It was already noticeable this year at the Players Championship that some of the PGA golfers were having physical symptoms that began to effect their performances. A couple of weeks before the Players Championship a couple of the golfers were concerned about the pain, stiffness, and restriction they felt when swinging a golf club. The prestige, money and playing benefits of winning the Players Championship often puts a player in a very compromised position. Do they play through the pain or withdraw to focus on healing their injury. When emotions get involved clear thought is fleeting.
Professional golfers and amateurs alike must realize that pushing through an injury often results in the injury worsening and healing time lengthened. In an overuse sport like golf you feel you can persevere. This approach usually results in increasing recovery from an average of 1-2 weeks to 6-8 weeks when it comes to neuromusculoskeletal conditions. It is a tough decision but there were golfers that withdrew and a couple played through the pain. The ones who withdrew have had noticeable improvement in their conditions. The others continue to be dealing with their conditions as they play with slight improvement.
If you have symptoms that worsen with practice, exercising, or compromise your swing mechanics you should back off for a couple of weeks and see a golf sports medicine specialist for assessment and treatment. This may mean 1-2 weeks of down time and lost earnings but it will be less costly and frustrating than 6-8 weeks. It is a difficult decision but there are good choices that can be made.
