title: Is there an association between self-reported warm-up behaviour and golf related injury in female golfers?
abstract: Golfing injuries have been shown to occur frequently, and injury countermeasures have been suggested to help reduce injury risk. Performing an appropriate warm-up is thought to reduce injury risk, however there is a lack of evidence to support this notion. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the relationships between warm-up participation and injury in a cohort of female golfers. A total of 522 golfers participating in the Victorian Women's Pennant Competition completed the study. Over one-third (35.2%) of the golfers reported having sustained a golfing injury within the previous 12 months, with the lower back the most commonly injured region. Most golfers reported not warming-up prior to play or practice. Golfers who reported not warming-up on a regular basis were more likely to have reported a golfing injury in the previous 12 months than those reporting frequent warm-up participation (OR=45.2; 95% CI: 13.5, 151.7). Less skilled golfers were also less likely to report sustaining a golfing injury than more skilled golfers (OR=0.2; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.5). This study is one of the few to establish an association between warm-up participation and injury. Further prospective studies are warranted to determine whether warm-up reduces injury risk for golf participation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Central and Eastern Clinical School, The Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrea J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fradkin
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Belinda J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Gabbe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006055:Golf / Q000293:injuries*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires