In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Zajac demonstrates the best pre-golf resistant exercises.
 
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Resistance training

 Mayo Clinic doesn't just advise golfers on resistance exercises and strength. For 25 years, it has served as the official medical sponsor of the WM Phoenix Open, providing on-site care for athletes, event staff and spectators. Supporting one of the world's largest golf events, from heat-related illness to musculoskeletal injuries, reflects deep expertise in both prevention and knowing when specialized care is needed.
 
Resistance training is essential for golfers. It strengthens muscles, ligaments and tendons while improving core stability, mobility and functional strength. These benefits can translate into better swing control, more consistent contact and improved endurance throughout 18 holes. Just as important, targeted strength work helps protect the lower back, shoulders and wrists — areas commonly affected by golf-related injuries.
 

Golf exercises to consider

Zajac recommends focusing on three key areas:

• Rotator cuff and shoulder (rows/scapular strengthening): Strengthening the upper back and shoulder stabilizers supports posture and helps control the club throughout the swing.
• Core (plank and side plank): A strong core improves rotational stability and balance, allowing for more efficient power transfer while reducing strain on the spine.
• Glutes and legs (bridge exercises): Golf is played on one leg at a time. Building lower-body strength and balance enhances stability during the swing and helps generate power from the ground up.

 Perform these exercises on non-golf days two to three times per week. A consistent strength routine can help you stay steady, swing with confidence and avoid a season-ending bogey. 

Related post:

• Mayo Clinic Minute: Are the yips just nerves or something more?

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When surgery isn't an option, a liver transplant may be a lifesaving alternative. Mayo Clinic leads in this approach, combining expertise in oncology and transplantation to offer new hope for patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Dr. Kris Croome, a Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon, explains how expanding treatment options improves outcomes.

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Learning that colorectal cancer has spread to the liver can be overwhelming. Because the liver is the most common site of spread, affecting about half of patients, a liver transplant may offer hope when other treatments aren't an option.

"Liver transplant for colorectal metastases is an important evolution in transplant oncology and turns a historically palliative disease into one where cure is possible," says Dr. Croome.

It's a complex process that requires experts from multiple teams working together before transplant.

"Usually, it's at least six months of chemotherapy, and we would like to see that the tumors are responding and that we're not seeing any spread of disease anywhere else," he says. "We really want the disease to be isolated to the liver as the primary tumor. So the tumor in the colon needs to be removed ahead of time."

Liver transplants can significantly improve survival in advanced colorectal cancer, with five-year survival rates exceeding 70%.

"It's the care that patients receive leading up to that and afterward as well, and we really take pride in that," says Dr. Croome.

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As the trend continues, Mayo Clinic surgical teams are using innovative, minimally invasive approaches to treat colon and rectal cancer — helping patients recover faster after surgery.

Dr. Dozois says screening helps detect and treat colorectal cancer early, and improvements in surgery are helping patients maintain quality of life.

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Edited by: Kevin Sullivan, Senior Communications Specialist, Mayo Clinic

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"We are seeing a pattern of younger patients with colorectal cancer, and when I say younger, I mean patients under age 50," says Dr. Dozois.

Colon cancer is often treated with surgery.

"When we see patients with a new colon cancer, we're often recommending surgery, which is to remove a segment of the colon," he says.

Rectal cancer may require a combination of therapies.

"It may get treatment with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. It might be all three, and that's what we call a multimodality approach," Dr. Dozois says.

Minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopic and robotic approaches, uses small incisions, cameras and specialized instruments/

"Patients can recover more quickly, they have less complications, and they can get back to their activities and work in a much quicker fashion than they used to in the past," he says.

Importance of colorectal cancer screening

"Screening is critical. Why? Because it saves lives."

Related post:

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Polyps in the colon can vary in size and shape. Some are more mushroom-shaped, but that's not always the case. 

"Some polyps spread out more like a bed of moss; they're flat," says Dr. Wallace.

Advances in imaging and tools help care teams detect and treat difficult polyps. 

"Technology has been clearly shown to improve our ability to find more polyps and reduce the miss rate for some of these flat, subtle polyps," says Dr. Wallace. 

Early detection leads to better outcomes. 

"Stage 1 cancer, so-called T1 cancer, we can actually remove that through an endoscope or through a colonoscope, specifically, in a curative way," says Dr. Wallace. "This is something that has had profound implications for patient care." 

