For your body to perform optimally, you should aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intensive exercise weekly.
The workout you go for does not matter as much as sustaining over time does. It, therefore, helps to pick an activity you enjoy doing. For golfers, golfing is as great an exercise as any other. The walking, swinging and carrying clubs throughout the golf course can work multiple muscles in your body as you enjoy your game.
With that said, you should always play with good form to avoid injuries and to make the most out of the game.
Can Chiropractic Care Help?
Like most golfers, you are likely to be constantly on the lookout for ways to improve your game. Chiropractic care is one way to accomplish this.
Golf begins with a swing, the all-important bit of golf. When swinging, an enormous amount of compressive force, at times up to ten times your body weight, is placed on the spine. That aside, nearly all joints used in a swing go through a full range of motion.
Sadly, most golfers you see on the course experience some level of sport-related pain. These aches and pains relate to improper form or repetitive swinging.
When this happens, golfers tend to think that better clubs might help ease the aches and pains. While this is true in some cases, it does not cover the entire scope of golfing injuries. Studies have shown that the largest barrier to enhanced performance on the course is the physical shape a golfer is in.
Understandably so. An 18-hole golfing course requires one to walk about five to six miles. Aside from walking, swinging, twisting and bending over are also involved. These movements take their toll on the body.
A golf swing, for one, can compress cartilage in the knees and discs of the spine. It can also cause tendonitis and arthritis in the back, knees, elbows and more.
You need unrestricted motion in the spine, pelvis, and joints to swing properly. Picture your body as a top and your spine as an axis where your arms, hands and golf club rotate. If the axis is balanced, the top moves quickly and smoothly. If it’s unstable, there is a possibility of it toppling over.
Studies have shown that chiropractic care can treat and prevent golfing injuries over time. But not just that, but it can also improve golf performance.
One such study, published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, showed that chiropractic care accompanied by stretching is associated with a better golf swing than stretching alone.
Other findings have shown that chiropractic care can;
Enhance strength
Chiropractic care aligns your neck, spine, arms and improves your central nervous system. This allows your brain and body to work together optimally during play.
Improved flexibility
Muscle stiffness is one sure path to sporting injuries. Chiropractic care helps enhance one’s flexibility, which lessens instances of inflammation, excess tension and ultimately, injuries.