yes rotator cuff...
but first let me tell you some info on myself...

i'm a 19 year old power thrower.
i throw hard and i throw ALOT!
this spring will be my second year playing disc golf, and when i started i thought a really good drive was about 150'!!!
well my game has gotten a bit better to say the least and i can throw about 400' pretty consistently.
i throw RHBH and i've had this sharp pain right on top of my shoulder for about 4 months now. i finally asked my co-worker (who is a nurse) what might be causing this pain. she replies... Rotator Cuff... ...i'm crushed. i know that kills some pitcher's careers! but does any disc golfer have any experiece or knowledge that they could pass along to me before i blow something big?

i love disc golf and i would hate to ruin it for myself.

Stretch, and warm up first and foremost. Just curious-are you throwing hard or smooth? Do you throw a lot of Thumbers and Tomahawks?

i had the same problem man, youre gonna have to stop throwing RHBH for awhile, a few months at least. When it happened to me i stopped playing as much as i use to and when i played i could only throw forhanded or with my left arm. take it as a blessing in disquise and lern the forearm throw, and in about 5months youll have an advantage being able to throw both ways. but it really needs to heal to 100%, mines back at 100% and i can now throw rhbh and i can thumber discs over 300 feet. good luck man hope you get better sooner than later

That's the best advice, use the time to learn to throw Left handed until the right shoulder doesn't hurt anymore, then wait three more months before you strat throwing with it again. 6-7 months from now, you will be able to throw with either hand.

Deuce guy..... I feel you're pain..no I really do..literally
I've had a problem with my rotator cuff for about 10 years now. Fortunately for me I don't notice it as much throwing backhand. However, tomahawks,sidearm airshots and forehand rollers hurt like the dickens if I throw harder than 40%. The best course of action would be see a doctor and get an MRI to correctly diagnose it. My doc sent me to a physical therapist who prescribed a series of exercises to do that strengthen the muscles in and around the rotator cuff. I've heard that most shoulder injuries result directly or indirectly from a muscle imbalance.There are many shoulder exercises that build the smaller stabilizing inside the RC that you will not find in most bodybuilding or fitness magazines.If you're unwilling to see a doc I'd say take a few weeks off and in the future incorporate some stretching and maybe some shoulder strengthening exercises.

If you can't raise your arm above shoulder level, GET A MRI.
In fact insist on it. My HMO put me off for 2 years with just X-Rays which do not show tissue damage.
I suffered greatly. Lost alot of muscle tone and have not been able to regain pre-injury movement.
Most of the people that have surgery right away recover almost 100%.
Mine did not because I would just pop a pain pill and keep playing.
Before my surgery, The Tech who did my MRI said " Oh, you must be in alot of pain" duh :(

well im actually left handed, but i was brought up to throw a frisbee RHBH! and yes i'm a striaght up hard thrower. i need to work on my mechanics to increase distance with less effort/ strain on my arm. but my main forehand (LHFH) has the same flight path! i can throw a LHBH with good distance like ~325', but accuracy is a problem due to akward footwork.

the problem is not serious... ...yet.
it only hurts a little bit after i throw pretty hard for more than 2 rounds in a day without resting my arm for over a day. i just want to prevent my arm from developing into a RC tear.
i stretch a little bit before i throw anything. i do some arm circles, shoulder pulls, pec pulls and trap pulls before i start. any other suggestions?

but for now i will lay off my arm as much as possible.
develop my left hand (FH and BH) and my tomahawks and thumbers are always LH. so that will bemoce my dominate arm while i work on strengthening my right arm!

thanks again guys!

Well if you only stretch "a little bit" you need to increase that a lot more.
Trust me, I have torn my RC. When I did I took a month off and was beTTer. But after that I started to stretch b4 every day that I was going to play.

I had the same problem. It took me 3 years (my game kept getting worse) to go to the doctor. The MRI showed I had a partially torn rotator cuff. I went to physical therapy for 4 weeks and the pain went away. But I have to keep doing my exersises or it will come back. The only good thing that came out of it was that I learned how to throw forehand because it didn't hurt as bad throwing that way. Now I throw forehand more than I throw backhand. As far as my game goes, it's starting to improve finally but my friends that I used to beat consistantly beat me.

well i played a round today without throwing RHBH for any drives or upshots. just putts within 40' or so. i forced myself to throw LHBH and LHFH. my forehand isn't bad at all but my backhand is only good 1 out of 10 or so.

what kind of excerises do you do to strengthen your RC?

thanks for your replies guys!

I take a Big towel, grab it by one of the corners and gently do my throwing motions, gradually increasing the strength that I use on each mock throw. The towel gives great air resistance, without throwing your arm out.

Justin,
Having played several rounds with you I can say that your form has a little to do with things,
When you draw back you overextend your body & use your upper torso waay to much,
If youv'e ever watched some of the more experienced players they throw 99% of there shots with little to no effort (espically at Ottawa) because they utilize every muscle in unsion.
I'll be happy anytime to work on things to help you on the course. Try popping some advil or somethin before throwing also.

ive been throwing alot of left hand (BH and FH) and the BH is coming along very slowly, but the FH is doin fine! thanks for all the advise guys

been playing about 18 years, my shoulder starting hurting Dec 2003, the MRI showed a partail tear of the RC, after 3 monthes of exercises at home and no golf for 4 months that did not help, I delayed survery thru this summer and fall. Golfed in pain once a week, then played Worlds in Iowa.

