Golf Body
The body structure
Skeleton
The skeleton is a strong, but lightweight, framework that supports the body, protects the major organs, and enables movement to take place, especially in the practice of Golf or any major sport task we ask the body to perform.
Your body is supported by 206 bones, each doing a particular job, and makes up 20% of the body's mass. Bone is a living tissue, supplied by blood vessels and nerves, and where it stores calcium and other minerals, and also manufactures blood cells.
You need this structure to give your body shape and to keep the human body upright. 26 bones make your spine very flexible, so that you can bend in every direction essential for the rotational method needed in the great of Golf!
When movement takes place during the swing the 13 major joints become involved Neck - Shoulders - Elbows - Wrists - Hips - Knees - Ankles. To create efficient motion during the swinging action these 13 major joints need to be free and oily.
Muscle power
Over 40% of your body is made up of muscles, and over 600 skeletal, or voluntary muscles operate under conscious control to move the body, stabilize joints, and maintain body posture. The skeletal muscles are attached to bones, tough fibrous cords, called tendons. When you exercise particularly with Golf your muscles make more fibres and you get stronger and healthier.
Many muscles work in pairs, for example, biceps and triceps move your arms. Biceps make your elbows bend and triceps pull them straight again. When you stretch your muscles pull your bones into shape.
You have two types of muscles:
• Voluntary muscles which are under your direct control, for example when you wink!
• Involuntary muscles work without you thinking: for example when your heart beats!
The cardiac muscle is found only in the heart and it contracts rhythmically to pump blood around the whole body. You use about 30 muscles to smile and when you smile or laugh you feel much better even after a poor round of Golf!
Heart and lungs
The heart is a powerful pump that is about the same size as your fist, and together with the blood vessels and the blood they contain, form the cardiovascular, or circulatory system. This transports nutrients and oxygen to all body cells and removes their waste products. It also carries specialized white blood cells that fight infections. Blood contains red and white blood cells and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen around your body. White blood cells fight infection and the platelets plug any leaks. Your body needs extra oxygen when you run or perform strenuous tasks. This oxygen comes from your lungs. A round of Golf needs extra oxygen too!
Brain and nerves
Your brain controls your thoughts and feelings, and all the movements you make both at a conscious or sub-conscious level. Your brain sends and receives messages via your nerves. Your brain contains two halves. The right hemisphere contains creative skills such as painting, intuition, music composition. The left hemisphere controls logical thinking, mathematics etc. Your nerves send messages along the spinal column to your brain at up to 650 kpm, that's quicker than Tiger Wood's best drive!
Organs
Inside your body is an amazing collection of organs that all work together to produce a happy healthy human being. Your brain is in charge of them all. The respiratory organs consist of the nose, throat, voice box, windpipe, bronchus, and the lungs. Together they form the respiratory system, which supplies the body with oxygen and removes waste carbon dioxide. The digestive organs break down food into small nutrient molecules that are used to supply the body's energy needs and also the raw materials that are required for the maintenance and health of the human body. The tongue, the pharynx, the oesophagus, the stomach, the small and large intestine, the pancreas and the liver and the anus all play important parts in this whole process. The urinary system which consists of the urinary bladder, ureter, urethra and kidney produces urine a waste liquid, and transports it out of the body. The bowel produces are eliminated through the anus,Lower back problems
An occupational risk for the frequent golfer is the development of lower back pain. A study in 1982 found 25% of the tour players had lower back pain. And that's a fairly young age group.
The most common cause of lower back problems is improper alignment of the spine. It has been estimated that musculoskeletal weakness is the cause of 80% of all backaches today. Weak abdominal muscles allow the stomach to sag, the hips to rotate toward the rear causing an exaggerated curve in the lower back region. This curve puts consistent pressure on the vertebrae and discs. When there is a combination of being overweight, lacking muscle tone and having poor flexibility and bad posture habits, it increases pressure on the vertebrae. Over the course of time this pressure eventually leads to the problems that send golfers to the doctors.
Contributing to the back problems that golfers can have with the lower back is a player's technique. The swing requires twisting of the spine and a forceful release of energy, but some styles are much more forceful than others. Golfers who attempt to wind the upper body 90 degrees or more while holding the lower body rotation to a minimum will put greater stress on the lumbar spine. Also, a player who drives aggressively toward the target with his lower body while keeping his upper body back in a reverse "C" position will be more prone to lower back injury than a player who finishes more level. A jarring swing into a root, a rock or the turf can also injure the back; therefore, every attempt should be made to take no unnecessary chances when those conditions are present.
One of the best things to do for a healthy back is to stand properly - at all times! Hips should be tucked under and the stomach pulled in. In order to do this one must have strong stomach muscles and flexibility in the hamstring muscles in the back of the legs. Jack Joseph, director of the Fit-back exercise programme, makes observations, "Common treatment for simple backaches includes drugs (muscle relaxers and pain killers), manipulation, ultrasound, bed rest, and perhaps traction. All that is usually needed is to reverse the degenerative processes which are causing the shortened, inflexible, and weak muscles of the abdomen, spine and hips. The ideal way to do this is by beginning a regular regimen of exercise especially designed to improve muscular fitness" Correct exercise almost always helps, but when exercise stops, the problems usually reoccur.
