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With the weather starting to pick up (hopefully), the sun starting to come out, and the evenings starting to get a small bit longer, the question you need to ask yourself is whether you should look at getting back into Golf, or should you look to pick it up.
Our answer to you here in SPARC Physiotherapy, would be a resounding yes! Get down to your local course whether that be in Rathfarnham, Greystones, or Sandyford!
Benefits of Golf
Studies assessing calorie expenditure during golf typically classify golf as a moderate intensity physical activity with energy expenditure of 3.3–8.15 kcal/min, 264–450 kcal/ hour, and a total energy expenditure of 531–2467 kcal/ 18 holes. Golfers walking 18 holes take between 11 245 and 16 667 steps, walking 4–8 miles, while those playing and riding a golf cart accrue 6280 steps or just under 4 miles.
A review commissioned by the World Golf Foundation concluded that participating in golf can ‘yield a number of positive health and fitness effects’ as golf provides moderate intensity physical activity, it is expected that golf could have a positive effect in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes and strokes. Also Golf has been shown to have numerous benefits for your mental health with increased companionship amongst players!
Most Common Injuries
There is however a few things which we should be aware of when heading back to playing. Like all sports there is an injury risk associated with playing golf.
Epidemiological studies quote the incidence of injury in amateur golfers annually to be between 15.8% and 40.9% and lifetime injury incidence between 25.2% and 67.4%. Prospective longitudinal studies report very low injury rates compared to other sports, at 0.28– 0.60 injuries per 1000 hours in amateurs.
The most frequent cause of injury in amateur and professional golfers is volume of repetitive practice, while suboptimal swing biomechanics are a frequent and perhaps even leading cause in amateurs. Attention to these factors, and to an adequate warm up, and physical conditioning reduces risk of injury.
The spine and particularly the lower back account for the greatest overall incidence of injury in amateur golfers (18.3–36.4%). The elbow (8.0–33.0%), the wrist and hand (10.0–32%) and shoulder (4.0–18.6%) are other frequently injured areas that we see in Golfers in our clinics in Rathfarnham, Sandyford, and Greystones.
Where SPARC Comes In!
While we may not be too helpful here in SPARC when it comes to helping with swing mechanics, we can definitely help with providing exercises relevant to golf that will help keep you off the Physio Bed, and out on the course!
So if you have any lasting niggles from last years season, any area’s of concern, or you want a strength and conditioning programme to help keep those injuries away, make sure you call into our SPARC Physiotherapy Clinics in Rathfarnham, Greystones, or Sandyford!
Happy Golfing!