How Can Back to Health improve my golf game?
The kids are back in school and the sunny days are getting shorter but the golf season is far from over. Many people, in fact, would argue that fall is the best time of year to get out on the golf course. If you are interested in improving your game (or feeling better for any activity), here are some thoughts from Back to Health about how acupuncture and osteopathy can help you move and feel better.
Acupuncture – Sandra Mauro
Acupuncture addresses the imbalances in the body. By decreasing inflammation, muscle tightness and tension you become more flexible. This gives the body the ability to rotate properly throughout the swing and give the player the ability to hit with a much greater distance.
In addition, as any practiced golfer knows, a calm body and mind is essential to a great golf game. Tension, anxiety, stress, and other emotional distractions interfere with concentration and focus. Acupuncture significantly reduces such emotional and psychological disruptions. By beginning your game more mentally and physically relaxed, you’re less likely to be injured. Along with stretching and warming up, Acupuncture can reduce the risks of muscle strains and sprains.
In addition to low back pain, golfers are prone to a variety of other problems – elbow, shoulder, and wrist injuries and pain. Acupuncture is also great for treating golf injuries. If you experience strains, sprains, or other muscular problems, acupuncture can shorten the recovery time and get you back out on the golf course.
Regardless whether you’re just a beginner or you’ve been golfing for 50 years, acupuncture can reduce the risks of chronic and acute injuries and re-injuries, and help you heal more efficiently if you already suffer from golf related injury.
https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-for-back-pain
http://www.acupuncture-treatment.com/tennis-golfers-elbow/
Osteopathy – Monique Guilderson MSc., D.O.M.P
A local golf pro, Kerry Maher once told me that golf was “all about the footwork”. For most golfers, the attention is focused on the upper body to get the most out of our swing so we tend to overlook how important our feet are. We need them for balance and to pivot us during the swing, as well as physically getting us to the next shot.
The foot is a complex structure comprised of 26 different bones, along with a plethora of joints, ligaments, muscles and connective tissue (fascia) such as the plantar fascia in the bottom of the feet. All of these structures are masterfully designed to distribute the weight of the body and give you movement throughout your life. This can only happen however, if everything is moving properly and receiving the proper nourishment from the nerves and blood vessels going into (and out of) the feet.
Factors such as injury, misalignment of the pelvis or diseases such as diabetes can cause pain and dysfunction in the feet, affecting much more than just your golf game. In one of our classes one instructor told us, “don’t forget that everyone has to walk out of your clinic”, in other words don’t forget the feet! Osteopaths address your whole body during treatment meaning that we assess and treat the feet as well as check for problems elsewhere in the body that need to be addressed. For example, a problem in the foot may actually be coming from a knee, hip or low back that is restricted.
In golf you need flexibility, all the way down to your toes. Osteopathy may be the key to giving you better movement and flexibility helping you to feel better in your golf game and in your life. Below I’ve listed some links where you can find more information about osteopathy and golf, and how moving better can improve your game.
http://tewantinphysio.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/June-2013.pdf
http://www.mytpi.com/articles/health/an_osteopathic_approach_to_performance
https://bodytonicclinic.co.uk/how-osteopathy-can-help-your-golf/