The Golf Swing Can Damage backs, Shoulders, Knees and Elbows

Professional Golfers Suffer Major Injuries

June 10, 2008

As speculation about the condition of Tiger’s knee builds, the Chicago Tribune has an article on the wear and tear that golfers suffer

Back injuries are the most common ailment golfers face. Go into a room with 100 players and 95 will say they are receiving treatment for their back.

The other vulnerable body parts are the wrists, shoulders, knees and elbows. At the top level, players hit the ground with such force on iron shots that those joints get pounded over time.

The injuries result mainly because the body isn’t designed to make a golf swing.

Jim Suttie, the noted teaching pro at Cog Hill, speaks from experience; he has a doctorate in biomechanics—and he has had three operations on his lower back.

“It’s not a natural motion,” Suttie said. “We’re taught to build up torque with the upper half of the body and restrict with the lower half. That’s not natural. It’s a rotating motion, not a stepping motion.

“When you throw a baseball, you step and rotate. In golf, there is very little lateral motion. That will shear the muscles in the lower spine with all that pressure.” .