Can Chiropractic Care Improve My Golf Game?

While it’s well understood that chiropractic care can improve nearly all life activities, whether those be sedentary activities like working in an office or high-movement activities like running or lifting weights, people are often interested in specific activities—namely, sports performance.

A question that Dr. Jay Kang of Zen Care Physical Medicine in Irvine, CA often receives is: can chiropractic care improve my golf game?

Considering the proximity of several prominent golf clubs to Dr. Kang’s Irvine office, it’s not a surprising question—patients often frequent courses like the Newport Beach Golf Course, Oak Creek Golf Club, the Strawberry Farms Golf Club, and the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course.

Patients often want to know if they can anticipate any improvement in their sports performance as a result of chiropractic care. In fact, many people use their sports performance as a sort of gauge for their overall physical health and wellness—sometimes, a decline in performance means a global or specific health issue may be present, like a strained muscle, or perhaps the wellness routine has been disturbed by missing a few nights of sleep.

Whether you’re a regular sports enthusiast or a casual golfer, you may be fascinated to learn that chiropractic care can in fact influence your golf game for the better.

Read on to learn the three main ways that you can up your athletic performance with the help of chiropractic care:

#1. Increase Your Range of Motion

Every golfer knows that when it comes to playing a good game, there’s one factor that stands out above all the rest: your golf swing.

To swing properly, a complete range of motion is non-negotiable. While there are certainly ways to compensate for a depleted range of motion, this puts stress on other parts of the body.

Your golf swing is perhaps the only element that can single-handedly dictate the success of your game. From the backswing to your follow-through, a complete range of motion is necessary to ensure that your club remains in the favored position and that the arc of your ball is accurate.

Even considering the wide range of swing styles that exist, they all have certain factors in common—rotation of the torso near the hips, mobility and flexibility in the shoulders, arms, and elbows, and buoyancy in the knees and legs.

When a full range of motion is not in place, your golf swing suffers. Oftentimes, an impeded swing will lead to unintended movement of the ball either to the right or the left, limited distance, and an unpredictable arc.

Fortunately, Irvine chiropractor: Dr. Jay Kang of Zen Care Physical Medicine has extensive experience in delivering swing-improving chiropractic care.

Because chiropractic care treats the nervous system, the muscular system, and the skeletal system, an expert chiropractor is equipped to treat the wellness of each of these systems so that they can better support your game.

Many people believe that the muscular system is the primary influencer of their golf swing, but that isn’t always the case. For example, when a nerve is pinched it can severely limit physical movement. This isn’t because there is an actual obstruction to the body’s range of motion, but because of the pain caused by the inflamed nerve. Additionally, arthritic or degenerated joints and bones can prevent a full range of motion, causing pain in the swing or from other related movements. Of course, the muscular system can contribute to an inhibited swing—tense, tight, strained, or injured muscles all play a significant role in limiting the range of motion.

The good news is that chiropractic care can help to ease inflamed nerves, release tight muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and realign joints and slipped discs.

In particular, Dr. Jay Kang is familiar with providing chiropractic care for the purpose of improving the golf swing. In addition to being an avid golfer himself, he has worked with several world-class golfers, including competitive golfer S.J. Park.

#2. Improve Your Balance

In addition to a range of motion, balance is a critical factor in producing an effective golf swing. If the golfer does not have proper balance, the entire swing is likely to be at least a few degrees off. Similarly to range of motion, there are ways to compensate for this—but they put other parts of the body under stress, often leaving golfers feeling sore or strained after their game.

When your body is balanced during your swing, the impact delivered by the swing is enhanced significantly. This can improve the speed of your swing, enhance your accuracy, and most importantly, create far more consistency in your game.

While most people are able to experience an outstanding swing from time to time, it’s often difficult for golfers to replicate their best swings repeatedly in various positions on the course. This is often because their swing is not balanced.

Fortunately, golfers often find that they experience tremendous improvements in their balance following chiropractic care. Unsurprisingly, posture plays a significant role in the process of finding balance. Between two players under equal conditions, the one with superior posture and balance is most likely to produce an effective swing.

When correct your posture (which comprises your skeletal and joint structure), can help to deliver game-changing improvements in your balance. Ideal posture and alignment help to distribute weight evenly across the body, which facilitates correct form and allows golfers to divert energy to their swing, not try to stabilize their body.

#3. Tap Into More Strength

Once balance and range of motion have been optimized by expert chiropractic care, you’ll soon realize another benefit—increased strength.

Because chiropractic care helps to improve the health of the entire neuromusculoskeletal system, this generates more strength in the entire body. As the circulation of nerve energy is improved, muscle tissue becomes more efficient in the body. This improves grip and micromovements which contribute to improved accuracy within the game

Optimizing Your Game

If you’re ready to experience your best golf game yet, it’s time to book your appointment. Your first appointment will include a complete assessment to determine exactly where your body can benefit from chiropractic care.

Once your comprehensive assessment is analyzed by your expert chiropractor, they will then create an individualized treatment plan that will help you to achieve your wellness and sports performance goals. At Zen Care Physical Medicine of Irvine, CA, we’re here to help—we look forward to seeing you soon!