Golf, Prolotherapy, & Weak Ankles

Parts of this newsletter were drawn from Chapter 33 of Prolo Your Sports Injuries Away (Leonard Horwitz, D.P.M. contributor to that chapter)

The goals are simple for the average golfer. Hit the ball far and hit it straight. Golfing could be defined, in a mechanical sense, as a coordinated movement between the upper body (torso, arms, and shoulders) and the lower body (feet, legs, and lower back). The most basic objective in this sport is control. Control the body segments, and you can control the physical impact and the end trajectory of the spherical object with dimples (the ball).

The Golf Swing

The most important part of the game is the golf swing. This requires a synergistic movement between the lumbar spine, the upper shoulder, and the feet. The feet are often neglected when there is any discussion about the swing. Nevertheless, if you think about the parts above the feet, the knees, back, neck, and shoulders, you will understand that none of these parts can be efficient if the feet are impaired.

I spoke at a medical seminar on the golf swing in early 1998. Dr. Hauser attended this seminar and he learned so much about the golf swing and the importance of the feet, that immediately after the talk, he changed his swing. On a recent trip to Chicago, Dr. Hauser and I had the opportunity to put that knowledge to practical use. We practiced hitting golf balls together for about two hours. Using this new information on how to balance his feet and lower his trunk at takeaway, his accuracy improved. It improved so much so, that I had to pay for the activities of the day for having the high score of the game.

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