The shoulder joint in a golf swing: A of the - Literature review Example

469).’ In addition to being a recreational activity and a means of social interaction, golf happens to be a demanding sport, providing good exercise and has been shown to be effective in improving cardiovascular fitness and balance (Lephart, Smoliga, Myers, Sell, & Tsai, 2007, p. 860). The process of swinging the golf club in order to hit the ball is termed as a golf swing (McHardy & Pollard, 2005). The golf swing is a composite dynamic movement which requires a complex interplay between several muscle groups in a coordinated manner and has to be executed with utmost precision and synchrony, in order to generate enough force to propel the golf ball towards the aimed target.

The biomechanics of the golf swing has been studied in depth and the golf wing is conventionally divided into five phases, viz. backswing, the downswing, acceleration, early follow-through and late follow-through (McHardy & Pollard, 2005, pp. 799-800). The shoulder joint is one of the most important joints which is involved in accomplishing the golf wing and undergoes a large degree of range of motion while the execution of the different phases of the golf swing. Thus, injuries to the shoulder while playing golf are quite common and comprise about 12% of all injuries caused due to golf (Mitchell, Banks, Morgan, & Sugaya, 2003, p. 196). The following section discusses the role of different muscles acting on the shoulder joint during different phases of the golf swing.

With reference to the golf swing, the non-dominant shoulder is termed as the leading shoulder, for example, in case of right handed golfers, the left shoulder is the leading shoulder (Kim, Millett, Warner, & Jobe, 2004, p. 1324) The backswing is the first phase of the golf swing during which the club is moved in a direction opposite to that of the intended flight of the ball from the horizontal till the top of the backswing (McHardy & Pollard, 2005). During this phase, the shoulder is rotated to the right, along with abduction, flexion and external rotation of the right arm and right scapular retraction, in right handed golfers.

The opposite arm undergoes adduction, flexion and internal rotation, along with protraction of the left scapula (McHardy & Pollard, 2005). The most active muscles during this part of the golf swing are found to be upper and middle trapezius on the right side and subscapularis and serratus anterior on the left side (McHardy & Pollard, 2005, p. 800). The next phase of the golf swing is the downswing during which the club moves from the top of the backswing position back to the horizontal position (Kim, Millett, Warner, & Jobe, 2004, p. 1324). During this phase, there are several rapid, coordinated movements whereby the shoulder girdle is rotated towards the left, combined with anticlockwise rotation of the scapula, resulting in right sided internal rotation of the shoulder and arm flexion (McHardy & Pollard, 2005).

The most active muscles during this phase are the pectoralis major and serratus anterior on the right side, and rhomboids and middle trapezius on the left side (McHardy & Pollard, 2005, p. 800; Kao, Pink, Jobe, & Perry, 1995, p. 19). The acceleration phase of the golf swing is the most active phase of the golf swing and comprises of the movement of the club from a horizontal position till the point of its impact with the ball (Kim, Millett, Wa