Athletico Health Resources

Today’s blog post is written by guest blogger Joe Estes, PT, DPT, CGFI.  Joe is a physical therapist and Certified Golf Fitness Instructor at Athletico’s Golf Performance Center.

The summer is underway, and so are most people’s golf games. Like the weather so far this spring and summer, the condition of your swing may not be the best you have seen. From a golf fitness and biomechanical perspective, I talk to my patients and clients a lot about maintaining posture throughout the golf swing. This mostly refers to maintaining the spine angle from your set-up position through just after impact.  Maintaining posture helps with both consistency of ball striking, as well as power production. (more…)

With the golf season now in full swing, many golfers may be experiencing some aches and pains from the first several rounds of the course. Low back pain is a specifically common aliment among golfers.  Low back pain can be caused by numerous factors, but two areas of deficit are common culprits to low back pain among golfers. (more…)

Golf season is finally approaching, which means it is time to dust off the clubs, break out the plaid pants and warm up your muscles. Properly swinging a golf club requires precise muscle coordination and sequencing of movement across numerous joints within the body, specifically the back. During the back-swing and follow-through, rotation of the trunk is required to effectively position the club for consistently accurate golf shots. This trunk rotation is facilitated by movement through the spine, specifically the thoracic spine.

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Young athletes today are often practicing three to four hours a day, four to five times per week.  Weekends are often spent competing hours at a time. As intensity of sport participation has increased so has the injury level of the upper extremities. Understanding that kids are not little adults and respecting the growing body is key to staying in the game. The good news is that focus on how to prevent overuse injury in sports for growing athletes is also on the rise. Listed below are 5 common upper extremity overuse injuries in young athletes and ways to help prevent these injuries. (more…)

After a cold, snowy, and record-setting winter in Chicago, believe it or not, golf is just around the corner. Now that the snow melted, temperatures are increasing, and grass is growing, divots will be flying on the golf course. The last thing you want this season is to be sidelined because of an injury after being sidelined for by the weather.  Golf is a dynamic, athletic movement that entails neurological and musculoskeletal components. In order for you to return to mid-season form, you must take care of the most important aspect of your game: your body. (more…)

Have you ever injured or torn your ACL ligament? We’ve got the exercises and stretches for you! Athletico’s Dave Heidloff ATC, NASM-PES, FMS, provides stretches for athletes or anyone suffering from an ACL injury. Stretches are provided for anyone dealing with an ACL injury, specifically for those preparing for surgery or returning from surgery. Watch Dave’s exercises for an ACL injury below: (more…)

*Editor’s note: Today’s post was written by Melissa Boger, ATC, CSCS, NASM-PES/CES.

When I am working with golfers, the number one complaint that I hear is low back pain (LBP) while golfing. Many golfers think that LBP is something that they just have to live with or play through. The good news is that LBP during golf can be prevented or significantly reduced by taking some simple steps to help your body move in a healthier more efficient way. LBP can be caused by a number of different reasons ranging from muscle weakness to muscle inflexibility to poor golf posture, but no matter what the reason is, most LBP during golf can be treated by improving on 3 major components:  Mobility, Stability and Strength. (more…)