Fitness
experts can help you swing better and prevent
injury
By TARA
GRAVEL
You just spent a chunk of your
earnings on the latest, greatest driver, and this
past summer, you spent quite a few hours at the
driving range. But when was the last time you
looked to your body as a way to improve your
game? Performed a stretch? Lifted a weight?
We thought so.
You're not alone. As a group,
amateur golfers aren't known for their stellar
health habits. (Think golf carts, cigars, and the
19th hole.) But that's changing. And fitness
experts who specialize in golf are leading the
way. Tour pros use them to help cure aches and
pains and to provide exercise regimens. But when
should the recreational golfer schedule a visit,
and how does he or she find someone qualified?
"Anyone who wants to play the
game well should be on some type of fitness
program," says H.J. Ferrante, a physical
therapist who formed Back to Golf, which licenses
145 clinics nationwide. "Too many golfers
don't have the flexibility or strength they need.
As a result, their swing mechanics are
faulty."
Say your teaching pro has told you
countless times you don't make a full shoulder
turn; it's sapping your power and distance. Try
as you might, you can't get your left shoulder
under your chin. You and your pro begin to think
you're unteachable. But a physical therapist or
certified athletic trainer who knows the swing
would notice that you're simply inflexible. He or
she could prescribe stretches that would enable
you to do what your pro asks.
Need another reason to consider
visiting a fitness expert? Being out of shape may
lead to more serious problems. Two-thirds of all
golfers eventually suffer an injury -- the most
common being back and neck pain, much of which
could be prevented through stretching and
exercise.
"People used to laugh at
golfers, saying they aren't athletes and don't
need to be in shape," says Gregory Florez, a
fitness expert who co-founded Performance
Golf/First Fitness, Inc. in Chicago. "But
there are very unusual demands on the body during
the swing and golfers need to prepare themselves
before and during the season."
Many types of fitness experts can
help you do that, though they all have varying
degrees of training and expertise. If you have
ever suffered a swing-related injury, you may
already have seen a physical therapist on a
doctor's referral. Therapists licensed by the
American Physical Therapy Association have at
least a bachelor's degree and are trained
specifically to rehabilitate injuries; many who
specialize in golf also offer anatomical
evaluations and personalized exercise programs
for golfers who simply want to improve their game
and prevent injury.
Certified athletic trainers, who are
licensed by the National Athletic Trainers
Association, and exercise physiologists also
have, at minimum, a bachelor's degree. Both can
provide individualized exercise programs and help
prevent injuries. Personal trainers mainly
provide exercise programs, and are not trained to
rehabilitate injuries. Their educational
backgrounds vary.
Here's how a typical evaluation by a
fitness expert -- in this case, a physical
therapist -- works:
Though there are variations -- some
use 3-D computer models, some videotape your
swing and work with a teaching pro -- the
analysis usually starts with simple strength and
flexibility tests. Recently, a high handicapper
visited HealthSouth physical therapist Karen Nell
(HealthSouth mans the fitness trailers for the
LPGA Tour). Nell, who is based in Danbury,
Connecticut, tested -- from head to toe --
muscles and joints key to the swing, a process
that took less than an hour.
The prognosis: weak obliques
(muscles on the sides of the trunk, near the
abdominals) and lower back muscles, which caused
trunk instability and soreness in the lower back.
The cost of one of Nell's evaluations, which
includes a personalized exercise program: $100.
Like the other 250-plus HealthSouth
therapists specializing in golf, Nell went
through hours of training on the swing, all
overseen by HealthSouth's resident golf pro Hank
Johnson. Because fitness experts vary in their
knowledge of the swing, there are several
questions to ask to be sure you are spending time
and money with someone qualified.
"There are people who say they
have a great golf program who don't even know
what it is when you say, 'through the swing' or
'follow through.' They've just read from a
book," says Paul Hospenthal, a physical
therapist who works with Tour pros and founded
the Desert Institute of Physical Therapy in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
"You have to ask what is their
background with golf. If they are teaching
golf-specific exercises and stretches, where did
they learn them? A good answer is that they have
read the original research on the golf swing,
otherwise they are just giving opinions. The next
question to ask is what is their professional
background? Are they a licensed physical
therapist, certified athletic trainer, or a
strength and conditioning coach?"
Adds Pete Draovitch, who works with
Greg Norman and is helping rehabilitate the
Shark's shoulder after rotator cuff surgery,
"You may want to ask questions such as, 'Do
you understand trunk stabilization training? Have
you treated golfers, baseball players [who suffer
similar injuries], and athletes in general? Are
you familiar with the mechanics of the golf
swing? Are you willing to communicate with a golf
pro?' Therapists should feel comfortable
answering these questions."
Also, fitness experts should never
give swing advice -- that remains the domain of a
teaching pro. Still, their advice may wind up
making you a better golfer in the end. And, if
you shape up in the process, who's complaining?
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