“Coach, I am losing distance what can I do to correct this?”
This is a common question that the pros I assist often talk to me about.
So how do you back them up to help you maintain your speed and distance?
My job as a physiotherapist is to assess your physical abilities which may affect your swing.
Limitations and restrictions, traumatic or not, are the brakes in your momentum that will limit both your range of motion and the quality of it.
To put this phenomenon as an example, I will explain to you with a scenario that can influence the result of your swing.
In the photo opposite, the goal of the exercise is to maintain the position of our arms and shoulders without changing the basic position of our spine. This movement will cause a feeling of restriction which can vary from person to person depending on your own limitations.
For my part, the restriction comes from my thorax which limits the total amplitude of the rotation possible at the level of the top of my body, which tends to modify the position of my column angle.
For others, it could come from a restriction of rotation of the hips (especially the rear one) the right in this case.
For others it could be a lack of external rotation in your shoulders which changes the position of your arms which I maintain as seen in the photo.
“Yes, knowing this, my physio, what do I do to correct this?”
Obviously, following my evaluation, I am able to give you the best exercises in order to optimize, for your region restricted in movement, the improvement in the amplitude available.
This process of gaining amplitude can take several weeks. To be lasting, the gain in flexibility must be done daily and over a prolonged period (2 to 5 minutes) to gain and above all maintain this gain. I already talked about it in a previous column.
However, despite your efforts, the expected results may not be achieved for several reasons.
In my assessment, I may find that these restrictions are not modifiable (ex: significant osteoarthritis in a hip).
Restrictions that result from trauma such as spinal fixation secondary to fracture or disabling hernias.
It is in these situations that my work becomes important in order to help you and especially to help your pro in improving your swing capacity.
In the situation of the photo above, one of the solutions to allow me to gain rotation of my upper body would be to allow my front foot to lift to free my body more, as a whole, in the movement of my backswing. Copy the momentum of Jack Nicklaus! Not a bad element coming from the best…
It is this kind of modification that I discuss with you and your pro following my biomechanical evaluation of your body, always with the aim of optimizing your momentum, unloading your injured structures and, above all, doing prevention and to keep the fun of the game.
So you could practice this exercise in your next month.
The idea is to maintain the position of your arms (90 degrees of flexion at the elbows and 90 degrees of abduction at your shoulders, this is the movement of raising your arms to the side of your body) in your backswing without losing the position of your spine angle in the base posture of your golf swing.
Then come back at slow speed in the opposite direction (forward momentum) again keeping this position of your arms.
As much on the rear climb as on the front, this will allow you to feel where the restrictions are. This restrictive feeling can thus be communicated to me during our meetings in order to focus on the region to be evaluated, treated and worked on as a priority.
Good exercise!
Feel free to contact me for more information
Daniel Audet physiotherapist
Physiotherapy clinic of Lac St-Charles and Stoneham in Quebec [email protected]
418-849-0009
