Medicine and Golf

[JEFF4i]

Who here takes aspirin, bayer, w/e when they play?

I hate it. It might just be my imagination, but, I just don't like the thought of anything numbing my senses when I play. I think, if anything, the strongest part of my game is self-correction, even while in a round, and that means being able to feel all of it. There isn't a day I golf and my knee doesn't ache, usually both. But I rather work through that.

What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, I also only have maybe 4-10 of pain-relief drugs a year.

 

[Adam Pettman]

If I need to take medicine to play golf I'm not well enough to play golf well, simple as that.

 

[DouginGA]

Youngsters, eh. my shoulder/knee/wrist/back/you name it always hurts. percocet, oxycontin, motrin, whatever I can find I take

 

[MGP]

Who here takes aspirin, bayer, w/e when they play?

I hate it. It might just be my imagination, but, I just don't like the thought of anything numbing my senses when I play. I think, if anything, the strongest part of my game is self-correction, even while in a round, and that means being able to feel all of it. There isn't a day I golf and my knee doesn't ache, usually both. But I rather work through that.

What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, I also only have maybe 4-10 of pain-relief drugs a year.

You're like 20 years old, right? Just wait until you are pushing 50 or more... :laugh:

I was the same way too when I was younger. I hardly ever took an aspirin or any other kind of drug unless it was nearly a life threatening deal. I'm still not a big believer in taking drugs for something unless it's the last resort.

That said, I have to take ibuprofen for my bad back or I couldn't play. I will take 4 the night before and 4 in the morning right before I go out to play. They reduce the inflammation in my lower right back (bad disc). That also helped with the tendonitis in my left elbow as well. If I don't do that, I simply can't swing down and through the ball. I also could never play 18 holes without my back stiffening up and becoming very sore and in the extreme, painful. I don't find that it dulls my senses at all, simply makes the dull pain in my lower back disappear.

BTW, the ibuprofen was the Doc's advice and in fact said I could safely take more than twice what I usually take. I do a stretching routine a couple times a day as well and that helps keep the problem from getting any worse (so far). The only other possibility is surgery if it gets worse and the chances of that making the problem worse are about 50-50.

It's one of the fun things you get to go through as you get older and the crazy things you've done to your body when you are young start to catch up with you.

If I need to take medicine to play golf I'm not well enough to play golf well, simple as that.

If I had that attitude I'd never get out on the course!

 

[JEFF4i]

Yeah, I had thought of that, since I'm only 21.

I will, however, try and take this philosophy as long as I can.

 

[limpalong]

I hate it. It might just be my imagination, but, I just don't like the thought of anything numbing my senses when I play.

At 60+, I just hope something hurts when I wake up... That way I KNOW I woke up!!!!:laugh::laugh: Can't take ibuprofen. Upset the stomach. Taking glucosimine for a bad knee. Take an occasional Tylenol. You'll find that, as you "mature", there are some safe OTC drugs that can enhance your enjoyment of this great game. NEVER take too much of anything. The doctor used to tell us to go home and take two aspirin... not the entire bottle. An occasional pain relief/antiflammatory assist once in a while is necessary.

 

[Bravo]

God bless you Jeff and your young age....as you get older, it will get you.

I am very lucky at 52, in that I can play day after day with no physical issues. Back - good. Elbows, shoulders, knees, hands, wrists....all good.

Now to the weird stuff on me.

When I was 29, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. No known reason.. Put me in the hospital for five days running every test known to man to try to figure it out. Everything came out fine...all organs, no heart disease, kidneys work fine...the whole works.

But high blood pressure so severe, if not controlled, (forget a heart attack) - I'd have a stroke.

At 36, after seven years of medication, we had our first child. The inspiration of wanting to see that child grow up, get married and have grandchildren overtook me. So I went on a 'fitness kick'. Worked out cardio wild. Could do 8.5 on a hillclimbing machine for 30 minutes. Kind of like running uphill for half an hour.

So they take me in an shave my chest...wire me up. Put me on a treadmill with the goal to find out what my heart is doing when I say, "Uncle, I've had enough".

They start the test at a walking pace with the machine on a level position. Then increase pace and inclination gradually. At the 15 minute mark, I was running hard uphill and talking with the nurses. They said, "OK shut it down, we can't exhaust him".

So they take the printout of my EKG to the doc. I sit down with him 20 minutes after drying off.