I had surgery 12 days ago, 1/20/05, the doc removed lots of born spurs and sewed up the almost completely torn RC. The recovery pain and sleepness sucks big time, wearing a sling is no fun. The rehab exercises are painful, but I keep telling my self, "no pain, not gain". I hope to be throwing again by June.

DiscNDav

Did you have the laser surgery or did they cut you? I have shoulder problems as well and the specialist I saw said I was wearing a hole in my RC. Said surgery is the only cure for no more pain and swelling. I had a shot of cortazone almost two years ago and it did help for about 16 months. He said better results with cutting it open but the laser is quicker recovery. Neither one sounds good to me.

RC Update:
I did not throw a RHBH drive for 2 months and just kept working out the shoulder. I've changed my throwing techinique and have developed one that does put the massive amount of strain on my RC that it did.

Thanks for all your advise guys.
I appreciate it.

I dont have rc probs thank God, but I do have finger probs. Has anyone experienced this. My right index finger hurts and the knuckle swells and gets a large hard bump on the inside of my knuckle. The more I throw the worse it gets, but of course I cant stop playing. My index finger on my right hand is larger than the one on my left. Thank God for winter, it has made me take some time off. Has anyone experienced this also?

I have a 5-6" cut on the top of the shoulder. The rehab pain isn't there though. The doc told me today, the pain is from
the deltoid muscle which they cut in order to gain access to the rototar cuff. The surgery is called "acromioplasty", google
it for more info or send me an email.

yes rotator cuff...
but first let me tell you some info on myself...

i'm a 19 year old power thrower.
i throw hard and i throw ALOT!
this spring will be my second year playing disc golf, and when i started i thought a really good drive was about 150'!!!
well my game has gotten a bit better to say the least and i can throw about 400' pretty consistently.
i throw RHBH and i've had this sharp pain right on top of my shoulder for about 4 months now. i finally asked my co-worker (who is a nurse) what might be causing this pain. she replies... Rotator Cuff... ...i'm crushed. i know that kills some pitcher's careers! but does any disc golfer have any experiece or knowledge that they could pass along to me before i blow something big?

i love disc golf and i would hate to ruin it for myself.



I tore mine a lil' bit back in highschool I didn't need surgery for it but it has never been the same since.

Right now if I play more than one round of DG in a day I'll feel it and I won't be able to play for a couple days. Of course I throw sidearm which actually doesn't help much either.

One thing I can say for sure though is that the harder I try and throw, the more pain I end up with at the end of a round. If I stay away from trying to put a lot of power behind a throw I'm fine, but there are just some holes that you have to throw hard on I hate those holes. I've had times where I had so much pain in the shoulder from it that I could barely grip a disc while out on the course.


I'd get it checked out if you can just to be sure that it's not the RC. If it is the RC, you'll only do more damage if you keep throwing hard.

I've been working on altering my throw (I throw sidearm like 95% of the time) I can still get good drives, but I'm puting less stress on my shoulder and elbow. The only problem is that consitancy thing, I can't hit the motion consitantly just yet, but when i hit it, I don't feel any pain at all and my drives go just as far and are even more accurate. Part of it was cutting my "run up" in half and switching to a lighter disc. Don't know just yet how well it is going to work out but so far it's working pretty good.

What you are describing to me sounds more like a AC joint separation. The "nurse" is not the best source for a diagnosis. Go see your regular Dr. and get a referral to a specialist. They can do some manual tests on your shoulder. As for RC exercises, look into those invented by Frank Jobe for the 3 specific muscles that make up the RC. Too much to describe here. They need to be done exactly as prescribed. Light weight and perfect form, slowly.

You have to trust me on this as I worked in the PT field for many years...and I'm from Toledo! Wouldn't let a "Holy" brother down.

Everyone who has pain you must go to a book store and pick up a book called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. Read it, learn it, do it. It is working for me.

I have the same thing on my right hand. I burnt my right index finger and it grew a bump that never went away and then when I started to play it got worse. I use to crack my knuckles really bad but once I started to play disc golf, I had to stop because the pain was umbearable. **** arthritis!!! I'm gonna stop playing as much because I am really tearing myself up and I don't know about you,,,but I am no spring chicken anymore and it takes longer to heal for me! Going to start to run some events in april as soon as the work situation is settled. How did you do in Victoria? Did you go? :D

what?? arthritis,what are you 25!! **** youngsters!! run events , where???? :confused: :confused:

28 actually!!!! Ya,,,sucks to be hit by the ways of old so early in life!! I haven't decided on the event yet,,,,,will let you know when I get everything arranged. Youngsters........yup,,,,,it's easy to say that when your as old as you are!! hahahahahaha :p :p :p :p Your still my hero though!!~!!! /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Mine to sugar pie! ;) :p

you sooooo funny!!!!! :D:D:D:D:p