Dr. Wallace adds that the most important step is to get screened. 

"Whatever test you choose, get screened," Dr. Wallace says. "This is a preventable cancer. It's one of the very few cancers that we can almost completely prevent. So getting screened starting at the age of 45 — one caveat is — if you have a family history of colon cancer, you need to start even earlier."

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Metabolic experts at Mayo Clinic say combining the two in some instances can be an effective way to treat obesity.

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"Obesity is a disease, and to overcome it, we need to use all the modalities, or tools, we have available," says Dr. Omar Ghanem, a Mayo Clinic metabolic surgeon.

However, it's not a one-size-fits-all approach.

"Some patients might benefit only from medications, some patients might benefit only from surgery, but a portion of patients might benefit from the combined therapy," Dr. Ghanem says.

He says some patients experience greater weight loss when combining bariatric surgery, also called metabolic surgery, with GLP-1 medications. Ideal candidates include patients who start obesity treatment with a higher body mass index, those who are preparing to undergo a complex surgical procedure, such as a transplant, and patients who need to lose more weight for their overall health or those looking to maintain their weight after metabolic surgery.

"Neither GLP-1s nor bariatric surgery are magic. These are tools, and the patient has to use those tools correctly to be able to overcome obesity," Dr. Ghanem says. "Each case is different. Go to your provider, talk to your specialist, and trust them to help you make the right decision for your health. Our patients have to put a lot of effort to overcome the disease. They're not just choosing the easy way out, they're choosing the healthy way out."

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Jason Howland has more in this Mayo Clinic Minute.

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Drive for show. Putt for dough. But when lining up that winning shot, it can be a golfer's greatest fear: a sudden case of the yips.

"The yips is a description given by people who golf of a twitch, or a jerk or involuntary movement when usually putting," says Dr. Charles Adler, a Mayo Clinic neurologist.

In many cases, the yips is thought to be psychological. A golfer under pressure experiencing performance anxiety is usually par for the course. But there are others that likely have a neurologic problem.

Yips as a neurologic problem

"We call it 'dystonia' or 'tremor.' It's an involuntary movement disorder," says Dr. Adler. "So only when performing a golf movement, such as moving the putter, does the involuntary movement come out."

Dr. Adler is teeing up the topic as lead author of a Mayo Clinic study on the yips, which could offer athletes improved treatment options.

"It's our belief that treatment is going to be different for people who have a neurologic cause and a nonneurologic cause."

Dr. Adler says more research is needed with the hope of finding specific treatment options to overcome the yips. And that would be a hole in one for every golfer on the green.

Related story: Behind the scenes of fan health: Mayo Clinic marks 25 years as WM Phoenix Open medical sponsor

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Radiation therapy is a common component of breast cancer treatment for patients. The high-powered beams of intense energy kill cancer cells and reduce the risk of the cancer recurring.

Dr. Laura Vallow, chair of the Radiation Oncology Department at Mayo Clinic in Florida, explains how innovation is transforming radiation treatments.

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Patients with breast cancer now have more options when it comes to radiation treatments. The goal is to remove any remaining cancer cells following chemotherapy or surgery. 

"In other situations, we use radiation if the cancer is more advanced, or spread to the lymph nodes," says Dr. Vallow.

Advancements in technology allow healthcare professionals to treat patients more safely. One technique called "prone positioning" reduces the chance of beams targeting other organs. For this procedure, patients lie on their stomachs.

"We take advantage of gravity, the breast pulls away from the body, and we can treat the breast without exposing the underlying lung and heart to unnecessary radiation," explains Dr. Vallow.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy is cutting-edge. Unlike traditional radiation, this procedure delivers X-rays directly to the targeted area from multiple angles, allowing for higher, more effective doses.

"Before intensity-modulated radiation therapy, we were not able to conform the dose around the chest wall," says Dr. Vallow.

For patients undergoing radiation therapy, it's crucial to stay hydrated and try to sleep well to fight fatigue. It's also important to use sunscreen after treatment.

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As respiratory infections rise in the fall months, washing your hands with soap and water is more important than ever. Regular hand-washing stops germs from spreading and lowers your chances of getting sick. Always wash your hands after using the bathroom, before eating or cooking, and after coughing or sneezing.

