How to properly deal with an overuse injury in disc golf

I never thought I’d get injured …

But throwing lots of discs can inflame wrist, elbow and shoulder tendons. You may not even feel inflammation, but without rest, sore tendons can move progressively closer to a breaking point.

Eagle McMahon has experienced this.

My injury came after a long weekend of disc golf this past January. I woke up the next morning with a brutal pain in my right shoulder. A subsequent MRI revealed partial tears in my rotator cuff. It’s been an intense road back to disc golf, but if I’ve learned one thing, it’s this …

Go with physical therapy.

Four months of it, in my case.

Here are eight things I took from the process:

1. Physical therapists aren’t dumb.

It may seem like they’re overly cautious, but they know what they’re doing …

Listen.

2. Do exactly what your physical therapist advises.

When I really committed to resting my arm and actually doing what my physical therapist instructed, I started to heal. And yes, that included me completely avoiding practice throws with an imaginary disc in the living room. It’s frustrating, but be smart: Do what you’re told.

3. Simple physical therapy exercises are necessary.

At first I thought, “Why are these guys having me swing my arm like a pendulum?”

It turned out this seemingly minor (and mindless) exercise helped ease aches and pains.

4. Healing can take awhile.

For weeks, nothing seemed to change – and I mean NOTHING. My shoulder wouldn’t only hurt after a physical therapy session, but when simply reaching for something in the kitchen, too.

It seemed like things would never get better.

5. Recovery takes a long time, too.

I thought I was getting better after a month or two. The initial pain was gone. But when I tried to throw a disc — against doctors’ orders, mind you — the pain and injury came right back. 

Yet, after three-and-a-half months of therapy, I finally noticed that I wasn’t hurting as much after physical therapy. Slowly, but surely, the nagging areas of my shoulder were getting smaller.

6. Even seemingly hopeless injuries can heal.

After three months of therapy, I still felt twinges in my shoulder. One afternoon, I merely shifted in my chair and felt a searing pain in my upper-arm. I thought my shoulder would never heal. Discouragement was an ever-present force, but staying the course, things began to improve.

7. Your physical therapist will know when you’re ready.

After I committed to resting my shoulder, I was afraid to mess things up. What started out with me anxious to get back in the swing (pun intended) of things soon led to fear of reinjury. But with four months of therapy in the books, my therapist said I was ready for a few throws.

She was right.

8. Start back slowly.

Stating the obvious here …

Disc golf is great.

But don’t jeopardize your recovery from any kind of overuse injury by throwing a ton of discs the first time you’re given the green light to get back at it. Do a small number of throws at low intensity – then rest. Your tendons aren’t nearly as strong as they were before your injury.

They’ll get there, but in time.

The bottom line …

If you’re addicted to disc golf, don’t ignore the aches and pains that frequently serve as warning signs of tendon (or muscle) strains. Whether your overuse injury results in physical therapy or not, resting your throwing arm should be viewed as an ESSENTIAL part of training.

I’ve learned this lesson …

And I won’t need to learn it again.

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