures to their games. “I am very much in the stretching and strengthening camp,” Bolson said.

WRISTS AND ARMS

One of the most common overuse injuries to strike players is ‘golfers’ elbow’ – a chronic soreness on the inside of the arm. Players who develop this often rush into full-power swings without properly stretching or warming up the tendons and muscles of the arm.

Those tendons help control the wrist, and when players consistently swing hard without warming up, the result is that those tendons get asked to do all the work of the golf swing and become overused. “It all has to work together,” Bolsom said. “There’s lots of science about which muscles fire when.”

One of the simplest stretches to help offset this is flexing the fingers of the hand in either direction and gently pulling them with the other hand. Stretches like these must be held for about 30 seconds on each side to give enough time for the benefit to stretch up the arm. Bolson advises players to begin the stretch first with the hand close to their body, then do it again with the arms fully extended.

For players who are already experiencing some discomfort in their forearms, Bolson said rest is the best first course of action. After about three weeks, inflammation will likely have stopped and then players can begin a stretching regimen.

“You have to do it every day multiple times a day, then continue as you return (to the course),” she said. Players should not return until they can comfortably move through a set of the stretches. “You have to get through the point of painless stretch, then strengthen, then return,” she said.

WARM-UPS TAKE TIME

If you’ve ever watched a professional warm up on the driving range, it can take some time before they start firing on all cylinders. In addition to pre-swing stretching, their first swings are typically lazy, slow flop shots with their wedges. Bolson said making time for warm-ups and warm-downs can play a significant role in keeping injuries away.

“The big thing when you get out there is doing it before and after,” she said. “You have to allow time for it.” A regimen that slowly stretches the neck, shoulders, back, thighs, legs can take five to 10 minutes before a player swings the first club. “Allow time for it beforehand – you have to hold it for 30 to 45 seconds to get any benefit,” she said. “That’s four to five breaths.”