After having performed many of sports physicals over the years, I have seen an ever increasing trend in poor posture. Often, the posture is compromised before a sport is undertaken, and frequently the posture is affected by repetitive motions of a certain sport.

You can easily perform an analysis of your own posture by having someone look at you from your back (six feet directly behind you). Does one shoulder look higher than the other? Does one hip look higher? Check to see if your feet are equal, is one flaring out more than the other? The knees should be in alignment too, facing the same direction. Your head should be equally balanced, not tilting to one side. If some differences are observed, you may have a biomechanical problem that is affecting your sports performance.

I like to use the analogy of your car being out of alignment. If your car is misaligned, your tires will wear out unevenly, you will not get optimum fuel efficiency in your car, and it will not run like it should. The same principle applies to the human body. Do you believe that your body would be more or less susceptible to injury if you were a runner and you had one hip higher than the other, which caused one leg to be an inch shorter? Running day-after-day, mile-after-mile?

The body will respond to the misalignment by its innate ability to compensate for its changes and will adapt to the differences. However, there is an insidious process, disease sets in, and so the person may not have symptoms for many years before they experience other health problems. One of the most common conditions that occur is degenerate osteoarthritis of the spine and pelvis. The bottom line is, if your biomechanics were in ideal working order, you would be a better, more efficient runner.

One of the most common comments I hear when a new patient visits the office is "I can golf fine if I take two anti inflammatories or pain pills before I golf, but after I'm done I have a lot of pain". Do you see the point that I am trying to make? If our bodies are giving us pain or it has restricted our range of motion in some way, it is trying to tell us that something is wrong. Like your car oil light coming on to warn you that the oil is low, do you turn the light off?

We often treat our automobiles better than our bodies. We can thank the drug companies and medical profession for constant bombardment in radio, print, and television ads. Billions of dollars are spent yearly to convince you to take that little wonder pill or potion for fast relief. They advise us to get rid of that symptom fast, ignore what the cause is. We need to take responsibility for our own health. Listen to your body; no one knows it better than you.

A pre-exercise warm up is imperative, but often ignored. Many people want to "get right into their workout" and therefore begin their exercise program before their muscles and ligaments have warmed up sufficiently. Without this precaution, one pre-exposes themselves to unnecessary strain on their ligaments and muscles.

It is even more urgent that we take a serious look at this with the looming changes in our Healthcare System. The quality will not be as good. We should open our eyes, and look to the future. Say to yourself, what if 10, 20 or 30 years from now I have (fill in the blank). What could I have done to prevent that, should I have done this or that? The time for action is now!

Discover the secrets to a pain free golf game - play without pain. Visit http://www.healsportsinjury.southwestfloridachiropractor.com right now!

Dr. Gendron has been treating golf injuries for over 20 years, for more insights on preventing sports injuries, go to healsportsinjury.southwestfloridachiropractor.com today!

Posted under Golf

Have you been to Breckenridge Golf Club? Any golfer should not miss the chance to experience what its like to play in the 27-hole municipal golf course designed by the renowned golfer Jack Nicklaus. The course opened with only 18 holes in 1985. With the success of its operation, the municipal officials decided to add nine more holes in 2001. The new nine holes became known as The Elks Nine and is located at the highest part of the course, giving its players the best panoramic view of the mountains and of course, the elks.

The Honors

Breckenridge Golf Clubs prestigious reputation has been confirmed by the recognition it gets from top publications and organizations, both local and national. One local publication, the Colorado Golfer tagged Nicklaus course not only as the Best Mountain Course but also as the Toughest Mountain Course. Another recognition was from Golf Digest, which rated the course with 4-1/2 stars in its guide book Places to Play while including it in its list of the nations Upscale Places to Play.

Course Characteristics

The High-Altitude Game

What makes this course magnificent aside from its legendary designer? Jack Nicklaus has designed hundreds of golf courses worldwide. A good starting point would be to cite the basic characteristic that is unique to the golf course"its high-altitude base at more than 9000 feet measured from sea level. At this elevation or higher, air resistance, which hinders your ball from soaring higher and ending more accurately to your intended spot, is much less than in the lower level courses. Well, golfers know what that means to their game scores.

