Better Golf With Fitness

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The Better Golf with Fitness Blog is the baby of GolfFitnessProducts.net, and the companion to The Better Golf with Fitness Podcast, sites dedicated to educating golfers about golf specific fitness. 

GolfFitnessProducts.net is packed with information about all aspects of golf fitness, including: flexibility, strength, power, endurance, nutrition, mental strategies, injury prevention, exercises, warm ups, and equipment.  There are over 180 FREE articles from the world's leading golf fitness experts, an "Ask the Experts" page for any questions you have as well as a "Find a Golf Fitness Pro" page that will help you locate a golf fitness professional to work with in your area.  You can sign up to get 7 FREE Golf Fitness Reports as well (a $189 Value).  The Better Golf with Fitness Blog will continue what GolfFitnessProducts.net does best; teach golfers how to play better golf by getting in "golf shape."

Golfers’ Shoulders - Injuries and Pain in Golf

Golfers’ Shoulders - Injuries and Pain in Golf
Part 1 of a 7-part series

by David Ostrow, President of Body Balance for Performance

In this series we are going to examine:

The most common shoulder injuries that golfers experience, and the anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder, shoulder girdle, and upper back. We will also look at injury- inducing swing faults, fixes and prevention.

Then we will put the data from this course into action. As a result, you will understand the risks to your shoulders and what you can do to minimize them and prevent injuries. Ultimately this will lead to more consistency, better distance, lower scores, and less pain on and off the course.

The shoulders are an area that can give golfers a great deal of trouble. Shoulder injuries are prevalent in golfers, and there are some simple reasons why this happens. There are several muscles in the shoulder complex that are tied to the posture of the upper body. When imbalances develop in the chest, upper back and shoulder, upper cross syndrome, rotator cuff disorders, tightness in the chest, limited shoulder motion, and shoulder complex asymmetries to name just a few, are likely to occur.

There are many shoulder disorders that can exist for years and not let us know they are there. There are some that we know about right away. You may have a slight rotator cuff tear, or cartilage tear, or a bone spur in your shoulder, but that doesn’t mean that your shoulder will hurt or get in the way of golf. You could have arthritis, but it may not hurt. If we add the motion of the golf swing to poor torso mobility or scapular stability and or a degenerative processes or slight injury or deformity, the shoulder will give out and you will experience pain with your golf motion.

The golf swing requires large amounts of rotation in the shoulder joint. If rotation is limited or lacking, the shoulder will be stressed during the swing.

There are two key principles that we will take up in the biomechanics section of this course. They are the issues of required mobility in the thoracic spine and shoulder blade stability. When thoracic rotation is lacking, there will be excessive mobility in the shoulder blade. This can lead to instability and injury in the shoulder joint. In the coming weeks we are going to dissect the problem of shoulder injuries and pain. We will examine anatomical issues, biomechanical issues, and swing faults.

Here is an interesting fact for you to ponder…if you struggle with deceleration in your swing, you probably have a shoulder problem on your downswing side, whether it hurts or not. We will look closely at this challenge in the next few issues.

Please email me at dostrow@fitgolf.com if you have any questions.

Here’s to your healthy shoulders and good golf.

Dave

David Ostrow is the President and CEO of Body Balance for Performance, Inc. He has been a physical therapist for 22 years. David is considered by many golf industry professionals to be an expert in golf fitness. David has spent his career developing a well defined, effective approach for restoring the human body to full function. His eclectic approach to the body comes from his diverse training with many of the leaders in physical therapy education including Rocabado, Maitland and Callaway.

David has taken what he learned from the masters and created a complete clinical system, integrating it into Body Balance for Performance.  Check out his Golf Fitness Training Programs

Standing Activation Video

Here is an exercise I like to recommend to my golfers before a round:

Putting into Action for Your Lower Back

Part 6 of a 6-Part Series on Low Back Injuries
by David Ostrow, President of Body Balance for Performance

Golfers’ Low Back Pain - The Core Issue

Put it all into action.

