Golf Injuries & Pain

Although not the most common injury in golf, the knee can still often be a problem. In fact, golf-induced injury to the knee accounts for less than 10 percent of all orthopedic golf injuries. However, recent surgeries to Tiger Wood’s knee illustrates how the stress that golf puts on the knee can affect a golfer’s performance. Knee pain in golfers can be caused by any of numerous underlying issues, among them: a torn meniscus; knee arthritis (osteoarthritis), or kneecap pain (chondromalacia). Most ACL injuries are due to rotational trauma, but in many cases, (such as Tiger Wood’s case) the injury was chronic, resulting from excessive repeated valgus positioning and tibiofemoral rotation.

During the back swing, the left knee (for a righthander) is forced into external tibial rotation as the pelvis rotates to the right, and a valgus force is imparted on the knee as the weight transfers on to the medial border of the left foot and the ankle everts. A key in preventing knee injury is to ensure there is no decrease in internal tibial rotation. Technique, natural mechanical alignment and, importantly, adequate rotation further up the chain need to be addressed in a golfer suffering from pain relating to rotational overload. On follow-through the weight transfers to the lateral border of the foot and the tibia internally rotates as the femur externally rotates while the trunk and pelvis powerfully uncoil into left rotation.

All this medical jargon aside, though golf may not be the root cause of many golf injuries, playing golf, particularly for those of us who walk the course, may aggravate preexisting knee problems, such as cartilage tears or knee arthritis. This is particularly true for the older player.

Ligament injuries to the knee are common in golf, as the sport requires rotating around a fixed planted foot. These forces on the knee can result in inflamed or even torn ligaments. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) are the most often injured in golf. Chondromalacia is also a common knee condition in golf. This condition is caused by a inflammation, softening and deterioration of the underside of the kneecap. In younger individuals this is typically caused by trauma, overuse, poor alignment of the knee joint, or muscle imbalance as they grow. This leads to friction and rubbing under the kneecap the results damage to the surface of the cartilage. Chondromalacia usually responds well to a brace with a buttress or donut that goes around the kneecap, to stabilize the kneecap and provide compression. And since inflammation is the common denominator of all joint injuries, a non-prescription, non-steroidal, non NSAID anti-inflammatory such as CM8 is a wise choice.

Hip problems are sometimes clear-cut, as in when, for instance, the golfer complains of local groin pain. But the hip joint can also be just one part of a bigger puzzle in a complex lower limb problem, as its functioning has such important consequences both for the lumbo-sacral region and for the knee and ankle. The hip joint is usually very mobile, having to withstand both direct loading stresses and large rotational forces with weight-bearing activities. It is especially vulnerable to injury in sports that involve pivoting or twisting movements, such as golf, but also soccer, & tennis.

Your hips and knees are easily susceptible to golf injuries simply because they are so active throughout the entire game, from walking to beginning your pre-shot routine, swinging the club, and stabilizing and supporting your body in the follow-through. Shooting the ball from the hip is an unnatural motion requiring a flexible hip, without which problems are sure to ensue. Problems at the hips and knees seem to intensify as you age as your body begins to lose its flexibility. Our featured sponsor, Flexcin, has proven to be most effective in restoring flexibility. And in golf the flexibility of the hip is especially exposed to high-velocity internal rotation on the downswing, requiring a great deal of eccentric gluteal muscle control, since the greater rotation favored by the modern golf swing – is an adaptation now endorsed to reduce the incidence of low-back injury among golfers.