GOLF INJURIES: PREVENTION AND RECOVERY TIPS FOR GOLFERS

POSTED: 08 Sep, 2026

A Golfer’s Guide to Injury Prevention and Recovery

Golf is a highly repetitive sport that places rotational and loading demands on the spine, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Injuries may develop after a sudden incident, but many golf-related problems build gradually when playing or practice load exceeds the body’s current capacity.

Pain does not always mean that you need to stop golf completely. A physiotherapy assessment can help identify the movements and physical demands that aggravate your symptoms, guide appropriate rehabilitation and plan a graded return to practice and play.

Common Golf Injuries

Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is consistently reported as one of the most common golf-related injuries. The golf swing requires coordinated movement through the hips, pelvis, trunk and upper body, repeated many times during practice and play.

A recent systematic review by Watson et al. (2024) found that evidence linking specific swing characteristics with lower back pain remains limited and conflicting. This means that assessment should look beyond a single idea of “poor technique” and consider playing volume, recent changes in practice, strength, mobility, previous injury and how the individual golfer moves.

Golfer’s Elbow and Wrist Injuries

The elbow, wrist and hand are common sites of golf-related pain. Symptoms may be associated with repeated gripping, high practice volume, striking the ground or mat, an abrupt change in equipment or technique, or reduced tolerance to load.

Treatment depends on the structure involved and may include temporary modification of aggravating practice, progressive strengthening of the forearm and grip, mobility work and a gradual return to hitting balls. Persistent pain, swelling, loss of movement or pain after a clear impact should be appropriately assessed.

Shoulder Pain

The shoulders contribute to club control and the rotational movement of the swing. Pain may arise from the rotator cuff, joint or surrounding muscles, and may be influenced by the volume of play, previous injury and the way the shoulder works with the trunk and upper back.

A golf physiotherapy assessment can examine shoulder strength and movement, trunk rotation and the specific phase of the swing that reproduces symptoms. Rehabilitation can then be matched to the golfer rather than applying the same exercises to everyone.

Golf Injury Prevention Strategies

Injury prevention is not based on one perfect exercise or swing. A practical approach is to prepare the body for golf, build physical capacity and avoid sudden increases in the number of holes played, range balls hit or high-effort swings performed.

A golf-specific plan may include:

• A dynamic warm-up before practice or play
• Progressive strength training for the trunk, hips, shoulders and forearms
• Mobility exercises where a relevant restriction has been identified
• Gradual progression of playing and practice volume
• Recovery between demanding sessions
• Early modification and assessment when pain begins to persist

Research by Ehlert (2020) found that strength and conditioning programs can improve golf performance measures such as clubhead speed, ball speed and distance. Direct evidence that these programs prevent golf injuries is still developing, so prevention advice should be individualised rather than presented as a guarantee.

A Practical Pre-Game Warm-Up

A useful warm-up should gradually increase movement and prepare you for the speed and rotation of the golf swing. It does not need to be long or exhausting.

Before playing, consider:

• A few minutes of brisk walking or other light activity
• Comfortable trunk, hip and shoulder movements
• Dynamic mobility exercises relevant to your own restrictions
• Practice swings that gradually increase in range and speed
• Starting with shorter clubs before progressing to longer, higher-effort shots

A systematic review by Ehlert and Wilson (2019) found that several golf warm-up approaches may improve performance, while static stretching alone was not supported as the best preparation. Fradkin et al. (2004) also found improved clubhead speed following a golf-specific warm-up program. Evidence for direct injury prevention in golfers remains less certain, but warming up is a sensible way to prepare for the physical demands of play.

Golf Physiotherapy Assessment

A golf physiotherapy assessment begins with the golfer, not just the swing. Your physiotherapist may review the location and behaviour of your pain, recent changes in playing load, previous injuries, strength, mobility and the movements required for your game.

When relevant, the assessment may also include golf-specific movements or video of the swing to identify when symptoms occur. The goal is not to rebuild every golfer into one “ideal” technique. It is to understand which factors are clinically relevant and which can be modified without unnecessarily disrupting performance.

Personalised Golf Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation should reflect the golfer’s diagnosis, current capacity, goals and access to practice. Depending on the injury, treatment may include education, load modification, mobility work, progressive strength and power training, golf-specific drills and a staged return to the range and course.

A useful return-to-golf plan progresses more than pain alone. It may consider the number of swings tolerated, club selection, swing intensity, range volume, recovery after practice and the ability to complete several holes without a significant symptom flare.

If pain is affecting your swing, limiting your practice or repeatedly returning after golf, a physiotherapy assessment can help identify an appropriate starting point and guide your return to play.

Research Sources

Watson M, et al. (2024). Biomechanical parameters of the golf swing associated with lower back pain: a systematic review. Journal of Sports Sciences.

Ehlert A, Wilson PB. (2019). A systematic review of golf warm-ups: behaviours, injury and performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Ehlert A. (2020). The effects of strength and conditioning interventions on golf performance: a systematic review. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(23), 2720–2731.

Fradkin AJ, Sherman CA, Finch CF. (2004). Improving golf performance with a warm up conditioning programme. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38(6), 762–765.

Gladdines S, et al. (2022). The effectiveness of a golf injury prevention program (GRIPP intervention) compared to the usual warm-up in Dutch golfers: protocol design of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 14, 144.