II you are a golfer or have patients who play the game, no doubt you understand the frustration that accompanies trying to shoot solid numbers on a weekly basis. An inefficient swing, coupled with aches and pains, will lead to inconsistent performance. As I deal with golfers on a daily basis. I know that pain reduction is one of the most important concerns for golfers. Fortunately for chiropractors, it is not uncommon for golfers to play better after having their aches and pains relieved by an adjustment. PGA Tour players have even made such claims. If you don't play golf, don't worry. It is not necessary for a chiropractor to play golf in order to help golfers. There are no specific "golf adjust ments" or "golf subluxations." so basic spinal adjusting will help golfers just I as much as businessmen. You also j don't need to play golf to show golfers j how to do important exercises. In fact, | exercise is probably the most impor- j tant physical need for golfers. Weak j abdominals and a weak back lead to I instability and injury in all people, yet j golfers are more susceptible to injury, j considering the intense physical I demands placed on the lumbar spine j by the golf swing. j I • Exercise Concepts for Golfers j Figure 1 is a picture of me. standing ! on a Swiss ball in the backswing position. I use this image as part of a handout to illustrate that golf training is far removed from standard weight training with barbells and machines. You don't need to be really flexible to stand on a Swiss ball, but you do need lots of coordination, balance, and stability. The same holds , true for the golf swing. ; In the chiropractic office, j golf training should focus j on stability. If you are I unfamiliar with stabiliza- \ lion exercises, take some I of the rehab or orthopedic | seminars that focus on i tliis important subject. j If you had just one I exercise to prescribe for j golfers, I would suggest j the prone quadruped, which is kind of i a weird name lor an exercise. Paul j Chek. an exercise specialist, calls his | version ot" this exercise the horse i stance. I'm not crazy about either name, but have not bothered to think up a better one, so I will just call it PQ. Start by getting on your hands and knees, so that your arms and thighs are perpendicular to the Hour. The goal of this exercise is to keep the lumbar spine in a neutral position, midway between flexion and extension, while you extend an arm and the opposite leg. Figure 2 illustrates an advanced version of this exercise. It will take some time to progress to this level. I typically hold this position for 10-15 seconds, then alternate arms and legs. and do this for 5 minutes. For beginners, we obviously start the PQ on the floor, and take great care in making sure the patient maintains a neutral spinal position, as the arms and > legs are extended. At no time should the lumbar spine go into flexion or extension. Maintaining a neutral spine demands that both the abdominals and lumbar muscles work in conceit to stabilize the spine. Some patients will only be able to move one arm at a time and maintain a neutral spine, while others will be able to move an arm or a leg, but not both at the same time. The key is to build up to where the opposite arm and leg can be raised and held for 10 seconds, and then alternate sides for another l()-second hold. This 20-second bout is considered one repetition, and 10 reps will equal one set. Build up to doing 3 sets each day. When doing the PQ. make sure to keep the stomach Hal. We want to minimize the activity of the rectus abdominis. while focusing on the transverse and obliques. The transverse abdominis is the muscle that flattens the stomach and brings the belly button toward the spine. Good activation of the transverse will greatly control torsional movements in the spine, as the opposite arm and leg is raised. The PQ is just one of many different stabilization exercises you can use with golfers and other patients. There are numerous exercises available that focus on the hip. abdomen, low back, mid back, shoulder, and neck. Several excellent books are available that illustrate all of the exercises you would Continued on Page 47 ...from Page 3K need to use in practice.1--3 Dr. Seaman is a graduate of Nen-York Chiropractic College. He teaches postgraduate seminars on neurology, nutrition, and golf for state chiropractic associations and chiropractic colleges. He has written numerous articles for journals such as JMPT, and has authored a nutrition book devoted to pain control and tissue healing. He also operates a golf-training center in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dr. Seaman can be reached at doc @ LessPainBetterGolf. com. References DeFranca GC. Pelvic locomotor dysfunction: A clinical approach. Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers: 1996 Liebenson C. ed. Rehabiliation of the spine. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins: 1996 Murphy DR, ed. Conservative Management of Cervical Spine Syndromes. Norwalk. CT: Apple- ton Lange. 1999.0
