Tips to help with Neck Pain in Golfers
Neck pain often occurs due to tension in your swing and over practice
Neck pain tends to develop in golfers on the lead side of their neck.Tension in your lead arm places strain on your neck and can lead to severe neck pain on left side.
Severe neck pain can occur due to fatigue in muscles and over practice. Over practice often leads to muscle strain and temporary neck pain.
Protruding your chin, positions your neck in an extended position overworking your neck muscles, as well as increasing compression on your neck.
Poor swing mechanics will further lead to neck compression. Not using legs efficiently, causes upper body to work harder through the swing loading the neck.
The following tips are all good cues to help with neck pain:
Do not over reach
When you over reach with the golf club, this will place increased tension on your spinal muscles all the way up to your neck. It is important that you sit your weight in front of your ankles and get the feeling of dropping into your hips. Doing this and feeling balanced, will help keep your spine relaxed and neutrally positioned at address.
Over-reaching through the upper back
Neutral posture, arms hang naturally
Protruding your chin forward
Golfers that keep the head up with a protruding chin will place their neck into extension and a very compressed position. Add the torsional forces of the golf swing into poor postural position, neck pain is likely to result. Make sure you look down at the ball, tuck your chin in and think long relaxed neck at address.
Chin protruding places neck into extension increasing tension
Chin tucked in places less tension on neck and upper back
Keep your left arm relaxed
If you straighten and stiffen your lead arm, more vibration and forces travel up your arm, elbow and places tension into your neck. This will increase compression forces and load on your neck. Try to keep your arms soft and relaxed at address, think relaxed open shoulders to reduce your neck tension.
Tension in arms and gripping tightly increases load and compression through arms and neck
Relaxed arms and gripping lightly reduces tension in the neck
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