Golfers Have Unusual Hips, Study Suggests

BBC

Different joints

Researchers have recently found that golfers who play at a professional level are expected to have extraordinarily shaped joints of the hip. The team from The University of Warwick had selected 55 top players for medical MRI scans, and they were surprised with what they found.

The scans showed that right joint had an egg shaped hip and the left joints were generally in the shape of a ball. It was not clear whether such a deformity in both the joints of golfers was caused due to the sport, they mentioned in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Nearly, one out of every five people of the 2015 Scottish Hydro Challenge experienced hip pain.

Professor Damian Griffin who is the lead researcher said that the mismatch in the shape between the hips could explain the reason why golfers experience pain. Specialist sports doctor, Dr Andrew Murray, for the European golf tour said that on a whole, we are aware that golf can give significant health benefits, along with possible upgraded durability and improved mental and physical health. However, golf puts great force on the hips every time the club is swung by the player.

Symptoms and causes

While a golfer swings his club, both the hips move in different angles and at different velocities. In 16% of right hips of right-handed golfers, the egg shape was visible on some of the scans near the rear hip, and 4% on the left hip during the swing of the club in players who played at a professional level.

This condition caused by the action is known as cam rotation, which decreases the natural angle of movement of the hip. Dr Edward Dickson, a co-researcher said that their results found out new questioned to find answers to. What is left to be found out is whether the professional players cultivate these shapes due to the way they angle their hips and also the movement of them or whether the golfers with these hip deformities are more prone to play at a professional level.

The hip pain caused due to constant playing of the sport is due to the large amount of pressure built up not only on the joint but also its surrounding muscles when the player swings the club. The outer rotation of the hip area during a swing can induce a tremendous strain on the joint and the surrounding part when practiced often, as professional players do on an average an 18 whole course.

The speed at which the club is swung can also be another reason of stress caused on the hip if the swing is not precise or even. The pain may persist in the hip and pelvic region of the player’s body and may arise from overstretching of the joint. It also has a chance of increasing during actions which involve twisting. Situations where a catch in the hip joint when tries to change position, for instance, when getting up from a sitting position can also be experienced by professional golfers.