Three ways to avoid golf injuries

Golfers are as much prone to injury as those doing less perambulatory sports. Follow these tips for pain-free play.

Golfers are as much prone to injury as those doing less perambulatory sports.

1. Strengthen your core

Every year up to 40 per cent of recreational golfers sustain an injury, according to a survey by the website golfsupport.com. “Strengthening the core muscles around the abdomen and back reduce the risk of injury as you swing,” says the physiotherapist Phil Evans, who runs golf screening programmes at Urban Body clinic in Birmingham.

He recommends the “band Pallof press with rotation": loop a resistance band around a door handle, and stand sideways to the door with your knees slightly bent and your back straight; grip the ends of the band with both hands, your elbows at right angles, and pull the band towards your body. Extend your arms in front of you until they are straight, then gently rotate your arms and upper body away from the door, pulling against the band’s resistance. Return to the start position and repeat eight times before swapping sides. Do this daily.

Up to 90 per cent of professional golfers sustain an injury each year. Picture: Getty Images

2. Do a ten-minute warm up

“Before you practise your swing or play a round, spend ten minutes warming up, and always include the ‘thread-the-needle’ exercise for better spine mobility,” Evans suggests. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, with your toes tucked under. Reach your right hand towards the ceiling to open up your chest, directing your gaze towards your raised hand. Lower your right arm and direct it under your chest towards the mat, sliding your arm as far to the left as you can, until your right shoulder rests on the floor. Keep your knees and your left arm grounded. Hold for a few seconds, then repeat on the other side.

The ‘thread-the-needle’ exercise, can improve spine mobility.

“When you start to play, make sure that you stand over the ball before swinging,” Evans says. “Keep your spine in a relaxed position of comfort, and bend with your hips and knees rather than your back.”

3. Improve your posture

The lower back of an amateur golfer typically sustains a force equivalent to 1,370lb during a swing, so the following exercise is important, says Paul Hobrough, the author of Running Free of Injuries. Stand with your back against a wall and your arms held flat up against the wall in a surrendering pose - “so that your head looks like a pea on a fork” - then raise your arms over your head, keeping your elbows and arms on the wall at all times, before lowering them back down. Repeat several times.

The Times