Golf, Gardening And Your Back
Gardening and golf season are here, and they can both bring unwanted aches and pains.
For some people this follows a season of limited activity and mild deconditioning. Even for those who remain active during the winter, these activities can use different muscle groups and can lead to overworked muscles resulting in pain and stiffness. Gardening can involve heavy lifting, pushing and pulling, especially at the beginning of the season. Additionally, people are often in sub-optimal positions for prolonged periods of time such as kneeling down and reaching forward. Learning proper lifting techniques, better body mechanics as well as exercises to stretch tight muscle groups and strengthen postural muscles can help prevent common injuries or re-injury and help build muscle strength and endurance.
When it comes to golf, simple warm up exercises and stretches before the activity as well as after can help prevent injuries. Many people may not have the muscle flexibility in their hips and pelvis that they need for their golf swing and follow through. This can contribute to increasing rotational forces in their low back which can cause pain. A Physiotherapist can assess muscle length and flexibility and provide you with stretches to improve these areas. They can also help you improve the strength and endurance of your core muscles which may help improve your swing and even your game!
