Yips – Symptoms and Causes
Overview
The yips are unwanted wrist movements that happen when athletes try to perform precise actions. They’re most common in golf putting but also affect players in cricket, darts, and baseball.
Scientists once believed anxiety caused all cases of yips. Research now shows some people experience yips because of a neurological issue called focal dystonia that affects specific muscles.
Athletes can often find relief by changing how they perform the affected movement. For instance, golfers might switch hands when putting. A right-handed player could try putting with their left hand instead.
Symptoms
People with the yips often feel an involuntary jerk in their muscles. Other common signs include tremors, twitches, muscle spasms, or a freezing sensation. These physical symptoms can happen suddenly during activities requiring fine motor control.
Causes
The yips often stem from two main sources: physical and psychological factors.
For some individuals, the yips represent a type of focal dystonia—a neurological condition causing unwanted muscle contractions during specific activities. This physical cause typically develops from repeatedly using certain muscle groups, similar to what happens with writer’s cramp.
Psychological factors play a significant role as well. Many athletes develop the yips when they:
- Experience excessive anxiety
- Become overly self-conscious
- Overthink their movements
- Focus too much on technique
These mental factors can severely disrupt an athlete’s natural movement patterns. What experts call “choking” represents an extreme form of performance anxiety that can dramatically impact an athlete’s abilities.
Notably, anxiety tends to intensify the physical symptoms, creating a challenging cycle.
Risk Factors
The yips are more likely to affect:
- Older golfers with many years of experience
- Players during tournament play when pressure is high
These factors suggest that both age and stress play a role in developing this condition.
As players get older and have accumulated more time on the golf course, they may become more susceptible to the involuntary muscle jerks and tremors that characterize the yips.
Competition environments seem to trigger or worsen symptoms, pointing to a possible connection between performance anxiety and the neurological aspects of this condition.
