Golf and Lawn Bowls season is upon us!
As we enter the warmer months, two of the most popular sports in Foster—lawn bowls and golf—roar into action. These are great sports for staying healthy because they involve walking, gentle movement, sunlight, mental focus and a strong social component. They can bring out a radiance & positivity in people. As osteopaths, we often see the darker, more discreet side of these sports in regard to the impact on one's body. They can be devilish in the myriad of physical issues that occur with the primary cause being the repetitiveness of the movement.
Essentially, lawn bowling involves doing a lunge and a controlled arm swing but let’s break it down further. A right-handed bowler steps out with their left foot, bending through their hips and back, rotating their torso to the left, swinging a weight through their right arm and extending their neck. As a result, when we look at these patients in the clinic, we tend to see a pattern of tightness/issues affecting the front of their left hip and thigh, left lower & mid back, right upper back, front of right shoulder and back of the neck.
Let’s consider golf. As a right-handed golfer rotates right into the backswing, they open the back of the left hip which engages the gluteal & hip flexor muscles. Conversely, the right hip rotates inwards which engages the muscles on the inside and back of the thigh (adductor & hamstring muscles respectively). Through the propulsion phase of the swing, force shifts from the hips to the back. This requires strong muscle contractions through the left hip and mobility from the right to lengthen and transfer power upwards towards the torso. Most of the rotation then occurs through the muscles of thoracic spine and ribs, particularly on the left-hand side to pull the body through the swing. Subsequently, we tend to see greater restrictions on the left side of the torso.
What can be done? Despite the asymmetrical movements in these sports, there are two key areas to focus on: flexibility and strength.
Flexibility. Each morning check-in with your body. Do some basic stretches each morning for 5-20 minutes. This will highlight areas that are restricted when comparing left to right & front to back. A simple and effective stretch for the back is to stand and bend forwards to try to touch your toes (knees bent), then backwards then repeat 10-15 times. Then do this side to side, and lastly rotating left and right. Start off gently and slowly ease into the movements as you go.
Strengthening. The focus here is on doing exercises on one side of the body at a time (unilaterally). This helps to point out imbalances in muscle strength that have developed from repetitive movements. An example could be doing a bridge or clam exercise with one leg at a time. For a lawn bowler this will help to address asymmetry left to right but will also help to engage the gluteal muscles instead of the hip flexors muscles that tend to become tight.
Ultimately, you have the opportunity to see that becoming stiff and carrying niggles from golf and lawn bowls as an opportunity to invest in getting your body more limber and stronger. Sometimes we need support during this process. As osteopaths we excel at addressing restrictions even if they’ve been there for many years. Everyone’s bodies are very different; we often work around things like hip or knee replacements, significant arthritis or other mobility challenges. We tailor treatment and exercises suited to your needs and help to dispel the fear of not knowing what to do. Fundamentally, it's so wonderful to see everyone preparing for an active summer of sport but if you’re in pain or would like to avoid the issues of last season then please seek help. At Prom Health, we love to help people find the path to their most enjoyable or best performances yet.