Injuries and overuse syndromes in golf.

BACKGROUND: Although golf is becoming more popular, there is a lack of reliable epidemiologic data on golf injuries and overuse syndromes, especially regarding their severity.

OBJECTIVE: To perform an epidemiologic study of the variety of different musculoskeletal problems in professional and amateur golfers and to find associations of age, sex, physical stature (body mass index), warm-up routine, and playing level with the occurrence of reported injuries.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS: We analyzed the injury data from a total of 703 golfers who were randomly selected over two golfing seasons and interviewed with the use of a six-page questionnaire.

RESULTS: Overall, 82.6% (N = 526) of reported injuries involved overuse and 17.4% (N = 111) were single trauma events. Professional golfers were injured more often, typically in the back, wrist, and shoulder. Amateurs reported many elbow, back, and shoulder injuries. Severity of reported injuries was minor in 51.5%, moderate in 26.8%, and major in 21.7% of cases. Carrying one's bag proved to be hazardous to the lower back, shoulder, and ankle. Warm-up routines were found to have a positive effect if they were at least 10 minutes long.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, golf may be considered a rather benign activity, if overuse can be avoided. If not, golf can result in serious, chronic musculoskeletal problems.