defined as the occurrence of involuntary movements during the execution of a fine motor skill (1)
common phenomenon, with a reported prevalence ranging from 28 to 48% (2,3)
these involuntary movements, usually twisting and jerks of the wrist and lower arm shortly before hitting the ball, disturb the execution of a smooth, controlled putt, resulting in poor performance (1,2,3)
Aetiology:
predominant model is Smith et al. (4) continuum model, which places yips on a continuum anchored by a neurological and a psychological origin
assumes that both neurological and psychological mechanisms have explanatory power, but their proportion of contribution to the occurrence of the yips can vary within the affected athlete, and this determines the type of yips
Type I describes athletes who exhibit mainly neurological symptoms associated with task-specific focal dystonia
neurological movement disorder is defined as involuntary muscular contractions that lead to repetitive movements or abnormal postures of one body part, which occur exclusively during the execution of one specific task (5)
Type II characterizes the yips driven by mainly psychological mechanisms related to choking under pressure (choking)
choking is defined as the "process, whereby the individual perceives their resources are insufficient to meet the demands of the situation, and concludes with a significant drop in performance-a choke" (6)
a small study showed that Quantitative methods were identified that appear to identify golfers with a dystonic aetiology for the yips (7)
Reference:
McDaniel KD, Cummings JL, Shain S.The yips: A focal dystonia of golfers. Neurology 1989;9:192-195.
Smith AM, Malo SA, Laskowski ER, Sabick M, Cooney WP III et al. A multidisciplinary study of the "yips" phenomenon in golf: An exploratory analysis. Sports Med 2000;30: 423-437.
Sachdev P. Golfers' cramp: Clinical characteristics and evidence against it being an anxiety disorder. Mov Disord 1992;7:326-332.
Smith AM, Adler CH, Crews D, Wharen RE, Laskowski ER et al.The "yips" in golf: A continuum between a focal dystonia and choking. Sports Med 2003;33:13-31.
Pont-Sunyer C et al. E. Focal limb dystonia. European Journal of Neurology 2001;17:22-27.
Hill DM et al. A re-examination of choking in sport. European Journal of Sport Science 2009; 9: 203-212.
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