Injuries and conditions that may develop from playing golf include rotator cuff tears and back pain. The repetitive motion of swinging a golf club and improper posture or technique may create new injuries or aggravate existing problems like sciatica. A spine doctor will suggest precautions to avoid getting hurt and recommend treatments to care for your joint pain. Here is more information about golf injuries and some preventative treatments we offer at Regenerative Medicine and Orthopedics:
Common Golf Injuries
A spine doctor may see golfers who are experiencing consistent back and shoulder pain. Pre-existing conditions such as arthritis can wear down the cartilage in your joints, creating painful friction as bone rubs against the socket. Our spine and sports medicine specialist offers a range of non-surgical treatment options to diagnose and treat the cause of your pain. These are some of the injuries we see in golfers and how to prevent them:
Back Pain
One common cause of lower back pain is a weak core, which consists of the abdominal muscles. These muscles support you as you walk the green and twist your body during a golf swing. The body overcompensates for a weak core by improperly engaging the shoulders or back muscles to improve balance.
You can enhance your core strength with exercises like yoga, general strength training, and sports specific training. A sports medicine doctor, a professional trainer or sports physical therapist will assist you in reinforcing the appropriate posture in the gym and on the green. A sports professional can also boost your golf performance and comfort by teaching you alternative techniques to lessen the impact of the sport on your joints.
Elbow or Shoulder Pain
Repetitive motions, like swinging a golf club, wear down your connective tissues and muscles over time, creating trigger points. Trigger points are lumps of tight bands of muscle that may be consistently painful or painful only when touched. We help athletes release these trigger points through stretching and trigger point injections. Sometimes we recommend a brief break from sport to prevent further muscle strain.
Improper posture can lead to arm pain localized in the elbow or shoulder. If you unintentionally arch your back as you swing your golf club, you may be causing your back and shoulders to overcompensate during the movement. Arm pain may also develop after athletes push themselves beyond their limits during practice. This can cause repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel and rotator cuff issues.
Golf Injury Treatment Options
Regenerative Medicine and Orthopedics recommends that if you are experiencing back pain that lasts longer than a week without improvement, you should seek the help of a specialist. Playing golf can cause muscle soreness, but it should not be painful. If you have experienced an injury playing golf, here are some potential treatments our team may recommend:
Targeted Sports-Specific Exercises
The right targeted exercise program to strengthen your core with consistent exercises to take the burden off your back during your golf game. Our team will help you practice correct posture as you play to prevent future injuries. Post-golf aftercare, like myofascial release therapy and stretching, may help release muscle tension and lactic acid buildup to promote muscle recovery.
Trigger Point Injections
At Regenerative Medicine and Orthopedics, we offer a variety of injections that target problem areas and provide pain relief to golfers. Trigger point injections help relieve our patients’ pain by interrupting the tension and pain signals within the muscle. We use an anesthetic or platelet-rich plasma in trigger point injections to relieve chronic pain. This quick outpatient treatment offers flexibility for golfers with busy schedules.
Epidural Injections
Epidural steroid injections or epidural PRP injections help reduce back, neck, shoulder, and arm pain. At Regenerative Medicine and Orthopedics, You can receive traditional medication injections, cell based therapies, or platelet-rich plasma to reduce inflammation and restore healthy nerve function. When inflammation is decreased in the spinal joints, there is less nerve compression, reducing targeted and radiating pain. We offer these and other pain-reducing injections in our Miami office.
Schedule a Consultation With Our Spine Doctor
At Regenerative Medicine and Orthopedics, Alicia R. Carter, MD, and her team provide non-surgical solutions for golfers experiencing pain. Wether you are a touring professional golfer or a weekend warrior, Dr. Carter can help you get back on the course quickly. We offer a range of spine, muscle, and joint injections that are tailored to your pain’s location and your treatment goals. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and learn more about our services.