Characteristics of Pain in Professional Golfers Who Visited a Mobile Medical Clinic during the Season

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of pain and its characteristics reported by professional golfers during playing season. METHOD: From April 2006 to August 2007, we operated a mobile clinic equipped with a physical therapy unit during the professional golf competition. For professional golfers who had visited the clinic during this period of time, we investigated distribution of pain and its characteristics through interviews and medical records. RESULTS: A total of 118 professional golfers visited the mobile clinic during the service period. The analysis of pain distribution showed that spine (56.3%) including low back, cervical, thoracic spine was the most common area of pain complaints, followed by upper extremity (33.1%), lower extremity (9.1%) in order. Based on the detailed anatomical distribution, low back was the most common pain site (22.5%). In case of the upper extremity pain group, left side pain was more prevalent than that of right side. Compared with spine pain group, upper extremity pain group was significantly older and also had more professional career (p<0.05). This implies that upper extremity injury may relatively caused from repetitive stress of golf swing. CONCLUSION: The results imply that golf imposes a relatively high burden on spine and upper extremity in professional golfers.