Ocean Grove Podiatrist, Amy Hawker, Talks foot problems in golf…
A full round of golf can often add up to a 8-10km workout, which can cause some discomfort in your feet. Painful and fatigued feet can affect your timing and balance enough to have a large impact on your swing, which can be reflected on the scorecard at the end of the round.
During the golf swing the body acts as a whip, power production starts with the feet pushing against the ground. The foot pivots and provides intrinsic lateral movement to enable the hip to fully rotate around a fixed leg position. Each foot moves differently during a golf swing, the back foot must allow for more pronation during the follow through of the golf swing than the front foot. This repeated motion of a golf swing over an extended period of time can easily lead to the various golf foot injuries.
Common Golf Foot Injuries
Heel Pain
This condition is also known as plantar fascitis and commonly occurs due to excessive loading in the feet. Golfers will often complain of pain when first rising in the morning and after periods of rest. Pain will be located in the middle of the heel.
Metatarsalgia
This term refers to any pain in the fore foot region. This can be caused due or corns, hard skin or bony pain.
Morton’s Neuroma
Inflammation of the nerve in between the metatarsal’s (bones at the sole of the foot) occurs. This can be very painful for golfers who walk around the fairway.
Tendonitis
Inflammation of the tendon that runs along the arch region. This is a common golfing injury as the foot can be placed under excessive pressure during the golf swing.
Depending on your foot function certain tendons and ligaments in your legs/feet can get overused and can be strained. This can result in pain and discomfort. It is Important that when choosing golf shoes, you choose shoes that provide comfort, function well and create stability on the golf course. Custom-made orthotics for your golf shoes can also improve posture and reduce end range of loading on your feet, along with evenly distributing the pressure and forces throughout the feet, which can minimise your risk of overuse injuries in the lower limb. Exercises such as using a golf ball under both feet to massage the muscles and improve range of motion in the 33 joints in both feet can also help!
We enjoy and have seen many golfers who have benefited their podiatry appointment so f you have any foot related questions or concerns- we can help! Please call, text or email!