By Larisa Goldin, MBA, LMP

All athletes look for an edge that can help them train more effectively, perform better or overcome injuries quickly.  A competitive athlete will push his or her body to the limit to achieve greater speed, endurance or power.   All this pushing puts stress on the muscles and requires a great deal of recovery in order to avoid injury and overuse trauma.  Massage can increase flexibility, speed recovery time and decrease your chance of injury allowing you to achieve your true golf potential. Click here to read more.

The main golf swing muscles and their role in the golf swing:

• Shoulders support the golf club at the top of the swing and also add clubhead speed as an extension of the core
• Upper Back maintains spine angle for ease of turning on back swing and follow- through
• Lower Back is critical in maintaining golf posture during the swing and while putting
• Glutes help maintain flexion in the hips and produce the ‘golf squat’ position for a powerful swing base
• Quadriceps allow consistent knee flexion and golf posture for a repeatable swing
• Hamstrings allow you to transfer your weight correctly on the backswing and downswing for maximum power
• Core muscles produce maximum power from the pivot and store energy from torque created on the back swing

Sports massage aids your performance in the following ways:

• Reduces chance of injury through assisted stretching and event preparation

• Increases ange of motion and muscle flexibility resulting in improved power and performance

• Shortens ecovery time between workouts by maximizing the supply of nutrients and oxygen to muscle tissue through increased blood flow

• Enhances elimination of the metabolic by-products of exercise