Ok.  You have the basics of anatomy, biomechanics, swing faults that cause injuries, and fixes. Now what? How in the world do you take what you have learned and turn that into a result that will actually achieve the outcome you want: no back pain and better golf.  There are several approaches. I liken this to home projects.  There are do-it-yourselfers, there are those who subcontract someone with some expertise to help them out, and then there are those who hire a professional and ask them to fix the problem. The same is true in golf fitness.

Many try with varying degrees of success (or failure) to resolve their problems by reading books, listening to friends, or researching on the internet. Then they implement a smattering of fixes that may or may not help them.  This works sometimes. Maybe it is luck, maybe it is skill, but it can work. The key to the fix is knowing the issue and then applying the correct fix for the problem.  If you have disc problems and apply the lower cross fix, you will hurt more.  If you have facet impingement and apply the disc fix you will hurt more.  The only way to really fix the problem is to fully understand it.

There are some golf fitness providers who are not trained in neurology, anatomy, biomechanics, or the golf swing. They know how to whip you into shape, and they are good at that.  However, they do not know how to fix lower cross, or deal with a facet impingement.  If you don’t have these issues, this type of professional might be able to help you get into great cardio shape and build fantastic strength. Will it be functional strength that you can use in the golf swing and to prevent lower back injuries.  I really don’t know.

In many cases assessing and fixing these problems does not take fancy tests (MRI’s, X-rays, CAT scans, Myleograms, etc). It takes a simple biomechanical and functional assessment.  The behavior of your body in this type of exam will generally tell you what the issue really is.  There is a time and a place to see your healthcare provider.  If you have pain at night or during sleep, tingling or numbness in the lower extremities, are experiencing focal weakness in the lower extremity, or trouble controlling bowel or bladder, you should seek medical attention immediately.  If your pain is in your back and pelvis, it does not radiate into the lower leg, you do not need depends, and golf seems to aggravate the problem, a well trained golf fitness professional can help you.

Bottom line, however, is that any activity is better than no activity, and the right activity is better than any activity where back pain and the golf swing are concerned. We have included several links to exercises that you might want to look at if you have back pain. Try these. If your symptoms increase STOP and immediately and seek help from a golf fitness professional.  If they get better, you are moving in the right direction. You might still want a golf fitness assessment to help you with the host of issues in your body.

Exercise regiment

I believe that there is great controversy about stretching and strengthening.  There are many theories on both.  Stretching theories include brief intense, long and gentle, and somewhere in between.  On strengthening there is large volume of light weight, low volume of heavy weight or somewhere in between.  The facts are they are all right.  Now what?  Well the issue is to decide on the goal.  Are you stretching to increase range of motion, or to warm up?  Are your trying to build large strong muscles or strong long muscles?  It is up to you.  If you want more motion, then do long duration low load stretch. By the way long duration means up to five minutes or more, and low load means a barely perceptible stretch.  If you want long and strong, more reps with less weight is the generally accepted standard.  If you want explosive strength, then a few (6-8) fast repetitions with more weight will do that.  You see, it completely depends on the goal at hand.  Before you begin, you need to know your goal.   No, the goal I mean is long and strong vs. short and strong, warm up vs. increased motion, etc.  Once you know this then you know how to exercise.  These goals do not dictate what to exercise, just how to exercise.  The “what” is answered by understanding the physical issues.

When do I do this? There is no good answer. Some like four in the morning, some like dinner time, some like mid-day.  The best time to do this is the time of day that you will actually do it, when ever that is.  You do not need to spend hours a day on this project.  Usually 20 to 30 minutes a day is more than enough.  In some cases that is too much time.  The amount of time is completely dependent upon the issues and the goals.

How do I know if I need help from the Golf Fitness Experts^TM at Body Balance for Performance or some other well qualified golf fitness professional?  Do you know what needs to be done? Do you know the goals?  Do you understand how to apply the fixes for the faults?  If so, then you probably do not need anyone for this project.  If you are uncertain about any of this, you should consult with you local golf fitness professional or your local golf instructor. The golf instructor may know who in your community is an expert on this.  If not, let me know and I will try to direct you to someone.

