Shawn Light, the 2018 Southwest PGA Section Southern Nevada Chapter Teacher of the Year, is a UNLV PGM Graduate and the Co-Owner and Golf Performance Coach at Root Cause Resolution in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Shawn Light on the importance of paying attention to spine health, physical movement and recovery:
With more PGA of America Golf Professionals implementing golf fitness into their player development programming, it’s important to diversify your engagement with students to cover all aspects of the golf swing to improve their overall performance. My brother, Dr. David Light, and I had this vision of opening our own business that incorporated golf training and chiropractic care, understanding the vital connection between the two. We know how important it is to properly heal the body and maintain a general level of body wellness to get the most out of one’s golf game. We opened Root Cause Resolution Chiropractic & Golf Performance in 2019 for chiropractic and wellness services, offering therapeutic massages and several other recovery modalities. Dr. Light is a chiropractic physician and a certified functional medicine practitioner who is TPI Medical 3 and SFMA Level 2 certified. We expanded in 2021 to address golf performance, which is where my background as a PGA of America Golf Professional comes into play. Today, we have a comprehensive team of golf and wellness professionals who provide a holistic approach to maximizing our students’ potential for a more enjoyable experience in golf. After all, the body is the most important piece of golf equipment. It changes every day, and as human beings, we get into these movement patterns and paths that are consistent in our everyday tasks, constantly moving in all three planes of motion. Those patterns create consistent movement within certain joints of the body but sometimes neglect other parts of the body, which can cause deficiencies, restrictions or even pain and injuries. All athletes should understand how to move as human beings to optimize their capabilities with as few hindrances as possible.
Shawn Light on the business impact of paying attention to spine health, physical movement and recovery:
At Root Cause Resolution, we have chiropractic clients who seek recovery from pain. But the last thing we want them to do is stop moving. A state of stagnancy is not the remedy to get their bodies functioning better and with less pain. We keep them moving, but in planes of motion that are easier for the client. That’s why no one golf swing works for everyone. Each person’s body is going to take the path of least resistance, and that resistance differs from individual to individual. After identifying each client’s restrictions or dysfunctions, we can either plan to improve them by working on the body, or we can teach around these issues. But to do the latter, the golf coach must understand how the biomechanics of the body work and how everything is connected throughout the body. Our clients are diverse – elite golfers at the top of their game, golfers who are getting older and want to maintain their skills and even new golfers just getting into the sport. We strive to relieve pain for those who have it and prevent injuries through efficient and effective workouts, exercises and activities that prepare those vital joints for the rigorous effects of the golf swing. Most athletes burn out or get bored in their traditional workouts. We also understand how hard it is to be unable to go about normal life or miss out on adventures because of pain or limited mobility. We offer unique small group conditioning classes to reach one’s highest potential, and we offer Red Light Therapy for full body recovery. This plays a huge role in speeding up recovery to get athletes and individuals back to their sport or day-to-day living.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email slight@rcr.life.
