You would be forgiven for considering golf to be a low injury-risk physical activity, after all it is a non impact-sport. However injuries to the golf player, whether a low or high handicapper, are quite common.

I wrote an extensive article last year about common golf injuries, the need for good flexibility and control while discussing the challenges of the modern golf swing. You can read the full post here.

We are in the middle of summer, a time when even the fair-weather golfers are out enjoying 18 holes be it on one of Ireland’s 300 courses or a foreign one. I thought this a good time to share a quick reminder about the risk, cause and prevention tips for one of the most common golfing injuries called ‘Golfer’s Elbow’.

What is Golfer's Elbow?

There is some debate as to whether golfer’s elbow or low-back pain is the most common golfing injury. Since both injuries can be caused by the repetitive motion of the golf swing and both requiring good technique to avoid injury I would suggest the level of risk for either injury to be fairly consistent.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my personal experience in how I recognised I was suffering from patellar tendonitis. I covered some technical points about who is at risk and what some of the contributing risk factors are for developing patellar tendonitis.

If you are considering whether your knee pain might be patellar tendonitis then be sure to read my initial blog post - What Is Patellar Tendonosis

In this part 2 follow-up I want to share some of the first stage rehabilitation activities that I have been doing to help my recovery.

After doing all the wrong things at first I sought advice from the Mount Merrion Physiotheray team who set me straight on what I should be doing. Having an inquisitive mind for the detail I asked for some evidence-based literature on the treatment of patellar tendonitis which I duly studied and supports my personal account here.

It would appear that according to the research evidence anti-inflammatories are indeed effective for pain relief but have shown no proven benefit in actually reducing the signs of inflammation, such as swelling, in a sprained ankle for example.

So, the answer is yes, but not in the way most of us would expect.

In a recent British Journal of Sports Medicine podcast, the effectiveness, use and safety of these commonly used drugs are discussed. The research would suggest that Paracetamol may be as effective in alleviating pain so this should be tried first as it has a lower risk of side effects.

The best pain relief may be achieved by combining Paracetamol with an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen (Neurofen) and often a lower dose of the anti-inflammatories is therefore required, thereby reducing the risk of side effects.

Chartered Physiotherapists are trained to assess an acute (recent) ankle sprain and using a specific set of assessment criteria known as the Ottawa Ankle Rules we can determine if a fracture is likely to have occurred. If we suspect a fracture we can refer you for an X Ray or MRI scan (In Ireland, depending on your health insurance policy, you may need your doctor to sign off on the request). The results of the scan will help us decide how best the ankle should be managed and depending on the extent of the damage, an orthopaedic specialist may need to be consulted in addition to receiving physiotherapy.

Most ankle sprains result in soft tissue injury, usually to the ligament structures which support the ankle joint. The lateral (outer) ligaments are more commonly injured which may result in pain, swelling, restriction of movement and a loss of function e.g. walking properly, or ability to run and take part in sports. If this type of injury is not treated correctly, on-going weakness and instability may result, making further injury much more likely down the road. Simply taking anti-inflammatories is not sufficient.

Striking a tiny ball with a small club face at the end of a long shaft is the respectable skill of the golf swing. Making that tiny ball travel the distance and direction intended requires great skill as well as good body position technique with sufficient specific golf flexibility throughout the full range of motion.

This post is an excerpt from a more extensive article I wrote recently called - Golf Flexibility, The Golf Swing & Common Injuries

Let’s get into the golf swing of things; the arms move through a large range of motion while linking the golf club and the power-generating torso of the golfer. The golf swing involves 5 phases: the backswing, the downswing, acceleration, early follow-through and late follow-through. With each phase requiring an evolving recruitment of muscle activity and fluid technique there is risk of soft tissue damage throughout the full swing movement.

The original golf swing is said to have evolved in Scotland some hundred years ago. Modern equipment and material as well as advancement in performance technique has led to the 'modern golf wing' changing the dynamics of required golf flexibility.

In many cases, long term muscle imbalance exists already, an injury then occurs and an orthotic is prescribed to temporarily offload the injured structures to promote healing and recovery. 

In this situation, some biomechanics experts would argue that the orthotics, by placing the foot and ankle in a more ‘aligned' position, can actually help overcome and correct long term muscle imbalance, often with the help of corrective exercises and manual joint and soft tissue mobilisation techniques. This situation often occurs from the late teens onwards.

With Wimbledon fever well under way and a particularly injury prone year among the top seeded players I thought it might be interesting to have a look at the most common tennis relates sports injuries. Research has shown that there are 54 injuries per 1000 games played (Pluim et al 2006). Among the most common injuries are a sprained ankle, shoulder strain, calf strain, tennis elbow and back injuries. 

Let’s take a closer look at the sprained ankle.

The sprained ankle is highly common in both the elite and the recreational sportsperson. The sudden sprinting, side movements and change of direction as required in tennis can cause the ankle to twist, particularly if the player is becoming fatigued or are playing on a slippery surface. The likes of Andy Murray and Roger Federer will wear ankle braces during matches in order to reduce the risk of such injuries.

A recent 'twinge' in my left knee while jogging over some uneven turf in the park reminded me of these simple self treatment techniques and the vulnerability of our hard working knees.  

Did you know the knee is the largest joint in the body? It also has a pretty tough job and is prone to injury unfortunately. Our knees take the impact for pretty much everything we do on our feet. Being literally two bones, femur and tibia, joined together by ligaments with only a wedge of soft cartilage (meniscus) as a cushion between them - they do an amazing job on the whole.

It's not only athletes who risk injuring their knees but most of us in our day to day can suffer one of these common conditions. If we are aware of them and be more mindful during our daily movements we should be able to reduce the risk. Let's take a look... 

I recently treated a 17 year old rugby player who suffered a rare sporting injury following a tackle - a fracture of the end of the collar bone which sits nearest the breast bone. A colleague of mine made the initial assessment and made a good judgment call that further help was needed.

Shoe insoles / foot orthotics have the power to positively transform your postural alignment - or ruin it.

If you are suffering any form of foot or ankle pain and if the thought of a shoe insole has crossed your mind, then please consider these few key points before taking any action.