Tall grass snagging your club in the rough, an unfocused swing that hits the ground, or repetitive practicing after a winter of rest are all ways to injure your wrist while playing golf. They can result in trauma, a sprained wrist, and tendinitis, respectively. We discuss the top causes of these injuries below, along with tips on reducing your risk of injury. Most wrist injuries during golf can be prevented with focused strength training and technique modification.
Top Causes and How to Avoid Them
- Poor Mechanics
- Early release: puts more pressure on the muscles and tendons
- Fat shot: hitting the ground can cause the wrist to twist, tear, or even break. Practice can definitely help reduce the odds of hitting the ground with the club, but it is easy to get distracted and there are sometimes hidden rocks or even long grass that will snag your club.
- Weak grip: can put too much strain on your wrist when you swing (and cause you to lose control of the club)
While even the professionals slip up and injure their wrists from time to time, brushing up on your technique, improving your form, and using quality equipment can reduce your risk of wrist injury.
- Inactivity to Activity
It’s tempting to head straight to the golf course after sitting around during the winter waiting for the weather to cooperate but going directly from a period of inactivity to repetitively swinging the club can result in injury.
You can avoid this by doing strength training or practicing during the winter months and then easing yourself back into the game. Gradually building up to your pre-winter break intensity and frequency of playing will pay off in the long run.
- Overuse
Playing for more than 6 hours per week, even if only recreational, can put too much wear on your wrist. The repetitive swinging can cause tiny tears in the wrist tendons. You can usually avoid overuse injuries by gradually increasing your playing time and strengthening the muscles in your arm and wrist. Resting between playing and cross-training will reduce your risk of injury.
Treatment
If you start to experience wrist pain, don’t play through it. Rest your wrist and contact ORTHOKnox. Your doctor can help diagnose your pain and recommend the best treatment. Some cases improve with rest, compression, heat application, and physical therapy to help strengthen your wrist. Other cases require corticosteroids or surgery, depending on the injury.
With its board-certified surgeons and Urgent Orthopaedic Care that is available without an appointment, ORTHOKnox has got you covered. For more information about how ORTHOKnox can treat your golfing injury, call (865) 251-3030, or fill out our easy-to-use online appointment request form. We look forward to hearing from you!