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  • Essay / How the Golf Swing Relies on Muscles and Joints

    The golf swing is a sporting movement that involves a rotating action of the body that generates the force used to hit the ball. The force passes through the hands, arms and club shaft to reach the ball (Gryc, Zahalka, Maly, Mala&Hrasky, 2015). The anatomy of a golf swing is important for a variety of reasons. The full swing has certain physical demands that golfers need to know to improve their performance (Eskofier, Tuexen, Kugler, Jensen, & Wright, n.d.). This explains the reasons to understand the muscles and joints involved. Training programs study them and formulate exercises that can improve them (Cole&Grimshaw, 2016). It is also important to understand the anatomy of a golf swing to avoid injury. Let’s take an example from the follow-up phase. At high speeds, golfers risk injuring their shoulder joints and other swing-related muscles if they don't have enough strength and power to stop the kinetic force. Golf, as a game, has its fair share of injuries. Knowledge of swing anatomy helps physical therapists ensure that injured parts regain functionality (Esperon, 2014). Evans and Tuttle (2015) also state that research into motor learning, biomechanics, and motor control has increased the bodily necessities of play. It has provided knowledge that, when used in exercise programs, improve golfers’ performance (Evans and Tuttle, 2015; McNally and McPhee, 2018; Beak et al., 2013). Part of knowing the anatomy of a golf swing is understanding the anatomy of the movement. All of this is described in the following sections. There are two phases of the golf swing described. Analysis shows that the phases use similar muscles and joints, contracting or extending to achieve the intended goal. During the backswing, the body moves to charge energy. In the downward phase, the body strives to exert kinetic energy on the ball. Finally, in the follow-through phase, the muscles and joints now act to stop the kinetic movement created by the backswing and downswing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The Golf Swing There are three phases in the golf swing. There is the preparation phase which includes posture, grip, ball position and stance. There is the execution phase which includes the downswing and the backswing. Finally, there is the follow-up phase, or recovery phase. Since this article focuses on movement analysis, it will leave aside the first phase and discuss the second and third phases. Figure 1 shows the illustration of all phases. Figure 1 Courtesy of Lesiuta (nd) This phase includes the backswing and the downswing. Golf takes place on two levels; this during the backswing and downswing. It also evolves around an up and down movement around the body and a lateral movement from side to side (Craig & Vince, 2018). The goal of this swing is to establish balance at the top of the swing. In this swing, the hands, club head and shoulders start in one motion. At this point, the golfer is in stance and the weight of the feet shifts sideways from the front foot to the back foot. Shifting the weight increases the range of rotation of the hip. The arc of the swing is also flattened. As the weight shifts to the back foot, the left hip rotates laterally, moving the hip away from the flight of the ball (Bobby, 2014; Craig and Vince, 2018). The shoulders roll up at the top of the backswing. Arms extend and hands swingtop.Figure 2: An illustration of the Backswing courtesy of Craig&Vince (2018)In the backswing, the following muscles are involved. The deltoids contract, the latissimus dorsi contract extend and the trapezius contracts and extends. Figure 3 below illustrates the positions of the muscles. The right posterior deltoid contracts to ensure shoulder rotation during a backswing. The left pectoral allows for inward rotation during a backswing. The synergistic muscles involved are: triceps, biceps, obliques, brachialis, rectus abdominis and pectoralis major. The joint actions in this phase are: wrist rotation, shoulder rotation and circumduction, hip rotation, elbow flexion and trunk rotation (Craig & Vince, 2018). The shoulder joint twists to the right and up. The wrist joint is a synovial joint and a condyloid joint. This therefore allows great mobility. They are pointed down at the start of the line. At the top of the back, they will be flexed upwards (Craig & Vince, 2018). Figure 3: Backswing with muscles involved Courtesy of Maddalozzo (1987) The downswing is initiated by rotating the hips. Along with the rotation, weight is transferred laterally from the back foot to the front foot. Such a movement flattens the swing arc and improves accuracy. It's a reaction to the backswing and it's in the same plane. When the arms swing, the shoulders move. As the hips rotate, they unfurl the upper body, arms, shoulders and hands which then flow easily into the swing. It ends at impact. At this point, the force produced by other parts of the body and the trunk straightens the wrist and produces maximum striking effort (Craig & Vince, 2018). Figure 4: Illustration of a downswing. Courtesy of Craig & Vince (2018) downswing are the same as backswing, except they act in the opposite direction. In this swing, the left posterior deltoid contracts to provide shoulder rotation during a backswing. The right pectoral allows internal rotation during a descending phase. The elbow extends and the right arm adducts. Other muscles involved are: the trapezius which contracts and extends, and the latissimus dorsi which also contracts and extends (Craig & Vince, 2018). The synergistic muscles are the same; biceps, triceps, brachialis, obliques, rectus abdominis and pectoralis major. The downswing is also characterized by shoulder rotation and circumduction, trunk rotation, wrist rotation, hip rotation, and elbow flexion. The shoulder joint twists to the left and down. The wrist joint will be bent again during this swing. Illustrations of muscles and joints are in the figure (Craig & Vince, 2018). Figure 5: Illustration of the descending phase of the muscles involved courtesy of (Maddalozzo, 1987) When we reach this phase, the effort is reduced. The right arm begins to rotate, causing the right arm to climb over the left. The golfer's head now rotates forward as it is pulled upward by swing momentum and trunk rotation (Craig & Vince (2018). Figure 6: Tracking illustration courtesy of Craig & Vince (2018) During the follow-through phase, the deltoids still contract, the latissimus dorsi contracts and extends, the tibialis anterior extends, the gastrocnemius contracts, and the trapezius muscles contract and extend. work to slow the body through eccentric contractions. These muscles hold the scapula to the ribcage and spine the shoulder joint which can be damaged under high speed if it reaches its final range of motion. (Human,.