Golf Alert: Exercise Can Lower Handicap… And Muscle Pain

(NAPS)—Buying the biggest club or switching to titanium shafts aren’t the only ways to become a Tiger Woods. A recent study by physical medicine and rehabilitation physician —and golfer —John Parziale, M.D., found that a regimen of strength, training and stretching helped participants drop fat weight, control blood pressure, improve flexibility and actually increased their clubhead speed by over five miles per hour—which translates to an extra 10-plus yards on a drive.

"A good series of stretching exercises should be performed for at least three-to-five minutes before hitting practice balls," recommends Dr. Parziale, a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialist.

To stretch the shoulder, put your left hand on your right elbow and pull gently across your body toward the shoulder without rotating your torso. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds, then repeat with the opposite arm.

To maintain wrist flexibility and improve your grip, put one hand over the back of the opposite hand and bend the fingers toward the palm, pulling the wrist down and holding for a few seconds.

Loosen lower back muscles by putting a club between your elbows and behind your back and rotate slowly and smoothly back and forth about 10 times, holding the stretch for up to 10 seconds.

Stretch the hamstrings by putting your heel up on a chair or the step of a golf cart. Straighten your knee and lean over, sliding your hands down your shin until you feel the back of your thigh begin to stretch. Do both legs, holding the stretch for 10-20 seconds each. Don’t bounce!

If hitting the links causes you to be among the 30-plus percent of golfers with low back injuries, Dr. Parziale offers this advice:

Modify your swing if you’re feeling pain. The modern swing, emphasizing maximum upper body rotation with minimal rotation of the pelvis, has much more negative impact on the back than the long flowing back swing with large hip turn and raised left heel.

Always bend at the knees, not at the hips, when teeing up or retrieving your ball from the cup. Proper posture is important.

Ideally, use a caddie. If not, pushing a handcart is preferable to pulling it. Riding in a golf cart aggravates tight hamstring muscles and causes repeated shock waves to the intervertebral discs.

A longer putter reduces bending forward and strain on the low back muscles.