Better Golf through fitness: Shore Orthopaedic’s Physical Therapist LJ Georgetti, DPT

“Its all In The Hips” By Larry Justin “LJ” Georgetti, DPT

Any aging golfer can count on one of his/her friend’s bailing on an eight o-clock tee time due to “back pain”. Range of motion and strength of the whole body are essential when building a strong foundation to a healthy golf swing. I believe that the abnormalities in swing mechanics and mobility limitations in the hips/spine will cause restrictions in how one develops force in the golf swing.  These abnormalities over time will result in dysfunction and eventually pain.

The golf swing has many variables, as does the human body. However, one thing remains consistent throughout all golf swings: energy must be delivered to a stationary golf ball in order to move it a desired distance. In the most efficient swings, energy is generated by the lower extremities via the ground. How this energy is gained, stored and eventually transmitted are exactly where the variables begin to differentiate between professional and recreational golfers. A golfer utilizes his/her lower extremity to generate force through the ground and eventually to the ball at impact. It is worth noting that the musculature surrounding the hips, known as the “glutes”, are the strongest in the body. These are the ones responsible for getting us up out of a chair and keeping us erect when walking. Problems arise when we do not train and utilize these muscles appropriately. As my colleague, Chris Hanson, previously discussed, the hip and the lumbar spine are closely related in the golf swing. If dysfunction arises in one, the other will suffer.

Golf Injuries to the Wrist and Hand

Mark Walsh PT, DPT, MS, CHT
Titleist Performance Institute Certified
Shore Orthopaedic Physical Therapy

Did you know that of all the sports the most injuries to the hand and wrist occur in golf?

Hand injuries occur in about 10% of professional and 20% in the amateur golfers. The incidence may be explained by the anatomic and mechanical complexity of the wrist and hand. Most of the injuries occur in the lead wrist and hand associated with overuse, golf swing faults and mechanics and trauma.

Overuse injuries are primarily tendonitis or tenosynovitis such as deQuervains tenosynovitis (inflammation of tendons on the thumb side of the wrist). Overuse injuries often occur in the amateur at the beginning of the golf season, when the golfer is not appropriately physically prepared to strike the golf ball. For example, as the golf season approaches it’s off to the driving range hitting a large bucket of balls one after another without appropriate warm up and rest between swings. Watch a professional warm up hitting golf balls notice, that between each swing, they stop, analyze the ball flight, divot etc. and discuss it with their caddy or coach.  The take home message is that the amateur hits too many golf balls to quickly and too often. Overuse also occurs due to a lack of physical conditioning for their entire body, not just the upper extremity. The power and the ability to strike the golf ball correctly comes from the use of the powerful core and lower extremity muscles. If the lower body does not initiate the swing sequence correctly this can cause changes in the upper body swing mechanics placing the wrist and hand at risk. Swing faults of “Casting, Scooping, Chicken Winging and Over the Top” can contribute to wrist and hand injuries.

Dizziness: Increased Risk for Fractures

Dizziness is a common problem that can affect a person at any age. There are many reasons for dizziness, some more serious than others. One common, easily treatable cause of transient dizziness is called “benign paroxysmal positional vertigo,” or BPPV. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo causes dizziness related to head movement and position and is due to a problem in the inner ear. Dizziness can negatively affect one’s quality of life and is associated with an increased risk of falls. This may be especially problematic for older people, who have a greater chance of falling and breaking bones. Recovering from a fracture can be particularly difficult for someone who is elderly.

National Occupational Therapy Month

NovaCare Rehabilitation Thanks and Celebrates

Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapist Assistants

Join NovaCare Rehabilitation as we celebrate National Occupational Therapy Month (NOTM)! NOTM is hosted by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) each April to recognize how occupational therapists and occupational therapist assistants help transform society by restoring and improving motion in people’s lives.

Occupational therapists help individuals achieve independence and regain function following trauma or disability. Their specialized training enables them to assess patients, establish individualized treatment plans and rehabilitate patients to achieve optimal function.

On any given day, a therapist may be helping a child with disabilities participate in school and social situations, assisting a person recovering from injuries regain skills or aiding an older adult stay as independent as possible. Join NovaCare Rehabilitation as we celebrate these everyday heroes not only throughout the month of April, but year-round!

“At NovaCare Rehabilitation, April marks a time to honor the occupational therapists and occupational therapist assistants who help our patients get back to the things they enjoy. Our therapy team is dedicated to providing an exceptional patient care experience that promotes healing and recovery in a compassionate environment. Thanks for improving quality of life for our patients today and every day.”

 – Dan Bradley, P.T., President, Select Medical’s Outpatient Division

To learn more about occupational therapy and NOTM, visit the AOTA’s website at www.aota.org.

Call your local NovaCare Rehabilitation center or visit us at novacare.com to learn more about our occupational therapy services!

Two convenient locations providing Hand Therapy at Shore Ortho:
            SHORE ORTHOPAEDIC PHYSICAL THERAPY
 24 MacArthur Blvd                        18 E. Jimmie Leeds Road
Somers Point, NJ 08244                 Galloway, NJ 08205
609-927-5463                                   609-404-4804

Knee Replacement: Outcome was much better than I had expected!

Thomas Santora, somers Point, NJ
Quad-Sparing Knee Replacement
Physician: Stephen J. Zabinski, MD

“Physical Therapy was instrumental in my recovery,
Doug and his staff worked with me to recover quicker.”

Traditional Knee Replacement vs. Quad Sparing Knee Replacement:
Excruciating knee pain brought Thomas back to Dr. Zabinski at Shore Orthopaedic University Associates the same as it had three and a half years prior for his other knee. He was dreading it, but had heard good things about the quad sparing technique and decided to have it done.

Two weeks later Thomas had a follow up appointment, he said “After my appointment I walked home about 1 ¼ mile, with no pain.” “Three weeks after surgery I was cutting my lawn.”