Core exercises to improve golf performance are very popular these days. However it must be understood that these golf fitness exercise need to be performed without compromising the low back. This exercise focuses on gaining control of the stabilizing muscle through the lumbar spine. I must emphasize the word control. The core musculature is not designed to generate power but to control the forces that occur during violent motions such as the golf swing.

This exercise is called the bird dog, and its purpose is to teach control of the lumbar spine while moving the extremities. Move slowly and focus on control when doing this golf fitness exercise. Good Luck

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos, Golf Injuries

The key to controlling low back pain in golfers should focus on controlling the stresses that occur at the lumbar spine during the swing. Golf specific exercises are developed to improve the golfers ability to control or stabilize the trunk. This golf fitness exercise shown below is one of the beginning de-rotation exercises I teach. It is important to learn how to control the rotational forces in the low back during the swing and you do it with this exercise. You can build neuromuscular strength and control, as well as endurance in the deep stabilizing muscle of the spine. Make sure to start with light weight and progress slowly.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos, Golf Injuries

I see a lot of golfers that suffer from back pain, and as they start to feel better my priority is to teach them exercises that will help prevent future episodes. One of the main reasons for developing back pain is a lack of endurance throughout the trunk and core. These exercise I’m about to show you should not take the place of seeing a medical practitioner because there are many components that contribute to back pain. However these core exercises are excellent in developing the strength and endurance needed to prevent future episodes of back pain in golfers.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos, Golf Injuries

I have described before that the power in the golf swing not only involves a good sequence of positions in the golf swing, but also excellent core control. Core control and power can be trained but it tales persistence. Here is an excellent trunk stability exercise that all golfers should be doing, and it also helps prevent back injury.

I have posted a photo of the home version of this exercise and a video using a cable column machine. Either way is a great way to develop core control for the golf swing, which in turn helps develop power. Good Luck!

Trunk De-Rotation With Tubing

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos, Golf Injuries

I recently read an article that used the analogy of a car when describing the maintenance of a healthy body. It totally made sense. Her’s may take, so read on.

What if you were given a car at the age of 16 but was told that this would be the only car you would ever own. Also you were told when the car got old you can switch out a few parts (not many), but the parts would not be the same as the originals.

How would take care of it? pretty good I would think. You would change the oil, feed it good gas, wash it all the time and frequently maintain it. I’m thinking you would also drive it sensibly and not abuse it.

Does the same hold for your body? Do you treat it well so it will last for a long time?

With the current questions in our health care system I think it is pretty scary as to what it may look like in a few years. So you can either be proactive or sit back and wait to see what happens.
The thing is…..we will all eventually spend money and time on our health. It might be an emergency room visit, a total knee replacement or 10 drugs to take every day. It’s going to consume time & money!

However, I think it makes more sense to be proactive and spend the time now to work on your health. Invest the time & money in the nutritionist, the massage therapist and the exercise coach now because I hate to see what the future holds if you don’t. Trying to fix the broken down car in the future will take a lot more time & money than what we realize.
Prevention is key…..develop and implement your plan now.
Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Golf Injuries, Weight Loss

With all the discussion regarding the health care bill being developed in congress, I have one thing to say…..it’s confusing. We certainly will not have a clear picture until after it is actually implemented. And who knows when that will be!

With that being said, I believe it is more important today than ever before to take responsibility and focus on our own health. I have always been an advocate of preventive medicine, especially after seeing thousands of patients move through the orthopedic physical therapy clinics I have worked in for over 15 years.

I have learned through experience that a lot of the orthopedic typed injuries that occurred on a daily basis could be prevented. In my profession we know this as a fact. So my question here today is, does your fitness program utilize preventive principles? Common sense in training can help with prevention up to a point, but what I am specifically referring to is exercise selection.

Exercise selection should be specific to each individual’s needs. We all function a little bit differently. In other words our body has specific problem areas that need to be addressed with corrective type exercises in order to reach optimum performance, as well as prevent overuse type injuries. For example in the golf swing you need to make sure you have good hip mobility and stability, along with good trunk control as the forces generated in the swing move through the body. Otherwise increased stress can occur in the low back, leading to back injury.

So I believe it is important to have a fitness professional that can asses your current physical capabilities and then prescribe appropriate exercises that will help address any problem areas. Staying healthy and injury free not only keeps you the golf course, but keeps you feeling good. So make sure you are doing the right exercises specific to your body.

Posted under Golf Injuries

Tightness and soreness in the neck and upper traps area is nothing new in most people. This soreness can occur in anyone and is often times seen in golfers. The cause can be variable but is usually posture related. It is common in individuals that sit at a computer or drive for long periods of time. What happens is the upper traps and neck region become overused and the muscles become tight and sore. This overuse is related to poor postural positions as well as problems with the way muscles are functioning. The middle back becomes weak around the shoulder blades resulting in the upper traps to work harder and become tight. This tension is also associated with shoulder function as well.

Here is a video of some upper trap stretches and some positioning exercises to help relieve the extra tension on those upper traps.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Golf Injuries

Tiger recently made comments about his progress in returning from ACL reconstruction.  He reports hitting full shots with his irons and is progressing on schedule.  He hopes to play a few tournaments before the Masters.

He notes his legs are stronger an the knee is feeling more stable.  In my experience with rehabbing knees, the ability to regain proper stability  is very important.  With proper rehab, mobility comes back pretty quickly (depending on the athlete) but it is knee stability that is essential in controlling the forces that are imparted on the knee during the golf swing.

Stability is just that, the ability to control the demands and forces that occur at a particular joint during activities.  That control needs to happen in all planes of motion, forward/backward, side-to-side and rotational.  I am sure he is training this stability in all of these motions.

So keep up the good work Tiger and we hope to see you in action soon!

Posted under Golf Injuries

I have treated a lot of golfers with back pain and this can be very challenging. The thing about back pain is that the cause can come from many different problems. So it takes a systematic assessment to help guide the exercise program.

I have personal experience with back pain and can tell you the one thing that gives me the most relief when I have a flare up is an exercise called the static back. It’s goal is to unload the spine and decrease pain and spasm. So anytime you have a flare of low back pain try this simple exercise. Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Golf Injuries