Thanks to his personalized rehabilitation and advanced fitness program at Ability Rehabilitation, Ben regained the proper strength and mobility of his hips, core, and shoulders and was able to resume his career as a professional golfer.
“I started working with Ability Rehabilitation about two months ago, and they have me back to 100%,” says Ben. “I’m back to the point where I can play and practice every day, and for me, that’s huge because this is my career. And I have to be out here working on my game every single day.”
What are Common Golf Injuries?
Golf injuries can affect much more than the arms and legs. Golf is a total-body activity, incorporating most of the major muscles.
Common golf injuries include:
- Back pain
- Rotator cuff injury
- Tennis elbow and “golfer’s elbow”
- Abdominal pain
- Intercostal muscle pain in the ribs
- Knee pain and damage
- Tendonitis in the wrists
Over time, golfers take thousands of swings. The high amount of repetitions specific areas take from repeated swings of a golf club can take its toll on the body. A golf swing draws on the abdominal muscles in a significant way, including the central muscles (known as rectus abdominis) and the oblique muscles at the sides. Those muscles help stabilize the spine and prevent low back injuries. If the abdominals are weak, it can lead to pulled muscles, inflammation, and joint pain.
“As a professional golfer, Ben has a lot of unique demands from his body,” says Erik Diaz, physical therapist and clinic manager at Ability Rehabilitation. “When Ben came in to see us, he was complaining of some abdominal wall pain related to playing golf.”
“I was working on a drill I had never done before, out on the range, taking full swings, and I felt a pull, like a wrench on my left side around my rib and hip areas,” says Ben. “After I had it checked out (at another practice), they found some swelling in my ribs and told me I had a stress fracture. I went through the process of resting and rehabbing for about six months. When I started playing again, everything went okay for a little while, but one day I was out on the range and tweaked that same area. I realized I had to get a second opinion because what I had been doing wasn’t working. That’s when I went to see Erik and the guys over at Ability Rehabilitation.”
Why are No Two Rehab Programs Alike?
The team at Ability Rehabilitation knows that the factors surrounding any particular injury vary from person to person, and the mechanics of every individual’s body are unique. Therefore, no two treatment plans will ever be exactly the same.
“When we did our thorough evaluation, we found that Ben had an issue with his abdominal. He also had mobility restrictions in his hip, his core, as well as some weakness and motor control issues around his shoulder,” says Erik. “Through a detailed and individualized treatment plan, we were able to address things like strength, mobility, balance, and coordination, and we got him back playing golf.”
Thanks to the personalized plan created by the Ability Rehabilitation team, Ben saw immediate results. “They had me on a pretty regular schedule right away, once or twice a week,” says Ben. “They made me feel better two or three weeks after I first went to see them.”
“For me, the biggest thing is I get pretty impatient with this stuff. I wanted to get back out there playing immediately, and the staff at Ability Rehabilitation was there to reassure me and to help me realize that I needed to give (the injury) the time that it needed to heal,” Ben continues. “You can’t jump through steps, and you can’t jump to the finish line. It was important to stick to the routine they developed for me and get in there every week to do the work they prescribed. And I started to see the results.”
Ben greatly appreciated the compassion, dedication, and team-oriented approach of the therapists at Ability Rehabilitation and is grateful for their role in getting him back to playing competitive golf again.
“Erik’s a great guy. He was super easy to deal with right from the get-go,” says Ben. “His scheduling was never a problem. I was in the clinic getting a PT session a week after I saw my doctor.”
