Degenerative Disc Disease and Golfers

Degenerative Disc Disease is not really a disease process. This condition occurs when the disc becomes dehydrated and starts to break down. The causes of D.D.D. are numerous: aging, bad diet, smoking, and a lack of exercise. When discs break down, they become more prone to serious conditions such as disc herniations, disc bulges, and spinal sterosis. The end result is a decrease in spinal strength, speed and flexibility. To a golfer this could be the difference between playing pain free or in pain.

Spinal decompression machines can create a negative vacuum that actually helps the disc repair itself. Most golfers can recall playing the game in pain. Spinal decompression can help turn back the hands of time, and keep you on the golf course.

Why I Am Writing This Blog!

My goal is to deliver the best, up to date, cutting edge information that will take your health to the highest level.

My passion is derived from being able to help you reach all your goals. I have been given the gift of being able to research and pass on my knowledge to others, and I do not take this lightly! I give my promise to you that I will answer all your questions, and hopefully impact your life in a positive way.

Thank you for viewing my blog…

The Backswing

The role of the backswing is to put you in a proper position to deliver a powerful downswing. When you pull the club away, the muscles become stretched. They will now contract more forcefully on the downswing.

When a club is pulled up and back during a backswing, it produces a pathway over which you can generate maximum club head speed. The length of this pathway is determined by your stomach and shoulder flexibility. The club will also be a factor.

Rotation and twisting type exercises will be very effective in building up your backswing. There are many good books out on this subject.

Fasting

Fasting is an effective way of detoxifying your body. The break in food intake allows the body to rest. Fasting is best controlled by a physician.

Regular fasting helps the body heal itself and stay well. Your organs get a rest. Your blood gets purified, and your colon gets cleansed.

Fasts can be done for three-ten days. Do not fast on water alone. All fasts over three days should be supervised by a physician.

Diabetics should not fast unless closely supervised by a doctor. Hypoglycemics should use high quality protein when fasting.

Fasting can become an integral part of your health regiment. Fast about three days per month.

Ten Commandments for Beginning Golf

1. Find a great swing coach, and make it into a permanent thing.

2. Focus on what you are taught.

3. Don’t beat yourself up. Mistakes will happen.

4. Stay calm through the tough times.

5. Work on your weakest shots often.

6. Set up a time frame for what you would like to accomplish.

7. It will be important for you to set specific goals.

8. Be careful not to hit too many shots in one day. This happens at the range a lot. Keep all your shots at a quality level.

9. Keep an eye on your progress after each lesson.

10. Have Fun! This is a great game.

DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide)

DMSO was discovered in Russia in the year 1866. Its use was primarily as an analgesic for treating muscle strains, sprains and tendonitis.

Athletes found DMSO to be effective when dispersed over injured body parts. It was quickly absorbed when applied.

DMSO works by blocking the conduction of pain receptors in nerve cells.

The Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team was treated by Dr. Paul with DMSO. He found that an injury treated with DMSO responded in 28 days, compared to taking 42 days healing time for injuries not treated with DMSO.

DMSO can carry substances directly into the body. This can lead to toxic reactions when non medical grade DMSO is not used.

DMSO is best used in 70-90 percent sterile water, and applied about every 4-6 hours. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before using DMSO.

Golf Specific Exercise

Golf specific exercises are the exercises that mimic your swing. i.e. exercises that work your torso in a golf swing. They could be crunches, side bends, or twisting exercises.

Each exercise must engage the same muscle action or contraction used in your golf swing. The backswing would be more of a stretching exercise, where the downswing is a power contraction exercise.

In golf specific exercise, the key to success is to duplicate the golf swing as closely as possible. For example, a twisting of the torso as in your golf swing with a weighted club, would be very effective in building up your golf swing.

Important Elements of the Golf Swing

It is imperative that you strengthen your hips, legs, stomach and lower back prior to golfing. This will help insure that you have a stable basic stance when addressing the ball. It will also make your swing more powerful and accurate. This stance increases your body control throughout the different shots, terrains, etc. that you will encounter on the course.

I see a lot of golfers that have a rounded back when they are addressing the ball. This awkward position pulls all the powerful muscles out of their proper position, and predisposes them to a back injury. (Not to mention how it decreases your ability to load on your backswing.) With a straight upper back you will decrease the forces pressing on the discs in the spinal region. This posture may help keep you off of my Spinal Decompression Machine!

Increasing Clubhead Speed

As you increase the strength of your core muscles, your swing becomes faster, stronger and more coordinated. The end result is more distance on your shots. Professional golfers perform their entire swing about .25 seconds faster then the average golfer. By improving the rotation (twisting) muscles of the stomach region, you can add another 35-60 yards to your drives.

