Every sport, no matter how fulfilling, exciting or great you think it is and makes you feel, comes with the possibility of getting injured. There is not an athlete in the world that hasn’t had a knee injury, hand injury or back pain at some point in their career.

The same goes for sports enthusiasts and amateur golf players.

In this article, we are going to cover the most common golf injuries and the ways you can easily prevent them.

Hand & Finger Injuries

Like so many other activities, golf consists of repetitive motions and usually has a high speed of the swing that can cause hand and finger injuries. These repetitive blunt trauma to your hands and fingers can lead to numerous problems. Some of those include sprains, tendonitis, broken or deformed bones, thumb sprains (spica), mallet fingers, etc.

Most of these injuries can be healed with various braces, splints or therapeutic gloves. So, for thumb sprains, you can check out a high-quality spica splint, for tendonitis and mallet fingers– a tendinitis brace and so on.

You can avoid these common injuries by:

• Learning the proper grip
• Warming up
• Using gloves
• Not playing golf on artificial mats

Wrist Injuries

Just like you can hurt your hands and fingers playing golf, your wrists are at risk as well. Repetitive motions and the high speed of the swing as well as not using the proper grip are the most common causes of various wrist injuries.

The most common golf-related wrist injury is tendonitis. The only way to avoid tendonitis is by regularly warming up your wrists and by using gloves. A year-round golf conditioning program is also a great way to prevent any type of injury but if it does come to that you can always invest in a high-quality tendonitis brace.

Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common problems in the world, and people of all ages and both genders are equally prone to back pain whether they are active or inactive individuals. Hours you spend hunching over your club doesn’t help with back pain, especially lower back pain.

To prevent back pain you should consider practicing the correct form and should regularly exercise your back muscle. Daily morning flexibility exercises like yoga or stretches help prevent back injuries.

If you experience back pain you can depending on the severity of the pain :

• Rest
• Use hot and cold packs
• Have a deep tissue massage
• Visit a chiropractor
• Have surgery

Knee Pain

Our knees experience daily pressure and are on the most sensitive parts of our body. Amongst athletes, knee injuries are the most common, so it’s no wonder that this type of injury is listed here as well.

Knee pain happens when extreme forces are placed on the knee wich you use to stabilize the rotation of the hip axis at the beginning of the swing. This force can result in torn ligaments that lead to knee pain.

You can avoid this injury by warming up your knees before you go golfing. Daily morning and evening stretching helps with flexibility and can strengthen your knees. If you have painful knees try resting or icing them to alleviate symptoms.

Hip Injuries

Our hip joints are very mobile and can withstand a lot of loading stress but it is vulnerable, especially for golfers. Because the swing in golf involves pivoting and twisting movements the hip can get injured if not done correctly. The swing requires a great deal of control throughout our bodies.

Hip injuries are quite similar to shoulder injuries more specifically, the rotator cuff, so they are very similar to the tears that occur in the rotator cuff. Warming up is imperative when it comes to any type of sport. Warming up your muscles will always prevent injuries, and stretching can provide strength to the muscles that surround the hip socket.

Sunburn

Sunburn isn’t exactly an injury but it is one of the most common problems golfers experience. Exposure to the sun leads to skin damage and because golfers usually spend around four to five hours exposed to the sun they usually end up with a sunburn.

Before you arrive at the golf course apply sunscreen with an SPF above 15 and reapply every hour or so. Always wear a hat, sunglasses and protective clothes. And don’t forget to hydrate.

Conclusion

These common injuries can easily be avoided if you follow our advice. Always warm-up before you go golfing because that will strengthen your joints and muscles so you won’t be prone to injuries. Improve your swing mechanics, try golf conditioning programs, avoid very long practice sessions and stretch regularly in the morning and if you have time, in the evening as well. Also, if you do get injured, wear protective braces or splints for a quicker and painless recovery.