Expert Tips for a Pain-Free Golf Game by KRU Lab’s Dr. McNeil
1. Warm Up with Flexibility + Muscle Activation:
A good warm-up is essential to a pain-free golf game. Spend at least 10 minutes before your game doing dynamic stretches that improve your range of motion and prevent stiffness in the shoulders, back, hips and thoracic spine. A series of these exercises can be found on our YouTube page. This preparation increases blood circulation and flexibility, which can help reduce the risk of muscle strains and joint pains.
2. Strengthen Your Core:
A strong core is vital for golfers. It helps in stabilizing the swing and can significantly reduce the load on the lower back, thereby preventing pain. Incorporate exercises like planks, bird-dogs, and Russian twists into your regular fitness routine. These exercises not only build core strength but also improve your balance and stability, essential components for a powerful and pain-free swing
3. Use Proper Technique:
Incorrect golf swing techniques can quickly lead to pain and injury. Investing in golf lessons from a certified professional can pay off by ensuring your swing technique is helping rather than hurting your body. A professional can provide personalized feedback and adjustments that help avoid overuse injuries, especially to the back, wrists, and elbows. Learning techniques that can dissociate your trunk from your hips and allow you to get full range of motion is essential. This may require you to internally rotate the hips which is counter-intuitive to motions your would normally do to protect the knees.