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Massage Therapy Helps Your Golf Swing

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Written by Steve Esquire   
Saturday, 30 August 2008

Massage Therapy Helps Your Golf Swing


If you play golf then you know the importance of having a good swing. Your swing makes or breaks your golf game. The follow through and mechanics of your swing are very important to long term success. To

ensure you have a consistent swing, it is vital to warm up your muscles, joints and tendons prior to playing. Proper warm up consists of stretching, light exercise and massage. These are important to get your body prepared for the repetitive physical activity that it must perform. Now you may not know that a massage chair can be an effective part of your pre-golf game.

When you swing your club, stress is put on the shoulders, elbows, wrists, lower back, hips and knees. If you have pain or discomfort in one of these areas, then it can really throw off your swing. When we have an ache, we tend to try to not put stress on that area to make it worse. This means we may unintentionally cause our swing to deviate from its desired course. A thorough warm up helps to loosen these tight areas and help to enhance your swing.

Now when you warm up you should be stretching out the following areas: back, arms, legs, hips, shoulders. Get a stretching routine down, so you work all the areas each time. You will want to do some warm up exercises and perhaps some walking to loosen the muscles. Massage therapy should also be included to loosen up the lower back, hips, shoulders and legs. Massage chairs are particularly effective in this regard.

Massage chairs can provide targeted Swedish and deep tissue massage to these areas. Also the application of heat helps with blood circulation and muscle relaxation. Massage also increases alertness helping concentration during the game. Massage should be performed prior to action, because if inflammation occurs, then there are limited therapies that can reverse it. When getting a pre-game massage remember to obtain adequate hydration.

Most golfers that I have met, complain about lower back pain. This is an especially important area for your golf swing. In fact, this is the pivot point of your swing. Your swing puts a lot of stress on this area as you follow through on your swing. Since you are doing this over and over throughout the day, you may start to experience some aching or discomfort. Getting a proper and adequate warm up is critical to easing this particular stress point. You want to stretch out the back, legs and hips. The application of heat is also beneficial. You may want to get some deeper tissue bodywork in the lower lumber to help you out.

In order to play golf successfully over the long term, you must take positive steps to avoid injury. What are some of the most common causes of golf injury? They can be over-swinging, twisting during your swing, poor swing mechanics and too little warm up. The golf swing is where most golf injuries occur. If you swing too hard or do not warm up correctly, then you can hurt your back, shoulder, wrist, and other areas. You can reduce this risk by integrating an adequate warm up before your game. However, you must also be aware of your limits and do not over-extend yourself unwisely.

You should seriously consider adding massage therapy as part of your warm up like professional athletes do. Sports massage is part and parcel of the proper warm up to help achieve peak performance. You want to make sure all the major muscle groups that constitute your golf swing are included. This also helps reduce the chance of injury and increases your longevity. Do not wait until you are injured. Once injuries start to occur, then it is difficult to fully recover. Your golf swing is very sensitive to problems such as injuries which can affect your game permanently. Get a great sports massage with a massage chair recliner and get your swing the best it can be.

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