Out-Drive Your Golf Game With Chiropractic
By Chris Brown
Golf is a game of precise movement and consistency. The entire body's kinesthetic chain is used for every aspect from driving to putting. To hit balls with aim and distance, the body must work as a fluid system. One tight spot or misaligned joint can mean a ball in the depths of a bordering pond versus landing on the fairway. Everyone from the amateur to the professional handicapper must use every edge to improve their swing in this difficult game.
Chiropractic is the not-so-secret weapon of many a golfer. One of the most successful chiropractic advocates on the course is legendary golfer Tiger Woods, but many professionals regularly seek adjustments to perform at a peak level. In an article for Florida Golf Magazine, an athletic chiropractor stated that, "golfers who access treatment by a chiropractor with multidisciplinary experience will experience fewer injuries, perform better, and achieve greater results."
But how exactly does chiropractic improve gameplay in a sport like golf? Chiropractic, as a holistic medicine, is uniquely built to keep the body's many moving parts in alignment and preemptively correct for future injury prevention.
Relieves Common Golf Injuries
While it doesn't involve the typical running, hard cutting, or impacts that cause most sports injuries, golf includes its own set of risks. The most common golf injuries, according to Golf Fitness Magazine, are back pain, elbow tendinitis, knee and hip injuries, rotator cuff problems, and hand or wrist injuries. All of these can be prevented or treated with regular chiropractic manipulations. Chiropractic positions joints optimally so that the twisting power of a golf swing is supported by the muscles and not a point of friction caused from an offset joint. Tiger Woods has attributed many of his remarkable recoveries to the power of chiropractic sports healing by his longtime chiropractor, Mark Lindsay.
Improve Golf Swing
Not only is chiropractic useful for keeping you on the course, it can scientifically improve your handicap. A randomized trial in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine observed the effects of spinal manipulative therapy versus stretching alone on golf swing performance. It looked at driver distances of golfers before and after either spinal manipulation or stretching over a four-week period. Golfers who only received professional stretching did not experience improvement, whereas the golfers with weekly spinal manipulation saw statistically improved ball range and swing performance. These results hint that chiropractic can bring up any golfer's game.
For a leg up on your golf game, visit your local clinic, The Joint Chiropractic. Walk-in patients are welcome anytime during their extended evening and weekend hours. After all, The Joint's insurance-free adjustments are more affordable than any golf lesson, with more immediate results.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Arlington, Tex.