Another way to improve your swing is by improving your muscle coordination. This comes by practicing your swing under a watchful eye. In time you will feel when your swing is on. Some refer to this as muscle memory. By doing golf specific exercise, you can drastically improve your golf swing coordination.

Life Extension and Golf

Strength training is very beneficial in slowing the aging process. Most golfers are middle aged or older, and want to play golf as long as they can. To make this possible you will need good levels of flexibility, strength, and athletic attributes. Most people lose strength as they age. The main reason this happens is due to the lack of strength training. It’s never too late to start building the body. Some golfers in their 60’s and 70’s are capable of doubling their strength in a matter of a few weeks, this helps insure that you will not experience the side of effects linked with aging. You will not stop the aging, but you will drastically slow down the effects.

Working with senior golfers, I see that most have lost a large degree of flexibility. This is especially true in the stomach (core) region. This region is huge when it comes to generating a smooth powerful swing.

Most golfers play a good game of golf due to all the years they have invested into the game. When the body starts to break down, bad shots increase, and worse yet injuries occur.

I highly recommend that golfers keep their spine maintained by a golf trained Chiropractor. They can help you add strength to your shot, and keep you on the course.

Ten Important Golf Rules

1. Rule 1: You must play the same ball from the teeing ground into the hole.

2. Rule 3-2: You must hole out on each hole. If you don’t, you don’t have a score and are thus disqualified.

3. Rule 6-5: You are responsible for playing your own ball. Put an identification mark on it.

4. Rule 13: You must play the ball as it lies.

5. Rule 13-4: When your ball is in a hazard, you cannot touch the ground or water in the hazard with your club before impact.

6. Rule 16: You cannot improve the line of a putt before your stroke by repairing marks made by the spikes on player’s shoes.

7. Rule 24: Obstructions are anything artificial. Some are moveable so you can move them; some are not so then you have to drop within one club length of your nearest point of relief – no penalty.

8. Rule 26: If your ball is lost in a water hazard, you can drop another behind the hazard keeping the point where the ball last crossed the hazard between you and the hole – with a one-stroke penalty.

9. Rule 27: If you lose your ball anywhere else but in a hazard, return to where you hit your previous shot and hit another – with a one-stroke penalty.

10. Rule 28: If your ball is unplayable you have three options:

· Play from where you hit your last shot.
· Drop within two club lengths of where your ball is now, no closer to the hole.
· Keep the point where the ball is between you and the hole and drop a ball on that line. You can go back as far as you want.



In all cases, you are assessed a one-stroke penalty.

Golfers… Do What Doctors Do When They Get Back Pain and Sciatica!

Dear Friends,

Has your golf game been hampered by back pain? Are you not playing golf as much as you want, or not at all due to back pain? Keep reading, I have the answer to your problem.

The golf swing consists of bending and twisting of the spine. These two motions can be very destructive to the spine.

Over time repetitive rotation of the spine, as seen in golfing, can slowly break down the spinal discs. All forms of disc injury can eventually impinge on the nerves exiting the spine (“pinched nerve”) which can create numbness, tingling, burning or sharp pain down the arms or legs. Sharp pain originating from the back and “shooting” down the legs is often referred to as sciatica.

The Mayo Clinic, and John Hopkins Medical are using a thing called “ Spinal Decompression” with a success rate of about 90% over chronic back and neck pain.

How does Spinal Decompression work?

Spinal Decompression provides relief to severe back and neck pain sufferers by gently reducing the pressure within spinal discs. The bones of the spine are slowly and methodically separated using the state-of-the-art DYNA PRO Spinal Decompression Unit. As the vertebrae are separated, pressure is slowly reduced within the disc (intradiscal pressure) until a vacuum is formed. This vacuum “sucks” the gelatinous center of the disc back inside thereby reducing the disc bulge or disc herniation. Significant disc bulge reduction removes pressure off the spinal nerves and drastically reduces pain and disability. This “sucking” vacuum also pulls much-needed oxygen, nutrients and fluid into injured and degenerated discs allowing the healing to begin.

The treatment motion is computer controlled to provide gentle and painless decompression of the injured spinal discs. Advanced DYNA PRO decompression techniques separate slowly and cycle between brief moments of pulling and relaxing (oscillation). This reduces protective muscle spasm that contributed to the poor success rate of outdated “traction” techniques.

Spinal Decompression Can Treat The Following Conditions: * Sciatica * Neck Disc Bulge * Herniated Disc-Back * Herniated Disc-Neck * Pinched Nerve * Degenerative Disc Disease

P.S. Golfers let us get you back on the course, and keep you there!

