Disc golfers elbow advice/Elbow braces

[Mayumoogy]

So I have developed a slight case of Disc golfer's elbow, which I guess is technically tennis elbow. I have pain on the outside of my elbow anyway. The pain is mild so far, and there is no pain during normal activity, but I can tell that somethings rotten in Denmark.:(

I have been resting the elbow, and using ice and a heating pad to help the healing.

My questions are:

What are the proper intervals for the ice and heating pads? hot then cold, cold then hot? and how many times?

Can I use one of those Tennis elbow braces in a PDGA tournament?

Do these things actually work?

Is there anything else I can do to help me play with this injury?

Has anyone else been through this, And what did you do to fix it?

Finally, in a perfect world, is there an elbow brace that keeps your arm from hyper extending at the elbow and would that be legal in the PDGA?

I am playing a tournament this weekend, but then have 2 weeks to rest up, I am hoping that will give my arm a chance to heal up. I have read some articles online and this seems to be a chronic injury... this has me worried as summer is approaching and I have a lot of tournaments coming up.

I have been told that my throw has caused this because I don't follow through, among other things. I have been shown a way to throw that is considered "proper". Heres the thing... I don't want to practice so I can rest my arm, but I need to practice this new technique so I don't further injure my arm. I have a tournament in three days, where I know I am going to fall back into my old form because I want to win!!!! AHHHHH! Who knew disc golf could be so stressful.

Part of me wants to cancel the tournament and play it safe, but the other part of me wants to play for obvious reasons...

I don't want to be the quarterback from the movies who plays against doctors orders and has a career ending injury

Thanks for reading and for your help answering any of my questions!

[TreeLove]

I have found a padded velcro strap that you wrap around your forearm to be helpful in preventing and reducing elbow pain. Also, if you throw predominantly forehand, switch it up and throw more backhands, or vice versa. And of course, remember that your lifelong freedom from pain is far more important than one tourney win.

[JMan]

Same problem last spring...get a good brace, and that's not just based on price. Try a few on in the store, go for comfort and stability. Then do what I did, get your doctor to give you a nice cortisone injection. Oh the brace helped, the needle sent it away. Good luck, take the time to heal right or you'll regret it later.
'J'

[Altophish]

Cycles of 15 minutes on the hot and cold.

[Lyounger]

Get to PT if you can and determine if it's a localized soft tissue issue or the nerves that run from your neck down through your arm. Both cause extreme pain and inflamation in that meat that connects to your elbow.

Mine was the latter and it's improving with stretches and strengthening.

[Mayumoogy]

Thanks for the info. I am going to pick up one of those brace thingys today. I think i will use one of those and just take it easy this weekend.

If things get real bad I will get one of those Cortisone shots, does that stuff actually heal the area or is it just to mask the pain?

[JMan]

To tell you the truth I don't know if the cortisone cures or masks, but it does deal with the swelling. My doc will give me one every 3 months if it flares up, and then it goes away. You playing the Sushi this weekend?

[mine all mine]

If you have tennis elbow, the more you play the worse it can get. I let my tennis elbow heal for three months and then wore a neoprene sleeve with a built in strap to keep pressure on the tendon for about six months. This is not something that you want to play through, and cortisone injections will only mask the symptoms which is why you have to keep getting them. Icing it is good but only time will cause the pain to go away.

[snap7times]

You will need an actual doctor's confirmation of what it is, there is a huge difference depending if it is muscualar, nerves, tendons or whatnot. This will help you know more what you need to do to treat, heal and maintain a healthy throwing arm than trial and error.

If it is painful, Ice works. Heat is for "soreness" in concept. Ice should be on for 15-20 minutes every hour.

