Bummed out over bum shoulder

[DavidSauls]

Rest it but, if problem continues, see doctor, as others wisely counsel.

It's a sensitive point to me. I hurt mine in a tournament and kept playing because I was doing well. "Play through the pain". This led to a long period where I'd rest it for 6 weeks, play, rest for 6 weeks, see a doctor, see a chiropractor, see a physical therapist, etc., etc., all the while being able to play less and less. I finally saw an orthopoedist and, 2 years after the injury, had surgery on my torn labrum and missed most of another year with rehab. Another 3 years to get my rating back to where it was.

So I lost a couple of years out of my disc golf life that I would have saved if I'd sought proper treatment earlier.

 

[mattdabbs]

I hurt my shoulder about 9 months ago. I rested it a few months and then when I came back I couldn't throw far at all. I learned that I needed to stretch quite a bit and then throw little by little before playing a round - a few 100 ft throws, 150, 200, before starting to stretch it out over 300. I couldn't throw 400 again for about 5-6 months.

Now, 9 months later I noticed over the last couple weeks my form was a little off with too much arm and some pain is starting to come back. So I am going to have to get my form down again properly so that my arm will last through the years.

Hope that helps. Stretch, stretch, stretch and warm up. If something hurts there is a reason. Don't press it. You don't want to miss playing with your grandkids even for a sport as great as disc golf.

 

[gkeberhart]

rubber band excercizes are the best way, I blew out my shoulder pitching in high school and lost a scholarship. spent a whole year in therapy doing resistence training and when I played semi-pro after my first year of college i was actually throwing harder with much less strain.

 

[eegor]

I'm resting my shoulder now. I can't even drive side arm. You have to stop for a while. I'm about to go out and play left handed. I really have the urge bad. It doesn't hurt to putt...

One guy in the group I usually play in is left handed, but has recurring shoulder problems. He learned to drive right handed and beats me just about every time. He can drive it about 300 feet. He still approaches and putts left handed. I'm going to get to where I can throw it at least 175-200 ft with my left hand... if I do, that will work for me.

I'm old and gray, but I just want to play!

 

[CoachQ]

Learn to throw south paw! It can only be a benefit and may force you to rethink your game and certain lines or routes on several holes.

I am currently playing through a sore elbow, but I figure I will throw until the thing gives out. I don't want to sit out through something that might not disappear anyway.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Ironically, I went out to play Wednesday and reaggravated my shoulder. It's definitely the worst it's ever been, to the point of tingling/numbness in my fingertips/hand, something that wasn't happening before. So, I'm following my own advice and going to see the doc as well.

 

[kirvin2]

This is a follow up to an old post that I started. I apologize for the typos. my right arm is currently unnavailabe/immobilized. I finally went to the doc about my shoulder a few months ago. he scheduled an MRI and an appt. w/ an ortho surgeon. The MRI showed a SLAP tear of the labrum. I just had surgery 9 days ago to repair it. Ihave to keep my arm in sling for 6 weeks and only then can I start physical therapy. ican start throwing little by little after 6 weeks but after 6 weeks in a sling, i expect my arm muscles to be mush and there is no telling how long it will take me to be back close to normal. Moral of the story: if you have recurring shoulder pain, go to the doc and get checked out ASAP! Surgery is the only way t fix some things and it is only a waste of time trying something heal on it's own, that can't heal properrly by itself.

One person (david sauls) stated that they had a torn labrum repaired and that it took him over a year to get back fully. Could you ellaborate on that? Could you throw at all, right after your time in a sling?

 

[billnchristy]

I would highly recommend playing with your off-hand.

It takes a while and is frustrating to no end but it will make you a better player in the end.

I have dropped 5-6 strokes off my game over the year and all of that has come since August because I got hurt in March and didn't use my left until around August.

I did not have surgery and just took MSM and iced regularly along with anti-inflammatories.

Never did get an MRI because Christy was out of work at the time and didnt' want to eat the co-pay cost. Looks like it was a good choice as it obviously wasn't torn, probably just inflammed.

 

[kirvin2]

I have played about 6 rounds with my left hand and i didn't do too bad. It was still fun to get out and play, which is the important thing. Ican also drive about 275' with my left. I imagine I will be using my left during the first few weeks after getting outa the sling.

 

[Jukeshoe]

This is a follow up to an old post that I started. I apologize for the typos. my right arm is currently unnavailabe/immobilized. I finally went to the doc about my shoulder a few months ago. he scheduled an MRI and an appt. w/ an ortho surgeon. The MRI showed a SLAP tear of the labrum. I just had surgery 9 days ago to repair it. Ihave to keep my arm in sling for 6 weeks and only then can I start physical therapy. ican start throwing little by little after 6 weeks but after 6 weeks in a sling, i expect my arm muscles to be mush and there is no telling how long it will take me to be back close to normal. Moral of the story: if you have recurring shoulder pain, go to the doc and get checked out ASAP! Surgery is the only way t fix some things and it is only a waste of time trying something heal on it's own, that can't heal properrly by itself.

One person (david sauls) stated that they had a torn labrum repaired and that it took him over a year to get back fully. Could you ellaborate on that? Could you throw at all, right after your time in a sling?

Bummer!

We commiserated about our back/shoulder issues about a year ago, since we both went down about the same time. So sorry to hear about the state of your shoulder, but at least you know now what was wrong and know it will get better (with time and PT).

I still get a couple occasional flare ups, but that's usually when I'm slacking on my "maintainance" PT exercises. :\

I wish you a speedy and full recovery!

 

[kirvin2]

Bummer!

We commiserated about our back/shoulder issues about a year ago, since we both went down about the same time. So sorry to hear about the state of your shoulder, but at least you know now what was wrong and know it will get better (with time and PT).

I still get a couple occasional flare ups, but that's usually when I'm slacking on my "maintainance" PT exercises. :\

I wish you a speedy and full recovery!

thanks for the well wishes. I'm glad to hear the pt is still working for you. You're right, my game will be back to normal (hopefully by the end of this coming summer) and I can hardly wait. I hope to have my distance to be further than where it was getting to be before I worsened my slap tear last Nov. At the time I had only returned to the sport for about 4 months (after about 15 years away) and was still getting that old rust hammered out. It sucked to have my progress halted and even reversed. but now i'm on the proper path to recovery! I have only improvement in my disc golf future.

 

[DavidSauls]

One person (david sauls) stated that they had a torn labrum repaired and that it took him over a year to get back fully. Could you ellaborate on that? Could you throw at all, right after your time in a sling?

Your story brings back nightmares. But most of my regrets were the time I wasted with self-diagnosis before getting it fixed properly.

Sounds like you're on the timetable I was. I was 46 years old; if you're younger you might bounce back quicker. Anyway, surgery Sept. 1, 6 weeks in a sling, then started very gradual rehab. A couple weeks in, the rehab included throwing a ball about 10', with my elbow locked to my side; it may not sound like much, but I was SO happy to be throwing anything. Several more weeks until I could reach my arm over my head.

January 1, started throwing discs. Putting 10'....then the next week, 20', and so on. 50' was great because it really felt like a throw. I played a tournament the first week of March, 6 months after surgery.

I could throw 300', maybe 330' at my best, before the injury. When I started back playing I was throwing maybe 250'. I've reached the point where I occasionally throw as long as I once did---which admittedly isn't very far---but the handicap was the long layoff both before and after surgery, and my age and poor athletic ability meaning it took longer to recover.

*

My non-disc-golfing brother just had surgery for a torn labrum, and he's on a much faster track. I think he's starting therapy within a week or ten days of surgery, and expecting to be able to throw baseballs in a couple of months. Apparently there are different kinds of tears & repairs.

*

My footnote is that, during the period leading up to surgery and while my arm was in a sling, I bought property with the goal of building a disc golf course. Which shows great faith in my surgeon!

 

[kirvin2]

Thanks for posting that. It helps me understand what's ahead of me. According to the surgeon, mine was "a bad tear" and i'll need "a lot of PT". I'm 48 years old so we should heal about the same. I hope/expect to be playing tournaments in 6 months. I hope to be back to normal in about a year.

 

[DavidSauls]

My aftereffect benefits have been

(1) I'm not bothered quite so much when I play bad. After a period of not being able to play at all, playing bad doesn't seem, well, so bad.

(2) I was never one for stretching before, and took a tough-it-out attitude towards injuries, which is how I tore my labrum in the first place. Afterwards, I'm very diligent about stretching and protective of my shoulder---to the point of withdrawing from a couple of tournaments at the first hint of trouble---because I really don't want to go through all that again.