Word: watkinses
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
What makes the golf swing so hard on the back? University of Southern California orthopedic surgeon Robert G. Watkins says it's the repetitive extremes in rotation and compression that go with the sport. "Spine injuries lead the list of injuries on both the senior and regular PGA tours," says...
The same study clocked amateurs generating 85 Nm (newton meters) of torque, compared to 57 Nm generated by professionals with more energy-efficient swings. Normal joints in the spine fail, Watkins notes, at 88 Nm of torque, while degenerated joints, typical of avid or professional golfers, fail at 54 Nm...
The two principal trouble spots are the shock-absorbing disks between the vertebrae and the facet joints, at the back of each vertebrae, that act as brakes to rotation. Each disk is a round ligament, made up of an annulus, which is like a multilayered collagen basket that absorbs rotational...
So why doesn't the hand grenade go off every time you swing a golf club? Coordinated muscle function. That's what enables John Daly to hit 1,000 practice balls a week with a swing speed exceeding 130 m.p.h. "An uncoordinated swing is much more likely to hurt the...
Watkins and other top specialists employ a program of "trunk stabilization" exercises for professional and amateur athletes. The idea is simple: put the spine in a safe, neutral position; then run it through a series of rotational exercises designed to increase overall range of motion and strengthen the supporting muscles...