Washing your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap is simple yet effective. It can prevent 1 in 3 cases of diarrhea and 1 in 5 respiratory infections. 

Dr. Summer Allen, a family medicine physician at Mayo Clinic, says staying healthy means fewer missed days from school, work and activities. Here are tips for good hand hygiene.

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Twenty seconds. That's how long you should be using soap and water to wash your hands each time, says Dr. Allen.

"Using that lather and that soap and that time to scrub between each of their fingers on the insides and the backsides of their hands, and taking time — not just one or two seconds — and then rinsing your hands off again," she says.

When to wash your hands

There are some key times when you should wash your hands.

"When you're leaving the bathroom. Another important time would be if you cough or sneeze. We try to tell people to try to sneeze into your elbow or not into your hand," says Dr. Allen.

And when handling food like uncooked meat, poultry, seafood, flour and eggs, unwashed hands can spread germs and lead to foodborne illnesses.

"When you're touching and handling that food, it's important to wash your hands and wash surfaces when you're done so that you don't pick up one of those infections," she emphasizes.

If soap and water aren't available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol is a second choice.

To properly wash your hands, follow these steps:

• Wet your hands with clean, running water.
• Apply any kind of soap, and lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, palms, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Use a clean towel to turn off the faucet and dry your hands.

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Dr. Richard Sharpe Jr., a Mayo Clinic radiologist, says it's crucial to talk with your healthcare team to find the screening method that is right for you. An MRI is one option. Reporter Jason Howland has more.

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"The first thing to know if you get notified is that dense breast tissue is completely normal. 

Half of all women will have dense tissue," says Dr. Sharpe.

He says dense breasts are identified through a mammogram. Additional testing is the next step.

"The most widely available supplemental screening test for women with dense tissues is probably an ultrasound of the breast or an MRI," says Dr. Sharpe. "There have been lots of studies showing that MRI is the most sensitive test for finding breast cancer."

An MRI is meant to be used along with a mammogram, not instead.

"MRI is the most sensitive test we have for finding breast cancer. It can see through density. It can find hard-to-see, small cancers," says Dr. Sharpe.

But it's not for everyone. You'll lie face down on a table and then guided into the MRI machine."Some patients that have challenges with claustrophobia might struggle to be comfortable in the smaller space of the MRI scanner," explains Dr. Sharpe.

The benefit is clear, he says.

"Women with dense tissue or high risk for breast cancer that undergo breast MRI, we are able to see cancers that would be hiding from the mammogram."

Supplemental screening options

Other supplemental screening options include molecular breast imaging (MBI), ultrasound and contrast-enhanced mammography. 

Dr. Sharpe says choosing what screening method works for you is an individual decision that should be made with your healthcare team, but he says it's important to start with your annual screening.

"The most important thing for women to know is that you should get your annual mammogram, starting at age 40. Also, if you have dense tissue, consider a supplemental screening, another imaging test looking at the breast tissues in a different way — and you should get that exam regularly as well," he says.

"The most important thing for women to know is that you should get your annual mammogram, starting at age 40. Also, if you have dense tissue, consider a supplemental screening, another imaging test looking at the breast tissues in a different way — and you should get that exam regularly as well," he says.

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• Mayo Clinic research improves dense breast cancer screening and early detection
• Top 10 questions about breast cancer answered
• Mayo Clinic treats first person in the US with a novel radiopharmaceutical therapy for breast cancer

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Dr. Shennen Mao, a Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon, says having a diverse pool of organ donors will help serve a growing wait list of those in need.

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In the U.S., about 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant.

Nearly 60% of people on transplant waiting lists come from minority communities, while about 30% of donors are people of color.

"Blood types and certain HLA, or antibodies, tend to correlate with various ethnic groups," says Dr. Mao. "So it is not directly related to a particular minority group; however, organs will end up with someone of a similar background because the better matched an organ is, the more longevity that organ has."

Higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are present in minority communities, contributing to more organ failures.

"The more people we can help the sooner through transplant, the better," says Dr. Mao.

She says living donors do not experience a change in their quality of life after surgery, but a recipient's life can change for the better almost immediately.

"If somebody is approved to be a living donor, we expect they will live a full and normal life following their donation process," says Dr. Mao.

In most states, signing up to be a donor after death can be done online or when registering for a driver's license or identification card. For a living donation, contact the recipient's care team or a transplant center for more information.

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