With summer out in full force, it’s a common sight to see golfers lined up on the course waiting to tee off. It’s also a time that Dr. Stephanie Louie sees a lot of golf related injuries – more during this time of year than any other time. Dr. Louie explains that “golf is a physically demanding sport that is played over hours and one must have explosive strength, while at the same time have accurate precision.”

Although golf has many healthy physiological, mental and social benefits, it also can put a tremendous amount of stress on the body. “What we see very often here at Mind Body Spine is that because of the amount of torque and rotation required for the sport, many patients come in with lower back pain, most likely from improper technique or due to repetition of being in a sustained poor posture that puts strain on a person’s body over a prolonged period.”

To minimize your chance of injury, make sure to warm up all your muscles and joints before getting on the course. You will want to try to do a warm up that will mimic the movements you will be doing while playing a round of golf. Here are a few examples below: