Well, the fact that you’re at your desk job and not at the course all day means that it must have some effect. But more than that, what does a workplace ergonomic setup lead to in our golfing population?
Posture is a loaded word. It seems like a word you should only use with kids who are slouching over their second bowl of Fruity Pebbles. But it applies to people who work at desks, and it’s crucial while playing golf.
So what role does workplace posture really play in golf? To start, with people who sit for eight hours a day, it can lead to tight hips that are more accustomed to flexion and less into extension. It can lead to weaknesses of the glutes and core muscles due to shortened or tight muscles.
The people who sit and tend to have tighter hip flexors will also have a tendency to have trouble engaging the glute muscles like they should. The glutes are a big part of how you load into your trail side and then drive through the ground and rotate on the way down, so when they can’t do their job, something else has to pick up the slack. That’s often the low back, a knee, or a hip that never fully clears out of the way. There are a laundry list of issues that can come from this that lead to swing faults and injury concerns. Early extension, losing your posture through the downswing, and a lack of speed and power are all common, and they’re often the same problem showing up in different ways.
The hips and glutes are only half of the picture, though. The desk also shapes the upper body, and for the rest of this post we’re going to look there, more specifically at the trail shoulder, or the top of the food chain when controlling the mouse.
The forward rounding of the shoulder can produce tightness in the shoulder. It lends itself to limiting external rotation of the shoulder joint. Over time, this can lead to increased tightness in the elbow as well. These are two areas that are often injured in golfers, and it’s probably not a coincidence.
What working at a desk does to your trail shoulder and hips is notable, but it’s also worth noting what it doesn’t do. Your body gets tighter in one direction, and unfortunately, it never rotates. The problem becomes clear when you then go ask your body to swing a club at 100 miles per hour. There needs to be work put in during the week to make sure you’re ready for your next range session and your next round of golf.
Rotational exercises for the hips and spine are a must-have in the gym. So is making sure your hips and chest don’t get so tight that they limit the amount of rotation you can achieve. Whether or not you sit for work hours on end is often a non-negotiable. That means the work you put in throughout the week to counteract it needs to be a non-negotiable too.