I'm only 29 years old, but since I have the PE degree, I know that the best method of treating injuries is preventing them before they come! Proper warming up and stretching does wonders! The warmer your body is, specifically the parts being used, the lower the risks are for general injury and so forth. I have a warm up routine that I always do before even throwing my first throw, alot of people look at me like an idiot but it works, plus I wear an arm sleeve from pearl izumi that keeps my arm warm and compressed. This keeps my chances of injury much lower plus it keeps soreness to a minimum when wearing it for 30-60 minutes after completing a round. These things really do work, that is why we are seeing more and more professional athletes wear arm sleeves, some are thin, some are thick and warm, i wear the thick and warm types, $30 for the pair. Good luck on healing your arm quickly.

[Mayumoogy]

To tell you the truth I don't know if the cortisone cures or masks, but it does deal with the swelling. My doc will give me one every 3 months if it flares up, and then it goes away. You playing the Sushi this weekend?


Yep, Sushi Classic it is! I got one of those tennis elbow braces, and it seems to help, I haven't tried throwing though. Sounds like the cortisone shots are a little extreme at this point, and the idea that it just masks the problem is not good.

We will see how this weekend goes, I might have to hang up the ol' disc bag for the summer...:waaah: 6 months sounds like a nightmare, but I suppose the alternative is much worse.

I could learn how to throw left handed, I would suck at first, but I bet that I could get semi decent, and once my right arm healed it would be useful to have a left handed throw no matter how crappy it is.

[Bruce]

I've recently started wearing a compression sleeve, like you'll see NBA players. I've tried the velcrow armbands in the past and they worked well. The compression sleeve has basically eliminated what pain I started feeling after rounds, and was a relatively cheap investment (15 dollars) I got it a size smaller than what really felt comfortable, to keep a hefty bit of compression on the forearm. So far no complaints other than needing to learn to play with it on.

[TreeLove]

Interesting, thanks, guys, I am going to work on:
*) finding some of those arm sleeves
*) stretching out and keeping warm before, during, and after play
*) preemptive use of NSAIDs
*) hydrating properly before, during, and after play
*) start throwing more lefties (like I did for 6 months while shoulder tendonitis caused by a huge thumber on cold muscles healed - I got 2 lefty aces!)

[dooley]

Yep, Sushi Classic it is! I got one of those tennis elbow braces, and it seems to help, I haven't tried throwing though. Sounds like the cortisone shots are a little extreme at this point, and the idea that it just masks the problem is not good.

We will see how this weekend goes, I might have to hang up the ol' disc bag for the summer...:waaah: 6 months sounds like a nightmare, but I suppose the alternative is much worse.

I could learn how to throw left handed, I would suck at first, but I bet that I could get semi decent, and once my right arm healed it would be useful to have a left handed throw no matter how crappy it is.

I am currently recovering from Epicondylitis(tennis or golfers elbow although most people who get it do not do either).It was diagnosed by a doctor and was given an Elbow owners manual.There are 2 kinds of Epicondylitis...Lateral and Medial(outside and inside) I had both although the indide was not as bad as the outside.Icing helps with swelling but I used Ibuprofen and hot tub jet to relax and stretch the sore area.The straps/braces are great.I bought one with an air pillow in it and wore it most of the time at home and one without for golf....best money i spent in awhile.I recommend Ace brand and i got them at Walgreens on sale.I just played the 3po and my arm feels better everyday.I cannot agree more that stretching and warming up are imperative especially if you throw disc.....even more so if your 50 like me.

[Mayumoogy]

A couple of questions about this Ace thing. I got the brace with the little pillow in it, they said you could use the pillow on the outer or inner side of the arm. Does it matter which way I use it? And how close do I need to get to the elbow for this thing to work? I am just going by what I see on the picture.

[Bruce]

Generally you'd place the pillow near where the pain is, on the upper part of your forearm below the elbow.

As far as the compression sleeve, it keeps the muscles themselves warmer, which I think helps with our quick burst movements. I'm going to stick with the sleeve and can give more feedback the more I golf. So far it is way more comfortable than the couple of armbands I have worn.

