DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’m sure golf is one of the most injury-free sports imaginable. Do you know the common injuries from golf? I don’t mean things like slipping and falling or getting hit with a golf ball. I mean things actually caused by playing the game. — J.F.

ANSWER: Golf isn’t a contact sport, so injuries associated with it are not on the same scale as football and hockey injuries. However, every sport raises the possibility of injury, even golf. For golfing professionals, most injuries come from overuse.

For amateur golfers, the golf swing is the leading cause of injury. The back, shoulder, elbows and knees are the targets of golf-swing injuries. The portion of the swing that causes the most trouble is the downswing, when the club and arms are traveling the fastest and the back and hips are rotating. Slowing down the club after it hits the ball is the second most injury-provoking maneuver.

The best way to avoid such injuries is to learn the proper mechanics of a golf swing. Every golf course and practice range has a qualified teacher.

Warming up before playing for five to 10 minutes helps to prevent injuries. Warming up is not putting a club behind your head and resting it on your shoulder and then twisting. That does nothing for the golfer. Warming up means raising body temperature by jogging in place, practicing air swings or doing calisthenics.

Muscle strength not only prevents injury but improves performance. Both the upper and lower body benefit from training with weights. You can increase the distance you hit the ball by increasing muscle power. The speed of the swing depends on strength. A pro swings the club in 1.21 seconds, an incredibly fast time. If you were to swing a weighted dumbbell in the same kind of motion you swing a golf club, you would hit the ball faster and farther. Imitating the movements used in a sport while training with weights transfers power to the sport movements.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have two artificial knees. Both were implanted during the same surgery. My new knees feel great, and I’m moving around like I used to when I was 20. I love to play golf. Would 18 holes of golf be safe for my new knees? I’d like to walk the course, not use a cart. — M.J.

ANSWER: I don’t have an answer for you. From personal experience and from observation, I know many people with artificial knees who play golf. The person who can give you a definite answer is the doctor who implanted those knees.

I have seen an article in a professional journal that states golf imposes a good deal of stress on the knees. The twisting and turning during a golf swing is equivalent to the stress that tennis and jogging place on the knees. Modifying the swing can spare the knees from much of that stressful load.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What benefit do I get from walking a golf course — the whole 18 holes?

I don’t feel that I am getting much exercise when I use a cart. Can you give me a rough idea of how much good this will do me? — B.R.

ANSWER: A lot of good.

Walking an 18-hole golf course is the equivalent of walking about 5 miles. You might remember the campaign to get everyone to take 10,000 steps a day. Ten thousand steps are roughly 5 miles. An 18-hole round of golf, therefore, fulfills this goal.

Who plays with you? Are you sure you can find three others willing to walk with you?

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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