Can I keep golfing? I just found out I have osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Can I keep golfing with osteoporosis or osteopenia?
I get questions about continuing activities like golf, pickleball, kayaking, and running almost daily. These questions about exercises that require twisting and lifting are not easy to answer.
I struggle because I dislike telling people to stop doing something they enjoy. I also don't like to directly contradict another health professional who may have suggested they stop and have given their honest opinion on the subject of exercise. Osteopenia and osteoporosis recommendations are contradictory and the full picture of what is going on makes broad generalizations difficult.
But it happens quite often. Runners are told to stop running (they don't); swimmers are told they need to switch to weight-bearing exercises; tennis, pickleball players, and golfers are told to find something with less twisting.
The problem is that all of these exercises are more than just physical.
They are social. They are fun. And often they are part of a bigger, positive, slightly competitive social network that would leave a huge hole in someone's life if they just stopped.
When someone tells me they have been told to stop doing something, I like to take my time and assess the pros and cons of the situation.
Is it truly detrimental, or can we get creative and modify it to allow for healing and a safe, but full return to the sport?
Recently, there has been a big increase in pickleball injuries. There has also been a huge number of new players to the game, so it is logical to conclude that more players equals more injuries. I wrote this last June: Pickleball Injuries - Is the Potential for Injury Greater than the Fun?
Let's acknowledge that injuries are part of any sport, and the benefits most people get from playing and participating far outweigh the potential problems. While you can recover from a twisted knee, or even broken wrist, heart attacks and strokes are much more of a problem.
Is this the same for golf?
I searched to see what the research said regarding golf and osteoporosis, given that I hear it is "bad for bone" quite often.
Surprisingly, despite the bad rap golf gets, there is very little actual research on the topic.The closest article I could find directly addressing this was from 2008, Interaction between playing golf and HRT on vertebral bone properties in post-menopausal women. While it was a small study, 72 post-menopausal women between the ages of 49-69, a positive difference was found in the bone mineral density in the spine of the 47 golfers compared to the 25 non-golfers. The women who were both golfers and taking HRT had the highest bone mineral density scores. (HRT=hormone replacement therapy)
I don't want to suggest that golfing has no risk. The annual incidence of golf injuries is between 15.8% and 40.9% in amateurs (Thomas & Wilk, 2023). The low back is the number one area of injury. I do, however, think with a bit of planning and some modifications, you can continue playing golf. Osteoporosis Canada recorded a fantastic webinar by physiotherapist Sarah Emery BScPT, who is an avid golfer and has osteoporosis. The presentation was delivered in May of 2022, and if you love golf and want to keep playing, I think you will find it very informative. You can watch it here-> FORE! GOLFING WITH OSTEOPOROSIS. She gives great tips for protecting your back while lifting or pushing your golf bag, picking up the ball, and how to modify your swing.
Thomas & Wilk (2023), published a commentary on three golf programs, The Golfer’s Fore, Fore+, and Advanced Fore+. The programs are designed to be done with minimal equipment and can be done at home. You can see the programs with pretty good illustrations in the full article ->The Golfer's Fore, Fore +, and Advanced Fore + Exercise Program: An Exercise Series and Injury Prevention Program for the Golfer.
For those of you who work with me regularly, you will see some, very familiar exercises, including Around the World's, single and double leg bridges, squats, bird dogs, and dead bugs. I have recorded most of these exercises and they can be found on my YouTube channel.
I hope you found this helpful, stick around for more tips as I continue to address questions I get about living an active life with osteopenia and osteoporosis,
Andrea Trombley PT, DPT
References:
Eser P, Cook J, Black J, Iles R, Daly RM, Ptasznik R, Bass SL. Interaction between playing golf and HRT on vertebral bone properties in post-menopausal women measured by QCT. Osteoporos Int. 2008 Mar;19(3):311-9. doi: 10.1007/s00198-007-0467-0. Epub 2007 Oct 16. PMID: 17938985.
Thomas ZM, Wilk KE. The Golfer's Fore, Fore +, and Advanced Fore + Exercise Program: An Exercise Series and Injury Prevention Program for the Golfer. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2023 Jun 1;V18(3):789-799. doi: 10.26603/001c.74973. PMID: 37425113; PMCID: PMC10324324.