Noahlearner
Par Member
I have been inspired by Brother Dave's discing down adventures thread
to write about and document the process of fracturing elbow, possibly tearing triceps tendons in my throwing arm and deciding to learn how to throw with my left hand. Doesn't sound too hard now does it? I know there are others with similar stories and I'm interested to bring their stories and experiences together too.
My story began in 2007 when I fractured my elbow while playing with m 8 month old baby in the living room. Most of the time since then I have been feeling pretty good. Occasionally while throwing a lot of forehands my elbow would begin to hurt a bit. In the past six weeks it began to hurt more and similarly to when I'd fractured it in 2007. My elbow was really tender to the touch. I stopped throwing all forehands and any overhead shots. I figured I could take care of it by icing and with anti inflammatories. I reduced playing from 5 to 2 a week. One day last week I tried to do a jump putt and I felt a huge jolt of pain. I finished the round and carried on the rest of the day. That night I went to give my son a low five. As I went to slap his hand my elbow popped. Another huge rush of pain. My elbow was very tender to the slightest touch, and it was throbbing. I couldn't bear any weight on my right arm. I couldn't push with any pressure. I couldn't click my seatbelt. I went to the doctor, had x-rays, and am in health insurance limbo waiting for an MRI to be approved. My orthopedic specialist says it is the only foolproof way to find out what's going on. I have to admit, I'm afraid of the results of the scan. I am petrified that they will come back with a full tear of that tendon and I will have surgery on my right arm. I have been reading online about recoveries and it looks like it is a long slow process.
When I was in college, I played lacrosse, and always worked on being able to throw with my off hand. I am excited about the opportunity to do the same again with disc golf. It is a daunting prospect, because I had to put so much time to improve my game with my right hand. I feel like it took many months and many bad habits broken through tons of persistence. The takeaway is that I am starting from ground zero. I have thrown a very small amount with my left hand and am happy to say that I can drive 200 feet. It is humbling having been able to drive 450 in field work with my right hand. I am reconfiguring my bag to account for the new me. I plan to get to 300 feet eventually with my left. I plan to focus on throwing smooth, and soft till the end of the throw. I plan to use my body way better than I did when I learned with my right.
I'm going to use a pure, comet, roc, and leopard or river, and saint pro until I'm throwing them smoothly. I know I can do it. And I'm excited for the challenge. I will report back with any medical or disc related updates. I want anyone else to share their experiences too. Have you learned with your off hand? How hard was it?
Let the journey begin.
to write about and document the process of fracturing elbow, possibly tearing triceps tendons in my throwing arm and deciding to learn how to throw with my left hand. Doesn't sound too hard now does it? I know there are others with similar stories and I'm interested to bring their stories and experiences together too.
My story began in 2007 when I fractured my elbow while playing with m 8 month old baby in the living room. Most of the time since then I have been feeling pretty good. Occasionally while throwing a lot of forehands my elbow would begin to hurt a bit. In the past six weeks it began to hurt more and similarly to when I'd fractured it in 2007. My elbow was really tender to the touch. I stopped throwing all forehands and any overhead shots. I figured I could take care of it by icing and with anti inflammatories. I reduced playing from 5 to 2 a week. One day last week I tried to do a jump putt and I felt a huge jolt of pain. I finished the round and carried on the rest of the day. That night I went to give my son a low five. As I went to slap his hand my elbow popped. Another huge rush of pain. My elbow was very tender to the slightest touch, and it was throbbing. I couldn't bear any weight on my right arm. I couldn't push with any pressure. I couldn't click my seatbelt. I went to the doctor, had x-rays, and am in health insurance limbo waiting for an MRI to be approved. My orthopedic specialist says it is the only foolproof way to find out what's going on. I have to admit, I'm afraid of the results of the scan. I am petrified that they will come back with a full tear of that tendon and I will have surgery on my right arm. I have been reading online about recoveries and it looks like it is a long slow process.
When I was in college, I played lacrosse, and always worked on being able to throw with my off hand. I am excited about the opportunity to do the same again with disc golf. It is a daunting prospect, because I had to put so much time to improve my game with my right hand. I feel like it took many months and many bad habits broken through tons of persistence. The takeaway is that I am starting from ground zero. I have thrown a very small amount with my left hand and am happy to say that I can drive 200 feet. It is humbling having been able to drive 450 in field work with my right hand. I am reconfiguring my bag to account for the new me. I plan to get to 300 feet eventually with my left. I plan to focus on throwing smooth, and soft till the end of the throw. I plan to use my body way better than I did when I learned with my right.
I'm going to use a pure, comet, roc, and leopard or river, and saint pro until I'm throwing them smoothly. I know I can do it. And I'm excited for the challenge. I will report back with any medical or disc related updates. I want anyone else to share their experiences too. Have you learned with your off hand? How hard was it?
Let the journey begin.
