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Golf

Those for whom golf is a passion cannot imagine a life without it. Precisely why Bay Regional's Rehabilitation Services added LIFETIME GOLF to its service-mix. Kevin Foster, a licensed physical therapist, teaches the four-week, private pay program. The program is for individuals who want to improve their strength, flexibility, and most importantly - their game.
The golf swing is one of the most complex movements in all sports, requiring precision and integration of multiple areas of the body. This places an amazing amount of torque through the spine, neck, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Those stresses, especially if executed through a faulty swing, can lead to injury that can limit enjoyment and ability to play. There is a biomechanically perfect swing that is ideal, but we modify that swing for each individual's limitations or specific injuries.
Our program specializes in working with individuals who are recovering from injury, surgery, or any problem limiting their golf game. The four-week program includes:
- An evaluation of strength, flexibility, range of motion, and physical deficits that may affect the game (for example - lower back pain)
- Video analysis of the swing (before and after completion of the program)
- Establishing a short but complete warm-up and cool-down routine of light stretches and exercises.
- Teaching a home exercise program to stretch and strengthen problem areas, reducing risk of injury and enhancing power.
The program is tailored to each individual's specific goals, needs and problem areas. For someone who had a hip replacement, we will work on altering the swing to stay within a safe range of motion without adding increased stress on the lower spine. For someone who experiences low back pain, we will identify the problem causing the limitation and alter the swing to reduce pain to be able to get back to the game. Everyone has unique issues they carry with them that influence their enjoyment of the game; therefore, each session is also unique to that individual's needs.
This program does not focus on specific skills, such as putting, chipping, or corrections of hooks/slices. It is about correcting biomechanics of the swing to reduce the risk of injury and restoring golf as an enjoyable part of your life.
There's always potential that as we change the swing to be better for a person's body, there will also be gains in power, distance, even accuracy, but the real gains are being able to enjoy the game again, and let the challenge be from the game, not the limitations or pain from your body.
For more information call (989) 667-6600.
*Kevin Foster is a Physical Therapist at the Center for Rehabilitation. He has special training in rehabilitation for golf injuries and also specializes in manual therapy and sports medicine/orthopedics.
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