Guide To Treating And Preventing Yips

Relaxation Techniques

Since the yips are worsened by anxiety, it helps to practice relaxation techniques, especially in high-pressure situations like tournaments. If individuals regularly practice these techniques both on and off the golf course, they'll find themselves experiencing less anxiety in their day-to-day life. One technique is focusing on the breath, where the individual takes deep breaths and slowly disengage their mind from distractions. A body scan technique is used to help individuals focus on different muscle groups and slowly relax the tension in them. With guided imagery techniques, individuals imagine soothing places or scenes to help them relax. Encouraging mantras can also be repeated to help the individual focus on the present and keep a positive mindset.

Discover more options for treating and preventing the yips now.

Botox Injection

A botox injection can sometimes help with the yips as well. During this procedure, a doctor will inject onabotulinumtoxin A into whatever muscles are overacting and causing the yips. This helps limit involuntary contractions of the muscles, which means patients will experience fewer spasms and twitches. Botox injections tend to be helpful for patients whose condition is caused by an underlying neurological issue. Dystonia causes muscles to twitch involuntarily. Botox has been used to offer temporary alleviation of other types of dystonia by paralyzing the affected muscle. However, this type of treatment isn't perfect yet. If the dosage is too high, it might cause weakness in the muscles and lower overall functioning. Additionally, patients who have too-high doses the first time may require a second injection.

Get to know more about treating and preventing the yips now.