The Importance of a Well Aligned Body to Your Golf Game

Golf and chiropractic are a perfect combination. A chiropractor, along with a good golf instructor, can help you evaluate, treat, condition and train golfers. A chiropractor will look at the body in balance from head to toe, which is the essence of the golf swing. Anything interfering with the stance or the grip restrictions in the swing will have a profound effect on your golf swing. There are three fundamental causes of golf injuries: poor posture, lack of flexibility, and lack of balanced functioning of muscles. And, of course, poor swing mechanics is the fourth cause.

The golf swing is all about efficient energy transfer from the lower body into the hips, through each of the joints of the spine, into the shoulder girdle, down the arm, through the golf club, and finally into the golf ball. Posture at the address of the ball is important to position yourself to effectively transfer energy and hit that long straight shot you are visualizing. If back pain and dysfunction are impairing your posture, your swing will suffer. That means compensating during your swing that can lead to more biomechanical problems and pain in other areas of the body. Without good posture, pain can be a self-perpetuating cycle that inhibits your game.

Look at yourself in a mirror. Stand nice and tall with your hands to your side. Is one shoulder higher than the other? Now place you hands on your hips. Is one hip higher than the other? If you are serious about golf you should really be serious about your body. Most golfers will spend lots of money, time, and care on their golf equipment but spend little time with their most valuable equipment – that’s themselves. Take a few minutes every day to stretch before playing as it will make a tremendous difference.

Dr. David Chen
Chiropractor in Laurel, Maryland
Laurel Regional Chiropractic

Effect of spinal manipulative therapy with stretching compared with stretching alone on full-swing performance of golf players: a randomized trial

There has been a steady growth of chiropractic treatment using spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) that aims to increase the performance of athletes in various sports. This study evaluates the effect of SMT by chiropractors on the performance of golf players.

Golfers of 2 golf clubs in São Paulo, Brazil, participated in this study. They were randomized to 1 of 2 groups: Group I received a stretch program, and group II received a stretch program in addition to SMT. Participants in both groups performed the same standardized stretching program. Spinal manipulative therapy to dysfunctional spinal segments was performed on group II only. All golfers performed 3full-swing maneuvers. Ball range was considered as the average distance for the 3 shots. Treatment was performed after the initial measurement, and the same maneuvers were performed afterward. Each participant repeated these procedures for a 4-week period.

Forty-three golfers completed the protocol. Twenty participants were allocated to group I and 23 to group II. Average age, handicap, and initial swing were comparable. No improvement of full-swing performance was observed during the 4 sessions on group I (stretch only). An improvement was observed at the fourth session of group II (P = .005); when comparing the posttreatment, group II had statistical significance at all phases (P = .003).

Chiropractic SMT in association with muscle stretching may be associated with an improvement of full-swing performance when compared with muscle stretching alone.

Dr. David Chen
Chiropractor in Laurel, Maryland
Laurel Regional Chiropractic