He looks up and says, "Sorry, there's nothing you can do about it...you're 36 and have the cardovascular capacity of a college athlete and your blood pressure is sky high. You're only hope for a long life is to take the drugs".

So, I've been 'on drugs' for 23 years. Just had my annual checkup. Liver is fine....blood pressure too (with lots of meds of course).

The average 60 year old person living in a 1st world country is on 3-5 meds and doing just fine.

Don't fret about it Jeff....It's not even small potatoes...

Aspirin (if your stomach can tolerate it) is a miracle drug with many, many medicinal qualities. It is a superb pain reliever and fever reducer.

And 35 years of study have shown that it is indeed an excellent way to ward off the worse effects of stroke. I take one every morning on doctors orders...

 

[BStone]

I'm only 27 and have a bottle of Tylenol Arthritis in my bag at all times. I had a major knee reconstruction about 9 years ago and then several follow up procedures (7 total knee operations) on my right knee and two procedures on my left shoulder, all of this results in the need for some pain killers before the round and at the turn.

 

[Eracer]

Fortunately, I don't need to take anything for aches and pains as a rule, even though I'm 48 and out of shape. I keep a bottle of Advil in my bag, but I can't remember the last time I took one. I think it was for a headache.

I take BP and cholesterol meds. I resisted for my whole life, but finally gave in. I could probably even eliminate those if I wasn't so damned lazy about fitness.

 

[Clugnut]

Yup, 27 here and I'll pop a couple Advil if I'm walking the course or playing 36. I also take some before a day of roofing. I've never felt it impaired me at all.

 

[warbirdlover]

Three Ibuprophen before playing or I'll be hurting.

 

[sandwedge]

A couple of tylenol or asprin may help the pain but won't do anything to cloud your judgement or effect your play in a negative way. Painkillers on the other hand are a different story.

 

[WMitch6]

It's easy enough to criticize when you're in your 20's. Wait until you hit 50 and post back the same topic.

I'm 62 and started taking aspirin before a round 3-4 years ago. I take 4 about an hour before I play and sometimes a couple during the round. If I don't, back and wrist problems really affect my swing.

I haven't figured out the "numbing my senses comment" I think we're talking OTC painkillers (aspirin, tylenol) not morphine.

 

[cypressperch]

Older people have more experience, as a general rule,

than younger people. If a younger person disagrees with this, does that mean that between now and the time you get old, you will not also have more experience than now? Sure you will. If younger folks would listen and learn from the older, more experienced folks, they would have a great chance to get farther down the road than if they insist that they can learn nothing from older people. Few people really give themselves the chance to be truly wise beyond their years. If they are wise beyond their years, then it is a good bet that they allowed themselves to learn from the mistakes (wisdom) of others.

If you are young and enjoy golf and want to play it well for as long as possible, listen well to those who are discribing their aches and pains. Some things are beyond our control. Some things in our genes are going to kick in at sometimes most probably regardless of what we might do. But we can begin an exercise program that includes all aspects of fitness: strength, stretching, endurance, etc. We can control what we eat. We can be smarter at how we practice golf, going more for quality than quantity (Those who develop the habit of beating golf balls, many golf balls to death at the range, might very well be headed for the day they get surprised by a back injury that was building over many years. The right amount of sleep. Developing ways to cope with stress. There is just a lot of knowledge out there involving fitness, and fit golfers will reach their full potential more often than the non-fit. Actually, it is accurate that by being more fit, you probably have more potential automatically.

I take Advil from time to time. It does not bother me, and it is anti-inflamatory in its action. Aspirin does not work as well with me, but for some, it really causes problems. Tylenol is better for some than others. You get older, you sometimes need something for pain. I am sixty-one. I seem to remember taking something for pain in the last couple of years. I think being a basketball coach and working out with the players into my early fifties helped me stay in pretty good shape. That has helped my golf a lot. I am not as long as I use to be, but I still have adequate length, even from the tips. I have worked at developing a smooth swing with the aim being good contact more than crushing it all the time. I use to crush it every tee shot until I realized that I was physically hurting by back and I wasn't gaining that much more distance anyway. Good contact with a smooth swing yields adequate, more consistent and useable distance. Bomb and gouge is going to hurt a lot of folks and shorten some careers unless I am SORELY MISTAKEN.

Best of luck to all. When you get old, you got to be a tiger (tough).:miz:

Sincerely, Cypressperch