If you have any questions, please email them to me at dostrow@fitgolf.com.

Here’s to your healthy back and good golf.

Dave

David Ostrow is the President and CEO of Body Balance for Performance, Inc. He has been a physical therapist for 22 years. David is considered by many golf industry professionals to be an expert in golf fitness. David has spent his career developing a well defined, effective approach for restoring the human body to full function. His eclectic approach to the body comes from his diverse training with many of the leaders in physical therapy education including Rocabado, Maitland and Callaway.

David has taken what he learned from the masters and created a complete clinical system, integrating it into Body Balance for Performance.  Check out his Golf Fitness Training Programs

Daly- Mean Lean Fightin Machine

JD came back this week looking much trimmer, although he had to be drunk when he picked out this outfit.

from the LA Times
Photos: John Daly a year ago, left, and this week in Spain. Photo credits: left, Stuart Franklin / Getty Images; right, Warren Little / Getty Images 

Lots of Talk About This...

Pretty Cool:

Lower Back Fixes

Part 5 of a 6-Part Series on Low Back Injuries
by David Ostrow, President of Body Balance for Performance

Golfers’ Low Back Pain - The Core Issue

Fixes and Prevention

By now I hope you are seeing a trend…that there are only a few problems responsible for most of the lower back injuries and swing faults golfers experience.  It is very simple.  Level the pelvis, free the hamstrings and hip rotation, improved stability in the hips, create a neutral spine and pelvis, and improve core strength.  Simple, right? Here is the process.

Level the pelvis. This is not so difficult to do. Get rid of unilateral lower cross syndrome. That is all there is to it.

How? Most uneven pelvises are the result of muscle imbalances in the region.  Hip flexors are tight and inhibit glutes.  Quadratus lumborum is tight.  Lower abdominals are weak or inhibited by the quadratus lumborum tightness. It’s all reflexes.  There are direct neurological connections among these groups. When one muscle becomes tight it sends a signal to the opposite to shut down.  This signal actually causes weakness in the antagonistic muscle.  A perfect example is iliacus (hip flexor) and glutes (hip extensor). They are reflex inhibitors of one another.  To fix the lower cross syndrome, you need only to restore balanced activity to BOTH muscles of the pair.  Leveling the pelvis requires nothing more than this:  lengthen the hip flexor and quadratus lumborum, facilitate and strengthen the glutes. Take advantage of these reflexes to correct the problem. Restoring normal biomechanical forces on the pelvic bones will relieve the torsion. If done correctly, this process will take no more than a week or two.

Free the hips by improving flexibility in the hip external rotators and by improving muscle activity in the hip internal rotators. This can be accomplished in several weeks to two months ,depending on how tight the hips are. How? Releasing, Stretching, strengthening, facilitating, balancing muscle tensions, then on to functional training. These exercises can help:

Create a neutral spine by balancing the tensions between the abdominals and the lower back, and between the hip flexors and extensors on both sides of the body. Most of us have a bilateral forward tilt of the pelvis. Stretch both hip flexors.  Stretch the lower back.  Strengthen the glutes and abs. Do this lying down, sitting up, standing, and then do this in golf posture. That is all there is to it.  These exercises might help:

Do these fixes all seem similar?  They should, because they are. The challenge for most of you is knowing what side to apply the fixes to and in what sequence. That is where a Body Balance for Performance team can help.  We are able to help you understand and fix this. [Fix what???] Frankly, any golf fitness professional who understands the biomechanics, neurology, anatomy, and the golf swing could easily help you get rid of back pain, and play the best golf of your life.

