| Tight hamstrings are very common among | | | | to perform your hamstring mobility exercise. |
| golfers, and they are very avoidable. Most golfers | | | | Repeat for 3 sets of 15 repetitions per leg, most |
| attempt to relieve hamstring tension by | | | | days of the week. |
| performing quick stretches (i.e. less than 10 | | | | A second point to emphasize is neural tension. |
| seconds with only a brief pause at the area of | | | | Many times, increased tension arising from the |
| greatest restriction.) In reality, it is not the | | | | low back and spinal structures can result in |
| amount of 'flexibility' a golfer has that determines | | | | increased sciatic nerve activity. The sciatic nerve |
| his/her ability to swing smoothly, but it is the | | | | controls tissue tension throughout the entire |
| amount of 'mobility' instead. Let's take a closer | | | | backside of the lower extremity. In this case, you |
| look at these two words, where: | | | | would perform the same mobility exercise, but |
| 'Flexibility' refers to the amount of passive | | | | while holding a towel that is wrapped around the |
| lengthening (i.e. bending over to touch your toes | | | | ball of your foot to bring your toes towards your |
| and holding the position)versus | | | | face. This ankle movement, otherwise known as |
| 'Mobility,' which refers to the amount of active | | | | 'dorsiflexion,' adds a light stretch to the sciatic |
| lengthening that a muscle can withstand (i.e. while | | | | nerve and will teach your nervous system to |
| laying on your back , actively extending your | | | | believe it can be more relaxed in a normal, |
| knee until you feel a light stretch, slowly returning, | | | | standing position. Be careful not to stretch |
| and repeating for a desired number of repetitions) | | | | aggressively when stretching neural structures, as |
| Flexibility is necessary for a gymnast that needs | | | | they will respond with increased activity (i.e. more |
| to hold a certain position for a prolonged period of | | | | tension) if you do. |
| time. Mobility is necessary for people that need to | | | | By following these guidelines for improving |
| use their muscle flexibility with movement, such | | | | hamstring mobility you will greatly reduce incidence |
| as golfers or runners. By working on mobility | | | | of injury, as well as improve pelvic rotation |
| rather than flexibility, you will dramatically improve | | | | associated with the golf swing. Pelvic rotation is |
| your hamstring length as it relates to the golf | | | | one essential component to improving accuracy |
| swing. Please follow the mobility example above | | | | and distance in golf. |