Have you ever heard of yips before? It may sound like a funny word, but the consequences of this health condition can actually be serious for your wellness and wellbeing.
Yips is a name given to involuntary wrist spasms. They most often occur when golfers are trying to putt, but they can occur during other sports, such a darts, cricket and baseball. It used to be thought that yips were a side effect of performance anxiety – i.e. that nerves caused the spasms, but it now appears that yips may be a physical condition, and that they are caused by a focal dystonia. This is a neurological dysfunction and it affects specific muscles.
For some people who suffer from yips, relief can be found by changing the way that they perform the task slightly. For example, a golfer who is normally right handed may try putting with a left handed stance instead.
When people suffer from yips, they may find that the yips sensation occurs in the beginning or in the middle of their normal stroke. The sensation may also come and go, so some days you will be absolutely fine and others you will be plagued by the problem. Another issue is that yips tends to show up in high pressure situations, so just when you are trying to make that match-winning stroke or score, you suddenly find that the spasms are occurring again, and threatening to throw your game right off.
As yips can be caused by psychological factors, neurological factors or a combination of both, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what the root cause of your condition is. Yips can also be associated with people getting older, and are more likely to occur in senior players than in the very young.
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