Best Golf Weather

Temperatures at higher elevations are much cooler compared to those at lower elevations. Golfers love cool temperatures because they dont sweat that much even if they stay long in the courses, walking from one hole to another hole. If its summer, the temperature is leaning towards the 70s range, sometimes 80 degrees but it seldom happens. During spring and fall, have your jacket on and you can stay in the golf course for hours.

Demanding Terrain

You wont really be proud of your game if it was too easy, would you? Jack Nicklaus, being the golf expert that he is, would expectedly design enough obstacles for the players to overcome.

The Vista

Possibly, the finest windfall of choosing to play golf in Breckenridge is the breathtaking vista that you see anywhere you turn. If you happen to be seeing Bear Nine, you are also viewing a historic spot as that was where the miners searching for gold in Breckenridge used to have their tent city. The golf course also presents a good view of natures beauty through the native grass and the wetlands as well as overviews of the Ten-Mile Range as well as the Breckenridge Ski Resort. In Beaver Nine, youll see the masses of rock piles that were left behind by the miners. The beaver ponds actually add to the difficulties of the nearby holes. Dont let the beavers add to your frustration, if you are. Look at the Buffalo Mountain and its beauty will ease out some of that frustration. The golfers at Elk Nine are privileged with the most extensive scenery that includes Breckenridges Ten-Mile Range, the lush greenery and a lake. The lake and the bushes raise the difficulty level of the course but at the same time offer their breathtaking beauty to the golfers.

Breckenridge is no doubt a delight to its golfers. To maximize your time in the golf course, it will be very convenient for you if you book a Breckenridge condo or a vacation home nearby. The combination of comfortable weather in a top-ranked golf course plus a splendid view of nature at its best is where any golfer would wish to be.

Having lived in the charming mountain town since she was a child, Monique Mertrandes gives advice on how to get the most out of a vacation in Breckenridge. Learn more about Breckenridge vacations from other locals like Monique.

Posted under Golf

Golf as a sport can be played well. It just takes practice. The better you want to play the more you need to practice fundamentals and get good at them. This is a rule that connects all sports and golf works this way also. If you want to be good, practice, practice, practice.

Swings should be practiced regularly. Some clubs will hit better for you than others. If you have a nice size yard, you can set up practice areas. Doing this in private allows you to get the fundamentals down before hitting the green. Follow Danny and Monty. You can watch people on the green or on television. You can hire a pro (but this will reduce the size of your wallet), you can take a class, or subscribe to a golfing magazine.

Watching professional golfers play the game helps also. Take note of how pros swing their clubs and what techniques they practice. This is a good way for you to start building skills as well as absorbing more game lore.

Remember take your time and have fun. You like to golf, but you need to improve your game. Did you know that if you include a fitness regimen, it can improve your golf game by a good amount of strokes? If you work on the upper body strength, you should be able to drive the ball further and closer to the hole.

In addition, discipline working out translates to discipline focusing on your game. When you are willing to spend the time and effort it takes to become fit and help your game, it also helps concentration.

There are certain specific exercises that can improve your swing. Anything that improves grip strength, shoulder strength, and core strength (stomach and lower back) can improve your swing. Be aware though, doing too much at first can lead to discouragement.

Believe me, a little running, some stretches, and some lifting will definitely go along way to help improve the golf game you have on the greens

When you are looking for equipment to exercise with two basics to start with are a medicine ball and an exercise ball. These two items can help you improve strength and flexibility.

You can splurge and buy yourself a few specific weights to begin your workout routine. When you first start your work out (with your doctors permission) you will see an improvement in your stamina during a game of golf. Start out slowly, my friends,using small weights and build up over time. You don't want to injure yourself. Please remember, ligaments and tendons acquire strength at a slower pace than muscle. Overdoing the exercise will create injuries that take a long time to heal.Always see your Doctor before starting any new exercise program of any type. OK?

How to be Good at Golf provides many great golf fitness tips. Be one of the first to experience Web 3.0. Get Monty Montgomery, Jr's massive 83 Page PDF"Golf Lesson:Beginner Golf and Golf Basics".

Posted under Golf