The Beginning of Golf Part II

In 1905 the first dimpled ball was born, and the credit was given to William Taylor. This ball improved flight by maximizing lift and decreasing drag. It would be another 50 years before changes would be made to the golf ball. Spalding introduced the first 2 piece ball in 1972. It was called the Executive.

Players initially made their own clubs from wood. The long-nosed wooden are the oldest known designed club. They stayed in use for more than 400 years.

Later the iron clubs were developed to help lofting the golf ball. Irons took a big turn when grooves were applied. This helped with ball control, and E. Burn was credited with this unique invention. Arthur Knight introduced steel-shafted clubs in 1910. Most players still preferred hickory shafts for more than 20 years after the introduction of steel. Steel shafts were legalized in 1924, by the U.S. Golf Association. Billy Burke was the first golfer to win a major championship using steel-shafted clubs. This happened at the U.S. Open in 1931

Get excited! There is more to come!!

Sports Breathing Conditioning

Important to relaxation is supplying the body with ample amounts of oxygen. The Sport-Breath will accomplish this goal. This type of breathing will dramatically change the physiology of the body. The Sport-Breath can be used before a golf match, during, and afterwards to help aid in recovery. It can also be used prior to studying, relaxing, lifting weights, etc. This breath should be taken when you feel the need to supply your body with and extra amount of oxygen.

The Sport-Breath is sometimes referred to as diaphragmatic breathing. In diaphragmatic breathing you inhale and draw oxygen deep into the stomach region. This will also totally inflate the lungs. Newborn babies and wild animals preparing for a kill breathe this way in to increase the energy of the body.

When confronted with a negative mishap – most people begin to pant (short, rapid breaths). This will make you tense, angry and fearful. Your heart rate increases and this will cause a loss of coordination, and concentration. Neither of these conditions have any benefit to an individual. Learning to monitor, and control breathing ensures optimal oxygenation for proper brain and muscle cell efficiency.

The Sport-Breath can be done either standing, sitting or lying down. It usually depends on the circumstances of the situation to which position you will use. Exhale through your mouth and empty all the air from your lungs.

Now slowly start inhaling through your mouth and empty all the air from your lungs. Now slowly start inhaling through your nose. Push out on your stomach muscles. You will actually see your stomach rising as you inhale. This will allow you to take in air to the lower section of the lungs. Most people are chest breathers. They never inhale oxygen to the lower sections of their lungs.

While inhaling slowly, it is important to expand you rib cage as much as possible. At the same time you will raise your shoulders to help your inhalation. Hold your breath for 10 seconds.

After 10 seconds, exhale slowly through your mouth. The exhalation should be done slowly, and take about 5 seconds. The body detoxifies it’s self during exhalation. The Sport-Breath should be preformed 5 times.

The Sport-Breath is a very simple exercise. But remember not to over look simplicity. This type of breathing is the secret power behind many golfers, martial artists, weight lifters, basketball players, etc. I recommend the Sport-Breath be performed 2 times daily for the rest of your life.

You must breath in about 18-22 ounces of air to get 1 ounce of air into your blood stream. Diaphragmatic breathing relaxes our emotions, and lets go of tension. The Sport-Breath strengthens abdominal, and intestinal muscles. This will in turn take pressure off the low-back region. While being a Chiropractor – I can really appreciate this exercise. Do it regularly, and it may keep you out of my office.
After a deep breathing session you will have better mental concentration. This in retrospect will increase your ability to create mental images. The more you use this exercise, the more efficient your body and mind will perform.

The Beginning of Golf Part I

There is no sport in history that has caused as much frustration as the game of golf. It all dates back to the mid – 1400s. Most say that golf was first played in Scotland. James II of Scotland was in charge. He later forbade the playing of golf, so the Scots could concentrate on their archery skills. (Sounds like an exciting guy!)

Golf was later reinstated by the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow in 1501. Golf became socially correct in the early 1600s. Even then, the game of golf was reserved for the elite and frenzied, who had the money and leisure time to spend on it.

The Scots opened the first Golf Club in 1744, and it was called the Honorable Company of Gentleman Golfers. It was founded by William St. Claire in Leith, and later became the Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

The old courses consisted of 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back. Eventually golf courses were reduced to 18 holes.

The years 1900-1910 were the most prominent in the development of golfing equipment. In 1900 the handmade feather/leather golf was replaced by a rubber core ball. It was accepted and used by the English in 1902, at the British Open. Most golfers used the same ball for all 72 holes. Modern day golfers use about 7 balls per round.

Until next time! I hope I haven’t put anyone into cardiac arrest with this exciting information???