GOLF & YOUR FEET
'Leading the Way'
First, your weight is placed lightly
on the balls of your feet, balanced between your front and rear foot.
Then there is a slight shift to the back foot, then another shift back
to the front. Sound like dance steps? These intricate movements actually
describe what goes on below the knees during an ordinary golf swing.
Good foot action is the mark of
an accomplished golfer. "All timing, distance, and direction comes out
of the lower body with the feet leading the way," golf legend Jack Nicklaus
has said. Nicklaus or any professional will tell you that problems with
the feet, even a painful corn or callus, can impede timing and balance
to the point where it's reflected on the scorecard at the end of the
day.
Close to 45 million Americans enjoy
golf on an amateur level. Above and beyond the satisfaction of competition,
a full round of golf affords the opportunity for a 4-5 mile workout
that can reduce stress and improve cardiovascular health.
Be Prepared
Before taking to the links, your
body needs to be prepared for the workout involved in walking the whole
course. (If the pros can walk, so can you!) Anyone older than 40, or
having any problems with weight, respiration, blood pressure, pulse
rate, or cholesterol, should check with a doctor before playing. The
same goes for smokers, diabetics, and people with preexisting injuries
or a history of heart trouble.
Your podiatric physician, a foot
and ankle specialist, knows the importance of wearing proper golf shoes.
Once, driven by fashion, golf shoes were wing-tip oxfords with spikes.
Today, shoes are constructed using basic principles of athletic footwear.
Some even incorporate advanced technological innovations such as graphite
shank reinforcements, which keep them light and add strength.
Don't wear anything on your feet
that wouldn't be comfortable if you were taking a good long walk. Make
sure shoes fit well in the store before purchasing them. It's best to
shop for them in the afternoon when the feet are slightly swollen. Try
on shoes with the same socks you'll wear on the course. Tie both left
and right shoes tightly, and walk around your store or pro shop a few
minutes before deciding on a make and model.
Some simple stretching exercises
are important before taking to the first tee and after leaving the last.
Consult a podiatric physician who specializes in sports medicine for
a light stretching regimen that will help alleviate stiffness after
a day of golf.
The Ideal Swing
Biomechanics, the application of
mechanical laws to living structures such as the feet, play a crucial
part in developing the ideal golf swing. The lateral motion and the
pivoting intrinsic to the golf swing can be functionally impeded by
certain biomechanical conditions. Faulty biomechanics can inhibit proper
foot function, and your game will suffer.
The anatomy of a biomechanically
sound swing goes like this: During set-up, your weight should be evenly
distributed on both feet with slightly more weight on the forefoot as
you lean over, and slightly more weight on the insides of both feet.
Maintenance of proper foot alignment
on the backswing is critical for control of the downswing and contact
position. During the backswing, weight should be shifted to the back
foot. It should be evenly distributed on the back foot or maintained
slightly on the inside. Shifting weight to the outside leaves you susceptible
to the dreaded "sway," a common error in swing. Without an exact reversal
of the sway in the downswing, swaying will result in improper contact
with the ball.
As the back foot remains in a solid
position on the back swing without any rolling to the outside, the front
foot is in turn rolling to the inside. The front heel occasionally comes
off the ground to promote a full shoulder turn. Completion of the backswing
places the weight on the back foot, evenly distributed between forefoot
and rearfoot, with the weight left on the front foot rolling to the
inside.
The downswing involves a rapid shift
of weight from back to front foot; momentum brings the heel of the front
foot down, and follow-though naturally causes a rolling of the back
foot to the inside and the front foot to the outside. Golf should always
be played from the insides of the feet.
Like the great Nicklaus said, "lively
feet" are critical to a successful golf game. Having healthy, biomechancially
stable feet is the first prerequisite for achieving that goal.
Orthoses: Preventing Pain, Improving
Game
For the foot that is not able to
function normally due to biomechanical conditions such as excessive
pronation (rolling in) or supination (rolling out), a state of optimal
biomechanics can be achieved through the use of orthoses, custom shoe
inserts that can be prescribed by a podiatrist. Orthoses not only allow
the feet to function as they ought to, but can alleviate the predisposition
to injury brought on by biomechanical imbalances.
If you already wear orthoses in
your street shoes, by all means transfer them to golf shoes. Podiatrists
who specialize in sports medicine say there are cases when orthotic
devices optimally designed for golf shoes will be different than those
designed for street shoes.
If biomechanical problems are present
in your swing, they will invariably cause symptoms when walking the
links as well. Addressing biomechanical problems in walking may therefore
result in the secondary benefit of an improved swing through proper
foot function.
If a round of golf is painful on
the feet, first assess the quality of your shoes. Any time pain is not
adequately resolved with good, stable, golf shoes, and is present for
more than two or three consecutive rounds, it's time to visit a podiatric
sports physician. He or she can diagnose and treat any problems, and
help make your feet an asset, not a liability, to your golf game.
Other Injuries and Treatment
The torque of a golf swing can strain
muscles in the legs, abdomen, and back. The fact that the game is usually
played on hilly terrain increases these forces, which in turn predispose
to injury. Proper warm-up and stretching exercises specific to golf
can help in injury prevention. A sports podiatrist can recommend a suitable
warm-up regimen.
If biomechanical imbalances are
present, these existing stresses will overload certain structures, and
predispose the golfer to overuse of muscles and strain on ligaments
and tendons. Orthoses will equalize the weight load on the lower extremity,
and in essence rest the overused muscle.
Other problems, such as tendinitis,
capsulitis, and ligament sprains and pulls, can also keep a golf enthusiast
back at the clubhouse. Improper shoes can bring on blisters, neuromas
(inflamed nerve endings), and other pains in the feet. Podiatrists see
these problems daily and can treat them conservatively to allow for
a quick return to the sport.
When injured, participation is no
substitute for rehabilitation. Injured body parts must be thoroughly
treated and rehabilitated to meet the full demands of golf or any other
sport. If you are injured, your return should be gradual. As much as
you may want to get back to your game, take it slow. A healthy body
makes for a more enjoyable game, and possibly a better scorecard at
the end of the day.
The American Podiatric Medical Association operates a toll-free telephone
service, 1-800-FOOTCARE (1-800-366-8227), from which consumers
can obtain informative literature on a variety of foot health topics.
The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, an affiliate of APMA,
may be reached at 1-800-438-3355.
Produced in cooperation with the American Academy of Podiatric Sports
Medicine