Try the exercises noted above to see what happens.  Bottom line is that if you do not improve in a week to ten days doing these on your own, you probably will need help from a golf fitness professional with the knowledge of the areas noted in the previous paragraph.  If you want to have us look at this email us pictures of you:  back view in standing, toe touch with the legs together and straight, and sitting with your right ankle on the left knee, and then the left ankle on the right knee. Once we see these we might be able to guide you to a solution.

if you have any questions, please feel free to email them to me at dostrow@fitgolf.com.

Here’s to your healthy back and good golf.

Dave

David Ostrow is the President and CEO of Body Balance for Performance, Inc. He has been a physical therapist for 22 years. David is considered by many golf industry professionals to be an expert in golf fitness. David has spent his career developing a well defined, effective approach for restoring the human body to full function. His eclectic approach to the body comes from his diverse training with many of the leaders in physical therapy education including Rocabado, Maitland and Callaway.

David has taken what he learned from the masters and created a complete clinical system, integrating it into Body Balance for Performance.  Check out his Golf Fitness Training Programs

Inspiration

This is an unbelievable story.

Injury Inducing Swing Faults

Part 4 of a 6-Part Series on Low Back Injuries
by David Ostrow, President of Body Balance for Performance

Golfers’ Low Back Pain - The Core Issue

Swing Faults and Injuries - there is a relationship between swing faults and injuries, and poor biomechanics and swing faults. In this lesson we are going to look at how several common swing faults are related to injuries. We will also look at how abnormal biomechanics can create swing faults that create the pain.

Research indicates that a reverse spine angle is the number one swing fault that causes injury to the lower back.  When we look at the majority of golfers they have pelvic torsions, muscle imbalance, and limited thoracic rotation.  Generally there is mild to significant weakness in the glutes and abdominals.  If we think back to the lesson on biomechanics, we find that this is a recipe for disaster. The disaster is that when these biomechanical conditions exist they create abnormal motion in the swing. When you have weakness in the glutes, with or without limited hip rotation, you will sway to the back swing side. That sway moves the hips up on the backswing side and creates a tilt of the spine toward the target…this is a reverse spine angle.  From there you will begin a downswing, side bending, rotation, and flexion, under load from the opposite position of side bending, rotation, and extension…look out spine…you are going to be injured. If your golf swing has even slight reverse spine angle, you are prone to lower back injuries.

Lateral sway is movement of the pelvis to the back swing side of the golf swing. It is caused by hip rotation, gluteal weakness, tightness in the lateral aspect of the thigh, and/or anterior pelvic torsion. You do not have to have all of these physical problems, just one, and you will be at risk for lateral sway.  Lateral sway as we mentioned earlier is related to reverse spine angle.  The knee bone is connected to the leg bone….the leg bone is connected to the hip bone…the hip bone is connected to the pelvic bone…it’s all related and all works together.

Lateral slide is the down swing counterpart to lateral sway. It has the same physical causes as lateral sway: tight hip motion, weak glutes, etc. Lateral slide is related to hooks, and pulls, and a myriad of other swing faults.  Lateral slide puts huge forces on the back swing side of the lower back.  When the pelvis slides to the down swing side with flexion and rotation of the spine superimposed, there are huge forces put on the backswing side lower back. These forces cause disc and facet joint injuries.  These injuries will get worse and worse over time.

C-posture and S-posture are opposite extremes of the same problem.  C-posture or forward bending of the spine puts huge forces on the lumbar discs. C-posture is related to loss of spine angle in the golf swing. S-Posture or backward bending of the spine puts great forces on the lumbar facet joints.  S-posture is related to reverse spine angle as well.  If you move into the rotation position of the back swing, and then move into S-posture or backward bending of the lumbar spine, you end up in reverse spine angle and you have back injury. Neutral spine is paramount to a healthy back and to biomechanically sound golf swings.

Unbalance Pelvis, when one side is in torsion, leads to reverse spine angles, lateral sways, and back injuries. As we reported earlier, unbalanced pelvis is caused in many cases, by tight hip flexors and lower back muscles and weak glutes and abdominals on one side of the body.

