golfrewind.com

Short story: Hitting buckets of balls can stress your shoulder without strengthening your
rotator cuff. Cross training by balancing hands and knees on a 75mm exercise ball fixes it
fast.

Longer story.

I hurt my right shoulder while gardening one Saturday. I assured my wife that the round of
golf in the morning had absolutely nothing to do with it. Two weeks later I still had sharp
pain in my shoulder when I raised my right arm like waving goodbye or taking a backswing.
My right shoulder was clicking and popping during normal activities. I went to see a
physical therapist. He found some tendonitis and said my right shoulder was loose because
my rotator cuff muscles were not conditioned.

Apparently a golf swing does not exercise the rotator cuff. The triangle formed by left
shoulder, right shoulder and grip is geometically stable without flexing the small muscles
in the rotator cuff. The big shoulder and arm muscles like the triceps, deltoid and
trapezious provide power and stability in the golf swing and become stronger while the
rotator cuff weakens. The result is unstable shoulder joints.

Ivan, my physical therapist recommended using a 75mm exercise ball. I balance on the ball
on my hands and knees. Maintaining balance activates and tightens the cuff muscles while
the big muscles are relatively passive. It has worked very well. After two days my shoulder feels better and has stopped clicking.

The real payoff will be in my golf game. More practice with no pain. Better sensitivity
and stability on the backswing. Crip accurate irons, smooth long drives and the ability to
finish the gardening and clean the garage after playing golf in the morning.

Scratch by 2009.

Doug

I have suffered through a condition called "Frozen shoulder" and it hits the shoulder muscle pretty bad. I have gone through both shoulders getting this condition and regular exercise/physical therapy is the best way to get through it.

One thing to note. Strengthening your back during your recovery enables your shoulders to get back to full strength. I did many exercises on a foam roller and these really brought back my distance and swing. I don't think I will ever have the flexibility that I once had, but I am stronger in the core and back and I can now hit my irons as far as I have ever hit them. The driver is not as far, but every now and then I hit Par 5's in 2 again.