4 Exercises To Help You Protect Against Golf Injuries

The importance of the lower body - hips, thighs and calves - as a power source in the golf swing has been studied in detail in most textbooks and guides for golf. But what good is a body that is trained to produce power if injury prevents the players from performing at his best? The following are 4 exercises to help you protect against golf injuries to those muscles in the lower body.

We start with probably the most important area as it requires more mobility, that being the hips and lower back. With most people their hips start the first action toward the ball, and if they are "locked", i.e. not flexible, the swing will become stiff and powerless. Therefore, getting your hips flexible will be key. So prevent golf injuries in the lower body, here are 4 exercises to help you protect against golf injuries before hitting the first ball.

First, the hip and lower back stretch:

1. From the lunge position, drop the left knee to the ground.
2. Place your right elbow on the inside of the knee.
3. Twist your torso to the left.
4. Reach your left arm behind you until you feel your lower back stretch.
5. Maintain for about 20 to 30 seconds, and then repeat on the other leg.

Here is another great exercise for the hips:

1. From the lunge position, drop the left knee to the floor.
2. Raise your arms and hands over your head and look up.
3. Press the hips downward and forward toward the floor until you feel your torso and hip area stretch.
4. After holding this position for 20 to 30 seconds, release and duplicate the procedure on the other leg.
There are other great exercises to keep the hips and torso loose, but these two are among the best.

The kneeling quadriceps stretch is another of 4 exercises to help you protect against golf injuries to the lower body:

1. Kneel with one knee on the ground, the other foot planted in front of you.
2. Reach back and firmly grasp the back foot.
3. Slowly lift the foot off the ground toward the buttock until you feel a stretch across the thigh.
4. Hold for about 20 to 30 seconds, and then repeat the procedure with the other leg

Lastly, the following is a great exercise to prevent golf injuries in the calf area:

1. Stand about arm’s-length from a wall.
2. Lean forward, placing both hands on the wall about shoulder length apart.
3. Extend one leg behind you with the heel on the ground, the other foot closer to the wall.
4. Lean into the wall with your hips until you can feel the calf stretch in your extended leg.
5. Hold this for about 20 to 30 seconds and change sides.

By: Sean OKelly

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These are just a few ways golfers can prevent golf injuries to the lower body, and we hope they will assist you in preventing these nagging injuries.  For more information on exercises to prevent golf injuries, click HERE, and please visit our website HERE for more talk about our favorite subject, golf.  Sean O’Kelly is a writer and avid golfer living in London.