Swing Safely: How to Prevent Common Golf Injuries

As an avid golfer of almost 15 years, I have learned countless lessons through personal injury, hours of good and bad YouTube videos, my own experience treating injuries, as well as golf-specific certifications I’ve obtained as a physical therapist.

Typically, golf in Michigan is a seasonal sport that requires some load management consideration for injury prevention as we ramp up our participation each spring. However, with the increasing popularity of golf simulators there are now more unique considerations when avoiding injury throughout the offseason as well.

The Type of Surface Matters

One of the factors to consider in reducing golf injury is the type of surface you golf on. With the increased popularity of golf simulators, and the wet Michigan spring weather, comes the inevitable solution of more swing repetitions on artificial turf.

Unfortunately, there are varying qualities of turf, and the underlying surfaces are often a cement slab underneath. A well-studied phenomenon in athletics called ground reaction force shows when a body contacts the ground, the ground will impose a force on the body. When we hit off soft turf, some of that force is absorbed by the ground. However, if the ground we are working with is a cement slab with a thin or low-quality piece of turf over it, your joints and tissues are going to experience more force. Repeating this can lead to joint pain or tendonitis in the hands, wrists, elbows or shoulders. Simply minimizing the number of repetitions on these surfaces can reduce stress to your joints and muscles.

Choosing Golf Equipment

For golfers who struggle with wrist pain, rotator cuff tendinopathies, or medial epicondylitis – commonly known as golfers’ elbow – they know how difficult these injuries can be to play through. It can be extremely frustrating when it seems the sport you love to play is also making the pain worse. This is where graphite shafts can really shine as they assist in reducing the forces required of the wrists, forearms, and shoulders. Making the shift to properly fit graphite shafts can’t hurt your golf game and may improve your participation by reducing the repetitive stress experienced by the forearm.

Golf Swing Mechanics

It can be advantageous to use technology to look for swing faults known to produce injury. This would be very similar to using a video golf swing assessment to address deficits in mobility, strength, or power that contribute to injury. Almost every cell phone on the market has a camera equipped with a slow video motion feature that can help you assess your swing mechanics and make sure what you feel is really happening. Titleist Performance Institute has great resources online addressing swing characteristics, correctional exercises and drills to help golfers evaluate their own swing.

Visit MyMichigan Health for Your Golf Swing Analysis

If you find self-assessing your swing and connecting the appropriate drills to be overwhelming, MyMichigan Health Rehabilitation Services employs multiple physical therapy staff who are Titleist Performance Institute Certified to perform golf swing analysis to help you figure out which components of your swing may contribute to that nagging injury, and additionally, what other limitations within your body may be causing swing faults. 

Information about MyMichigan Health’s comprehensive orthopedic or rehabilitation services may be found at www.mymichigan.org/ortho.

Chad Neal, P.T., D.P.T., O.C.S., is a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist with MyMichigan Rehabilitation Services located in Midland.