Proper conditioning prevents injuries | Author – Jayaram Easwaran
Avid Golfer, Author & Management Consultant, New Delhi
If you are an avid golfer, chances are you would have suffered some pain or discomfort from playing the game. Golf may not be a high impact sport, but you can still get injured. The number of surgeries that Tiger Woods has undergone is proof of that.
Of course, you probably don’t swing as violently as he used to do but the risk of injury remains. That’s because any repetitive action can result in musculoskeletal injuries over time. The forceful rotation and impact of swinging a golf club can damage one’s tendons, ligaments, nerves and other soft tissues around the joints.
If you don’t stretch before and after playing the game, or have an incorrect technique, or play without being mindful of your body’s posture, it can place a lot of strain on areas such as the back, shoulder, wrists, elbows and knees.
Watch Mr. Jayaram Easwaran speak about his experience at VARDĀN.
What are the common golf injuries?
1) Back pain: The one-sided forceful rotation action of the swing puts a great strain on your back. It can lead to issues that range from minor to more serious ones like muscle strain, ligament sprain, disc injuries, accelerated arthritis and stress fractures.
2) Shoulder pain: If your golf club is too heavy or your core muscles are not working properly, you may overuse the shoulder muscles. That in turn may cause rotator cuff tears, instability, bursitis and impingement of important soft tissues.
3) Elbow tendonitis: Tendons that attach your forearm muscles to the elbow joint can get stretched, pinched or torn as a result of overuse. They can be stressed by the way you hold your club striking the ground or striking a solid object. eg: golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow.
4) Wrist injuries: Wrist tissues are at risk if you overbend or overextend your wrist during an impact. Common injuries are sprain, tendon inflammation, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
How can VARDĀN help?
At VARDĀN, we use Functional Manual Therapy®️ principles to diagnose the problem by assessing your static and dynamic postures and technique of swing. This helps to conclude why you have pain in the particular area and then we focus on treating the source of pain by hands-on techniques to mobilise your joints and soft tissues, followed by exercises and posture advice that you have to follow to avoid reinjury.
VARDĀN, a Times Group wellness initiative in collaboration with the Institute of Physical Art, USA brings the world-class Functional Manual Therapy®️ (FMT™) to India.
Functional Manual Therapy®️ at VARDĀN is a comprehensive approach to physical therapy which offers highly skilled hands-on treatment for orthopaedic, neurological, and sports related dysfunctions from an entire body perspective and its optimum potential goal.
To schedule your appointment at VARDĀN centre, call 011-43580720-22 (9am to 6pm, Mon to Sun); Email vardan@timesgroup.com or visit: www.vardan.in (16 A, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar- IV, New Delhi-110024).