LOTS Lagniappe | Louisiana Tech News
In honor of Master's Week, let's talk golf!
Most of us have a love/hate relationship with the sport of golf. We love being outside, we love when we hit a shot pure, we love that we can play golf well into retirement.. with that being said, we hate the random low back pain or muscle pull that we sometimes experience with this beautiful sport. But have no fear! We have some tips and tricks that can help you reduce your risk of injury and even improve your drive distance.
There are many different areas of the body and biomechanical chain that you want to assess to improve your swing, but today we're going to talk about a healthy spine and the appropriate amount of rotation you should have in your spine. Adequate thoracic spine rotation has been shown to decrease your risk of injury and improve the length of your drive. Most believe that you need at least 45 degrees of thoracic spine rotation to reduce risk of injury and golfers with 55+ degrees of rotation typically drive the ball farther.
The more thoracic spine rotation you have, the less likely you are to compensate with hips, shoulders, lumbar spine, etc. which could lead to injury. With greater rotation, you also build-up more power for your downswing which increases club head speed and allows you to drive the ball farther.
How do you assess your thoracic spine rotation? Have a seat and grab a golf club. Hold the golf club across your chest and rotate away from your midline. The head of your golf club should be pointed at least at a 45 degree angle away from you start position.
Now, if you don’t feel like you have at least 45 degrees of rotation… try these exercises below! (after you’ve been cleared by your medical professional of course)
1) Thoracic Extension over Foam Roller (2 x10 reps)
2) Cat/Cow (2 x 10 reps)
3) Piriformis Stretch (3 x 30s each side)
4) Sidelying Book Opening (2 x 10 each side)
5) Quadruped Thread the Needle (2 x 10 each side)
Visit our photo gallery below for pictures of these exercises or tune-in to our Instagram (@lots.ruston) tomorrow for videos of these exercises.
Most of all, enjoy Master's Week! Try out some of these exercises on commercial breaks and contact us at LOTS if you need a further detailed assessment of your biomechanical chain to help you achieve your goals!