[snap7times]

I have been wearing the pearl izumi *it's a bicycle gear company and they have a store at the woodburn outlet mall* since 2008 or early 2009 so I have had these babies for a long time, have had quite a few friends buy them and say they have totally changed their ability to play because of reduced soreness and more confidence. The Deaf National champ in 2008 totally messed up his bicep during the LD contest and I gave him a sleeve, he wore it religiously for over a year and a half until he healed. Now he wears it off and on, and has jumped over 20 points in his rating in the last few months and expects another 10 point jump in the next rating update... Who wouldnt want to jump from 950's to 980's in less than 6 months and be giving jay reading a run for his money?

Warm muscles/tendons = more elasticity and contraction. This is where most injuries come from, not being elastic enough to do a motion, which causes a tear or strain, hence the majority of the injuries you speak of.

I swear by the pearl izumi arm sleeves. I wore a size medium cuz it was comfortable, but it would slide down my bicep since it wasnt tight enough to hold on during drives, got a small and they were pretty tight, but they make me that much more confident, especially in cold weather this winter.
Anyone who knows how i have played this winter, will say yes, the arm sleeves seem to be doing their job.

[Mayumoogy]

Sounds like those sleeves are cool, I will check them out on my way to the aloha classic, I have never been to that outlet mall, do you think they have xl, or xxl I am 6'8" and don't want to be cutting off circulation!

[Mayumoogy]

Also does the arm sleeve do the same job as the tennis elbow band? Or is the sleeve to prevent the injuries?

[snap7times]

Arm sleeves provide compression and heat, which is both for prevention and rehabilitation. A big guy would probably wear M-XL. I wear a small. Medium fit a 5-11 guy at 190.
That outlet mall is sick. Northface has the best disc golfing shoes ever, and at 40-50 percent off! Not to mention all the other bad axx stores like Nike, Under Armour, Columbia etc...
You can always call. And I am sure most bicycle shops have these sleeves in Portland.

[wyattearp67]

So I have been having the same issue. I googled cure tennis elbow and come up with a ton of stuff I found 2 exercises that made sense. the one I just tried and I can feel the difference already. but they all say take a break and let it heal.

[Discgolfingkilmers]

I have had elbow problems for a year now and the only thing that truly works is REST. I use a brace called BAND IT and it works great for night time and while i am playing. ice and massage is what works, there are some stretches that work also.

[snap7times]

RICE

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

[snap7times]

the arm sleeve wins the USADGC!

http://www.pdga.com/usadgc-wrap

[*freeskier]

the arm sleeve wins the USADGC!

http://www.pdga.com/usadgc-wrap

That kid looks to be about 13 years old. Maybe the next 12x champ? Sorry for the hijack.

[ScottW]

Looks like this post has been around for a bit but I will chime in anyway for those who may still have this problem. First off I am a certified athletic trainer and I work in a PT clinic so I see this frequently. First off, it's a pain in the @$$, take care of it in its early stages before it gets too bad. I've seen some cases require surgical intervention - never good. Rest! IF you don't make time for your body your body will make time for you (my words of wisdom):biggrin2: I would agree will Leslie's (Lyounger) earlier post about seeing a PT for treatment but you would probably first need to see your doctor so he/she can give you a prescription for PT. I would stay away from cortisone injections for a couple reasons 1) they don't feel good - big needle - and they don't always have lasting results and 2) cortisone over time actually breaks down tendon tissue - that's why you seldom hear of people having more than 2 or 3 injections - unless they are professional athletes then they are just idiots. Lots of stretching, warming up before activity (heat is ok) and ice massage after. Some deep cross friction massage will probably be the most miserable thing you could imagine for it but will probably yield the best results. Worst case scenario, see an elbow specialist i.e. orthopaedic surgeon. A tennis elbow strap should do the trick and I wouldn't bother with some big high tech hinged brace. You are dealing with a tendon/muscle irritation not a ligament instability. If you tore a ligament in your elbow that is a whole different story - then go see a specialist.