How to avoid shoulder and chest injuries when playing golf?

An illustration of an overswing when playing golf, causing the left shoulder to be forced out – Photo: NAM ANH

In addition to causing back pain, neck pain, improper golfing technique will lead to serious injuries in the shoulder, chest…

Thought it was degenerative, who thought it was due to playing golf

During the swing, when the hand is out of range, the golfer must rotate around the trunk axis so that the left shoulder (for right-handed players and vice versa) is lower than the right shoulder˳ In this position, the player achieves the best swing˳

However, there are many players who rotate incorrectly and try to squeeze their left shoulder to reach the rotation˳ When overusing the shoulder, the rotator cuff tendons are easily injured and cause shoulder pain˳

Another easy cause of shoulder tendon injury is hitting the ball˳ Normally, in the movement of hitting the ball, the player must rotate his hips, then his hand will hit the ball˳ Many players do not have time to rotate their hips, so they hit the ball first with their hands, too much force will pull the right shoulder too close˳

We examine several golfers with ruptured rotator cuff tendons˳ The symptom of inflammation or rupture of the rotator cuff tendon is that the patient will feel pain in the shoulder area˳ Sleeping on your side at night will cause more pain˳ Movement of the hand will feel shoulder pain, the pain spreads from the shoulder to the outside of the arm, spreading to the neck but only to the base of the neck˳

This symptom often confuses the patient with cervical spondylosis or herniated disc in the neck that compresses the nerve root˳ The attack power will be weaker˳ On examination, the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder are found to be weak˳ Ultrasound or MRI of the shoulder will show inflammation and tear of the rotator cuff tendon˳

The treatment will depend on the extent of tendon damage that will be used drugs, physical therapy with exercises to stretch tendons, lower the humerus head, laser therapy, shock waves˳ Hyaluoronic acid can be injected into the subarachnoid space and over the tendon surface to relieve pain and stimulate tendon regeneration˳

If the tendon tear is large, laparoscopic surgery is required to suture the tendon˳ In this case, the player must retire from the game for at least 8 months to 1 year˳

Chest pain, broken ribs

When playing golf, in the backswing position, the player begins to shift force to the left foot (for right-handed people), open the left knee out, push the hips to the left and rotate the hips to prepare for the position˳ downswing position˳

With the position of transferring force to the pivot leg and rotating the hip, the player easily uses the chest muscle mass and the swing arm to hit the ball gently and the ball will go far˳ New players, because they try to hit the ball far away, can’t transfer power to the pivot foot and rotate the hip˳ They put their hands down first and then rotate the chest muscles˳ As a result, the chest muscles are twisted˳

The most serious injury to the chest area is a broken rib˳ We have received several cases of broken ribs due to incorrect posture˳ Most of the patients testified that they used a lot of force to hit the ball, when they turned around, they heard a crackling sound, they felt a sharp pain in the chest, it was also painful to breathe and had to stop or stop playing˳ Chest X-ray showed broken ribs˳

The treatment of the rib fracture in this case is not different from that of a rib fracture after a fall, which means rest˳ Players do not need surgery or fixed bandages, but must be away from the golf course for at least 3 months˳

In milder cases, the patient will have chest muscle pain, mainly due to not being able to rotate the hips and hit with the hands˳ The pain will decrease with rest˳ Some cases of severe pain need anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain, complete rest˳ When starting to practice again, start with light exercises, hit half a swing and gradually increase˳

To avoid shoulder and chest injuries, players need to warm up well whether playing or on the training ground˳ Exercises include stretching the tendons of the shoulder muscles˳ Perform hip rotation, rotate gently with slowly increasing rotation speed˳

If you’re on the training court, don’t start with the driver right away, but use a 7th medium iron˳ Start lightly with half a swing and try to make the swing right˳

15 minutes later, start with the whole swing but still keep the speed slow, gentle, and technically correct˳ After the body is warm, start with strokes with different clubs˳

Playing golf helps treat many chronic diseases

TT – Although often considered a “leisure” sport, golf has been proven by scientists to be extremely good for health, especially in the treatment of chronic and mental illnesses˳