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 APRIL 30, 2008 Wrist Injuries Common Among Golfers Wrist injuries are quite common among golfers, particularly amateurs, with more than one-third of all golf injuries found in the wrists and hands. With all of the turning of the hips and shoulders to increase the speed of the swing, the impact still goes through the wrists and hands, setting them up for injury. If you're just back into the swing of golf, you can make a few changes in mechanics to help you avoid painful wrist injuries, says Dr. William J. Bryan, an orthopedic surgeon with The Methodist Center for Sports Medicine in Houston, who is also a PGA consulting physician. Some of his recommendations on how golfers can prevent wrist injuries include: -- Flatten out your back swing to decrease the chances the club will come down, hit the ground, and take a big divot. This will prevent shock to the wrists and elbows. -- Whether you use the overlapping, interlocking, or the ten-fingered grip, it's imperative that both hands be in parallel alignment. This alignment makes a natural wrist motion possible. If you overcock your left wrist (for a right-hander) on the backswing, this can lead to wrist impingement. -- Switch from a steel shaft to a graphite shaft to help decrease weight and stress on the wrist during the backswing. -- Try thicker grips to help ease the pain from both tendinitis and arthritis. -- Limit your time hitting out of the rough, practicing hitting buried balls out of the sand, or bucket after bucket of balls off of the practice tee. Another way to prevent wrist injuries is to strengthen your core muscles (stomach and hips). If you have a weak core, you tend to throw the club down from the top at the ball to get more velocity and distance. This can put more strain on the wrist. If you develop a strong core it will be much easier to let the body swing the club, says Bryan. If you do experience pain in your wrist, take a couple of weeks off, he says. Sometimes rest is the best medicine. A few lessons from a golf pro to improve your mechanics might not hurt either. |
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