Shoulder Injuries

Just wondering if anyone has any advice for shoulder injuries. I know I WAS torqueing my shoulder a week or two ago. I've worked on my form and I'm not torqueing anymore. However, the outside middle to back of my shoulder is extremely sore to the point that it hurts to lift it. It gets more painful with every round I play. I stretch out before I play, and I have begun icing after (and throughout the day when I can). I know plenty of things I could do in the weightroom to strengthen it/ get more endurance out of it, but I can't do those now because of the pain. Anyone have any other ideas?

[Chris Perkins]

have it looked at if it hurts that bad. i didnt have mine looked at after a bad thumber and im still paying for it. ive now done 2 months of physical therapy and had a cortezone shot too. Nothing has helped it. jump on it early and make sure it isnt serious.

[Hootie]

Hey Jayne,

I had a similar injury a few months ago, and one of my friends who was doing sports medicine suggested it could be an injury to the rotator cuff. She told me not to get any massage done on it, and to use it as least as possible as using it would only aggravate the injury. I rested up for 2-3 weeks, and it came good, which was a relief.

Definitely go and get it checked out by a physio though, especially if you're experiencing pain. The worst case from seeing a physio could be a few weeks or months out of disc golf while you heal and get treatment, but if you don't get it checked out, you could permanently injure yourself, and not be able to play the game ever again. I know which option I'd prefer. Good luck with it (and make an appointment with a physio asap!!).

[Jayne]

I am planning on resting this week and seeing if there is any improvement. If there is I'll keep resting til it's healed up. If not, I;ll make an appointment. IF only y'all knew how stubborn I am... 2 undiagnosed concussions with the second having me puke multiple times a day for a week. Ok, so maybe not stubborn. In hindsight I realize that was stupidity on my part. I WILL go in if it doesn't heal with rest. I love my disc golf too much and I don't want to think about not playing!

[eric beich]

I know what you mean. both my shoulder injuries came during tournaments so of course I COULDNT stop playing!! haha. but Ive found that you HAVE to take the time needed or it wont heal. and that sucks. been two 1/2 weeks now since I pulled something in my shoulder and I've only been able to go throw 4 shots in that time to test it out.
sucks not being able to play.

[David Nelson]

Hi Jayne,
I think Chris has the right idea. Have it looked at if it keeps bothering you like this. It sounds like you're doing the right things: stretching, icing, etc. I'd also suggest taking some ibuprofen. I've had 2 shoulder surgeries and what I've learned is that the shoulder is very complex and difficult to assess in terms of injuries. I've also stopped throwing thumbers and tomahawks as they are hard on my shoulder. If you're having sharp pains be sure to lay off. Good luck!

[Mike Roman]

Jayne,

I am a recovered rotator cuff injury player. The advice I can pass on is.
1.) Get it checked by a doctor.
2.) The best thing to do is take a minimum of a full month off from playing and all other shoulder activity.
3.) If the doctor recommends cortisone then you can either take it, or if you are against it then take lots of Ibuprofen, ice it religiously and don't use it. Remember that any swelling in there just aggravates it more and makes it even worse. I actually had to get two cortisone shots a month apart and I stopped playing for those two months. It was depressing, but not nearly as depressing as it would have been if I could not ever have played again.

Mike

[Tabi]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I went to an orthopedic and did some physical therapy. The exercises they have you do each day are minimal but help immensely!! I highly recommend it. you may need to take a few weeks off from golf though to let your arm/shoulder heal....

[Jayne]

Haha. I'm bad. I putted for over an hour today... 100 ft and in only (My form is so much better on approaches/ putts than drives). So I decided my shoulder wasn't too bad so went back to the short tee to throw a few. 167 ft. Aced the first shot with an Aviar. I decided that I would quit on that note. I'll take it. Pain is starting to subside already from only 2 days of rest. I'm gonna STRICTLY stick to putting a few more days for sure before even trying to throw anything. It feels like it's subsiding but I definitely want to make sure it heals completely before throwing full power/ acceleration again. If it's still painful beginning of next week or if it subsides but reoccurs within the next few weeks I will definitly get into the doc.

Glad to hear that MOST of you have gone through it are still able to throw! Chris- hope you can get it figured out!

David- yep... I stopped the tommies a couple months ago cuz I don't get lots of distance out of them anyways AND they definitely don't feel good on the shoulder! Miss ya!

[stevo]

physical therapists are the best.

[Jayne]

oh for sure. If I go in I'm definitely going to a sports medicine place or a phsyical therapist. I won't go to my doc unless he won't refer me without seeing me.

[mark ellis]

I've never been good about taking time off. My cycle is ice, stretch, IB and throw as smoothly and gently as possible to test it. Then more icing and stretching. I've never taken off more than a few days for injury or any other reason. I've also never had a really bad injury during my disc career. Knock on plastic.

By the time most players get to the age protected divisions, injuries are pretty common. Walk up to a buch of old guys and ask if anyone has ibupofen! We sometimes call ourselves the "Vitamin I" divison.

A few years back, I tore a muscle in my side while cranking a maximum power anhyzer. I really couldn't throw for the next 3 days but did the icing and stretching routine, hoping to play in a tourney on the weekend. It might have been foolish (or, as it turned out lucky) but I entered the tournament to see if my body would hold up. Due to the injury I couldn't throw any shot hard and couldn't throw an anyhyzer at all. So I just played smooth and threw all hyzer releases (with flippy enough discs you can still create anhyzers of some marginal effectiveness). When it turned out that I didn't cause further injury, I threw in a distance event two days after the tourney. By then I felt a bit better but still threw only smooth hyzer shots.

One of things I have noticed is that an injury (or illness) doesn't harm performance as much as you might guess. It forces you to concentrate more because nothing feels "right" or "natural". At last year's World Championships, Dr. Rick Voakes had an array of injuries (bad back, etc) including an ankle he could barely walk on. So he limped around the course and drove mostly with a 150 gram aviar. His long drives went maybe 250-300 feet. Of course, he hit every line and (as usual) made every putt and played great. He took 3rd in Grandmasters without the benefit of power! He did it on purely on smooth. And kicked my butt. Again. As usual.

The winner of that division was David Greenwell. If you have a few extra hours some day ask him how his injuries are feeling. He was a true walking wounded all week and played close to flawlessly. Injuries are meant to be overcome.

[Jayne]

Haha. The "Vitamin I" is always in my bag coming from two years of college soccer where I had a bottle in my backpack, purse, and soccer bag. I had the guys laughing at league night a couple of weeks ago cuz they asked for an eraser when ALL I had was a sharpener, kleenex, IB, chapstick... haha.

IT's so true. I have noticed that I focus more on my putts and approaches now that I'm taking a few days off from the drives. I even got my first ace yesterday throwing a putter nice and smooth. I can't speak of the drives, but I do know that in general when I just slow down and don't try to crush a disc it holds the line better AND goes further.

Fortunately, I think I got out all the mass quantities of injuries in two years of college soccer. I had the ankle issue last spring/ summer- 8 weeks of rehab. I threw daily but had to learn to adjust seeing as my weight had to be supported by my back leg. Hopefully now I can keep the injuries down to a very rare occasion!