Thursday, January 29, 2009

Get an Impressive Golf Swing with Massage Therapy

By Steve Esquire

Your golf swing is everything to having a good golf game. Your swing involves the coordination of many different muscle groups in tandem. If any of them are off, then so is your swing and the ball will be off the mark. Proper warm up before playing a round helps get your muscles groups working together. This may include stretching, calisthenics and massage therapy. It is vital to get your body prepared properly for the physical activity of swinging your clubs. Massage therapy delivered with a massage chair is an effective way to get your body and muscles loosened up for your next round of golf.

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.

The regions that need proper stretching are your shoulders, arms, back, hips and legs. Develop and sustain a stretching routine prior to playing. Make sure you hit all the above listed areas. Calisthenics are another important element to add to your routine. Walking also helps you get your body ready. Using a massage chair to loosen up tight muscles and tendons helps your muscles in addition to stretching.

You may not be familiar with the tremendous technology that has been integrated into massage chairs, but they can provide many effective massage therapies. You can select a Swedish, Shiatsu or deep tissue massage. These are effective in loosening your muscles, enhance circulation and also increasing mental awareness and concentration. Many top athletes get sports massages to help them maintain peak performance. It is important to drink a glass of water after getting a massage to help flush out the toxins released from your muscles.

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.

What can cause injuries during the golf game? Many golf injuries come from over-swinging, poor swing mechanics, hitting the ground or excessively twisting during your swing. Most of these can be prevented. If you warm up correctly, then you can reduce the chance of these happening to you. As you can see, the swing is where the vast majority of golf related injuries can occur. Be smart and get a routine warm up to help prevent these happening to you. Your warm up must be thorough and consistent to help reduce injury. Furthermore, know your own personal limits and do not push your limits too far.

We cannot overstate the importance of a comprehensive and proper warm up. Make sure you massage the major muscle groups, stretch them out and the perform warm up exercises. This will help get your body better prepared to improve your golf game. Utilize massage therapy like professional athletes do before they perform. Massage chairs are a convenient way to gain regular access to effective massage therapy. A massage chair can be a key asset in getting a proper massage to loosen, relax and prepare the muscles. This will help give you the edge to help take a few more strokes off your golf game. - 16752

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