Week 5: Loosen up with post-round stretching

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If your lower back, hips and glutes tend to stiffen up after a round of golf, you may want to consider making stretching part of your post-round ritual. Here are six stretches that will help keep you limber after 18 holes of activity.

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Stretch No. 1: Keep your hips still as you slowly roll your head and shoulders down toward the floor until the upper half of your body is bent at the hips. Breathe deeply as you allow gravity to take your upper body closer to the floor. If it feels more comfortable, you can take your elbows in opposite hands as you sink lower.

Stretch No. 2: Position yourself with your hands and knees on the floor and your back straight. While keeping your hips still, inhale and slowly raise you head and arch your back. Then exhale as you drop your head and round your spine upward toward the ceiling. Repeat this movement 10 times.

Stretch No. 3: Kneel with your left knee on a folded towel. Place your right foot in front of you with your knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Gently lean forward to apply more body weight to your front leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

Stretch No. 4: Take a seated position on the floor with the soles of your feet pressed together. Keeping your buttocks on the floor, lean forward with your upper body as far as feels comfortable.

Stretch No. 5: While lying on your back, bring your right leg back so that your thigh is at a ninety-degree angle from your body. It is fine if your right leg is bent during the stretch. Place your left ankle over your right knee. Pull your right leg in toward your chest. Hold for 30 seconds, and then switch sides.

Stretch No. 6: While lying flat on the floor, bend your left knee up toward your chest. Pull your left knee across your body towards the floor on the opposite side of your right leg, while keeping the rest of your body pressed to the floor as much as possible. Hold for 20 seconds, and then switch sides.

Loosening up with a few stretches will help you feel better off the course, but chronic knee pain is sure to slow you down on it. If knee pain is preventing you from performing at your best, you might be suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Various treatments for OA do exist, such as ORTHOVISC®, which provides up to six months of knee pain relief. Made from ultra-pure natural hyaluronan, which is found in healthy joints, ORTHOVISC® is injected into the knee joint where it acts to replace your natural joint fluid, to help cushion, protect, and lubricate your knee.

ORTHOVISC® is a proud sponsor of PGATOUR.com. Talk to your doctor to see if ORTHOVISC® is right for you. Or visit our Web site at www.orthovisc.com for more information on how to maintain your knee health to help you keep playing the game you love.

Follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information on maintaining joint health and the prevention/treatment of knee pain due to sports-related injuries or the early symptoms of osteoarthritis.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

ORTHOVISC® is indicated in the treatment of pain in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and to simple analgesics, e.g., acetaminophen. In clinical studies, the most commonly reported adverse events were arthralgia, back pain and headache. Other side effects include local injection site adverse events.

ORTHOVISC® is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to hyaluronate formulation or known hypersensitivity (allergy) to gram positive bacterial proteins. ORTHOVISC should not be injected in patients with infections or skin diseases in the areas of the injection site or joint. Strict aseptic technique should be used. The effectiveness of more than 1 course has not been established.

This is a paid placement by DePuy Mitek, Inc. The opinions expressed above are those of DePuy Mitek, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGA TOUR.