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All those April showers eventually give way to May flowers and May is a busy month for Oakwood Sports Medicine. As part of our outreach efforts in education and service, here are some of the scheduled events where you can find us.
Saturday May 2nd at the Taylor Recreation Center Health & Fitness Expo 9a-3p
Wednesday May 6th Lincoln Jefferson-Barnes Health Fair 5p-7p
Saturday May 9th at Livonia Churchill HS Traditional Karate Tournament
Friday May 15th at Romulus HS Health Careers Fair for RHS students
May 22nd, 23rd & 24th Canton Cup 2009
Playing 9 or 18 holes of golf requires a great deal of concentration, skill and physical ability—what? Physical ability to play golf? That’s right, in order to keep playing for many years, one must follow an exercise routine throughout the year.
The golf swing is very demanding on the muscles in the trunk and legs, as well as a high demand on the spine and associated ligaments. Proper warm up to prepare these structures for the rotation and movement is essential.
· Maintain good flexibility of all the muscles involved, including the hamstrings, calf, low back, mid back, and shoulders. This program should be followed all year long.
· Slow gentle movements that are similar to those in the golf swing including low velocity trunk rotation, shoulder movements, and partial squats.
· Ideally, a 10 minute warm up should immediately precede the first tee off of the day. This warm up could be brisk walking, stationary biking or light jogging. Break a sweat and you know you are warmed up enough!
Lastly, if you develop pain in the body during a round of golf, give it a rest and apply the R.I.C.E. principle for the first 24-48 hours(Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation of the injured part) and see your doctor if pain or swelling continue past 24-48 hours.
As a leader in sports medicine and a with a focus on community education, Oakwood Sports Medicine is frequently asked to comment on shoulder/arm exercises for the throwing athlete, specifically pitchers.
First the reader must understand that strength training for youth has certain parameters that should be followed and proper instruction should come from qualified individuals. On many occassions the volunteer parent is assigned to overseeing the program or weight room. At other times, the program design is not fully developed to compliment the throwing athlete.
Secondly, to use an old phrase, there are many different ways to skin a cat. Some exercises are preferred over others, neither of which are “wrong”, just a personal preference. If the program is designed properly with the goals in mind you will get the results.
Current thoughts on strength training for a pitcher emanatemostly from the biomechanical research and rehabilitation perspective. This also includes a highly functional component as stationary exercises do not mimic the type of dynamics that take place on the body and shoulder/arm during pitching. Stationary exercise has its proper place in program design but let’s not forget the use of and transfer of force from the ground through the legs, hips, trunk and ultimately the upper torso.
Program design is critical to achieving the results desired. Proper instruction and oversight of the strength training program is essential to keep on track. Use available resources in your local community (Oakwood Sports Medicine), literature and seminars to assist in developing the type of program that will enable the throwing athlete to remain healthy.
