A review of injury characteristics, aging factors and prevention programmes for the older golfer

Participation in the sport of golf has risen considerably, particularly amo ngst senior players whose age is categorised as 50 years or more. However, golf presents both potential health benefits and risks for this older group of players. The health risks are compounded by the fact that the musculosk eletal and cardiovascular systems of senior players may not be as efficient at withstanding the strains and stress of this type of repetitive exercise . It was the purpose of this review paper to investigate the age-related he alth issues facing senior golfers and to discuss appropriate intervention s trategies to help minimise these detrimental effects, The literature search identified only a minimal amount of epidemiological information pertaining specifically to the older golfer. A number of case reports were found whic h described a variety of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular incidents invol ving senior players. There was evidence from the literature that many of th e age-related changes affecting older players' risk profiles were preventab le or treatable through exercise. It was the conclusion of the authors of t his review that conditioning programmes were highly recommended for all old er players irrespective of their level of participation. Not only could the programmes prevent injury, they also had the potential to improve performa nce. Such programmes should incorporate flexibility, strength, endurance, s peed and balance exercises specifically tailored to the demands of golf in order to be effective. Exercise equipment did not need to be elaborate and home-based programmes incorporating bodyweight, weighted clubs or elastic t ubing resistance could be utilised. Future research needs to focus more spe cifically on injury incidence and mechanisms amongst groups of senior golfe rs whose participation rates vary. Randomised controlled trials are also re commended to investigate the efficacy of specific golf-related exercise reg imens in this segment of the older population.