Are you beginning to see a trend?  All of these swing problems are related to one another, and all of these swing problems are related to poor biomechanics of the lower back, pelvis and hips.  Do you want to fix the hook or the slice? Do you want to hit the ball long and straight, consistently?  Do you want to play golf without injuries to the lower back? The key to accomplishing this is to get rid of the swing faults.  The way to get rid of swing faults is to correct the biomechanics of the lumbar spine, pelvis, and hip.  Proper training will do this.

If you have any questions, please email them to me at dostrow@fitgolf.com.

Here’s to your healthy back and good golf.

Dave

David Ostrow is the President and CEO of Body Balance for Performance, Inc. He has been a physical therapist for 22 years. David is considered by many golf industry professionals to be an expert in golf fitness. David has spent his career developing a well defined, effective approach for restoring the human body to full function. His eclectic approach to the body comes from his diverse training with many of the leaders in physical therapy education including Rocabado, Maitland and Callaway.

David has taken what he learned from the masters and created a complete clinical system, integrating it into Body Balance for Performance.  Check out his Golf Fitness Training Programs

Carts Are Very Dangerous

From the Journal News
"Weird wind event" lifts golf cart, traps golfers

(not the cart from this accident)

Strong winds at the Beekman Country Club in East Fishkill lifted a golf cart and knocked it over, injuring and briefly trapping two Westchester men as they started their game at the first tee, Sgt. Kevin Keefe of the East Fishkill police said.

The National Weather Service in Albany said a "dust devil" might be to blame.
Advertisement

Police received a report at 1:19 p.m. today of "a person pinned under a golf cart," Keefe said. When police arrived, the two golfers - one man was from Croton-On-Hudson, the other the Town of Cortlandt - had gotten out from under the golf cart.

Both men suffered minor head injuries and abrasions, Keefe said, but refused treatment before continuing with their golf game. The East Fishkill Rescue Squad also responded.

"According to witnesses and the two golfers, there was a funnel cloud," Keefe said. "What we had was, a weird little wind event, we'll call it."

National Weather Service meterologist Joe Villani said a "dust devll" might have flipped the golf cart.

Dry, clear conditions combined with wind and sunlight can cause "tiny little formations" that Villani likened to eddys, which can have "enough velocity to move objects." Villani added that dirt devils are common in the plains states and midwest.

Please be careful when driving your cart.  This has been a public service announcement brought to you by the skinny golfers at BetterGolfwithFitness.com

Me and Chi Chi

I had the honor of being on "Doctor Radio" (Sirius 114, XM 119) today on Samantha Heller's Health and Nutrition Show and golf legend Chi Chi Rodriguez was also on. 

The segment was on golf fitness (go figure) so Samantha interviewed me and we took a few calls for the first 30 minutes.

Chi Chi was on after me and Samantha let me stay so I could be part of the conversation.  He was really nice and still funny, I can see why people always loved him.

I asked him about his fitness program when he was on Tour and he said that he worked out starting in 1959.  "No one really knew because I didn't tell everyone my secrets.  Gary Player told everyone but I kept it to myself." 

He said he went to a famous bodybuilder in Puerto Rico and asked him to help him get stronger for golf.  Chi Chi showed him the golf swing and the trainer came up with some exercises he thought would help. 

According to Chi Chi, he gained "50 yards in 3 months"!!

I also asked him about what he did as a kid in terms of playing sports.  He said he played everything; baseball, boxing, soccer, you name it.  He feels that kids are playing in too many competition matches in golf and getting burned out.  Amen.

Chi Chi was known to have great hand-eye coordination, and I guarantee you playing different sports growing up was a big help.

Michael Boyle wrote a series of blog posts about kids, Early Specialization and how kids suffer from just playing one sport.   

Good stuff from Chi Chi today, I was pretty excited that he was on the show.  They are replaying it on Sunday (8am) and Monday at 2pm so check it out if you can. "Doctor Radio" (Sirius 114, XM 119)