May 16, 2023
When walking up to the pro shop, a golfing group may look at each other and wonder to whether to carry their bag or grab a golf cart. Golf carts are convenient, yet a recent study finds that they are also a common source of arm injury.
In this study, the researchers identified three common sources for arm injury in golf. Nearly half of the arm injuries studied came from golf cart incidents. The incidents, the authors suspect, come from a lack of safety features on golf carts, such as brakes on all four wheels, which could lead to someone falling out of the cart and getting injured. Driving behaviour, however, should not be ignored as well.
The second common source of injury was falling or tripping on the course, which accounted for over a quarter of all arm injuries. Golf swing mechanics were involved in about ten percent of arm injuries. This study suggests that most arm injuries in golf are preventable—by staying alert for tripping hazards or working on that smooth swing. And if you need to use a cart, remember to drive carefully.
Learn more in the journal Sports Health. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19417381231168832?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
Learn more about injuries in golf and how to prevent them on the Golf page.