By Alyson Black

You own custom golf clubs and top-of-the-line footwear—and you still have blistering shoulder pain when you swing. You zip from hole to hole on a golf cart and heed the advice of a golf pro—but still there’s that tightness in your hip. You’re taking a slower pace between the front nine and the back nine—and still there is no relief.

Before you shy away from the sport (or play through the pain, which could lead to injury), get to the bottom of what ails you. This fall, Overlook’s Rehabilitation Center introduces BACKtoGOLF™, a unique training and rehabilitation program that combines technology and physical therapy to get you back to form; it’s a biomechanical approach to the golf swing and golf performance training.

Physical therapists Robyn Kelly and Janet Warnet will use real-time motion-capture video equipment to record your swing, then recommend biomechanical modifications for swinging more freely without pain or risk of injury. During follow-up sessions, stretching and strength exercises are introduced to resolve the problem.

Explains Dan Whelan, manager of Rehabilitation Services at Overlook Hospital, “Our therapists are looking at the kinesiology of the setup and the swing. A golf pro can work on the skill end—lining up the ball with the hole, reading the course—but addressing body mechanics and setup are a good start for avoiding injury.”

During the initial evaluation, the golfer demonstrates his or her swing by hitting balls into a foam net; the physical therapist then utilizes video analysis to study a golfer’s full swing in slow-motion, freezing individual video frames to identify the movements that trigger pain syndromes or cause repeat injuries. “By looking at a swing from a biomechanical standpoint,” says Warnet, “we’re able to see what a player is doing that’s causing pain, and then correct those problems.”

In many cases, the natural aging process causes problems. “So many people play golf; it’s a game people play all their lives,” Warnet says. “But as you age, you’re not as flexible as you used to be. The secret is, how can you adjust your body mechanics to improve your golf swing?”

To launch the BACKtoGOLF™ program, the Rehabilitation Center is drawing from patients already engaged in physical therapy at the hospital. “If a golfer is here for other injury syndromes and if their injury fits in, he or she is a great candidate for piloting the program,” says Whelan. Soon, he expects the program to expand to any golfer who is interested. “We’re anticipating a lot of interest. Just bring your own club—it’s such a personal device, and we want to see you in action with what you would be using on the course.”

For more information on BACKtoGOLF™, call (888) 309-3542.