DG Injuries...

[Eric O]

Here's a strange DG injury. It happened last summer. I was attempting to throw a roller, which I'm not very good at. I was even less good at the time having really just started messing around with roller shots right before the injury occurred. Anyway, I went to force the disc over pretty hard and instead of bending back at the waist I think I tried to do it all with my shoulder. Next thing you know, it felt like I pulled a tricep on my right (throwing) arm. I spent the next month trying to throw lefty which never really ended up working out that well.

The lesson to take away from this for me is throw rollers with clean form and never try to torque the disc over with just arm and shoulder.

[Earl]

I'm slowly getting better but it's been over 6 months now, and I'm still suffering from plantar fasciitis on my plant foot.

To those who might not be familiar with plantar faciitis, it's a tear in the tough, fibrous tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot, connecting the ball of your foot to your heel bone. Most people are more familiar with the term "heel spur", but heel spurs don't always coincide with plantar fasciitis. Once you get it, icing down the foot after exercise and large doses of ibuprofen help, but it can still be really painful sometimes. With plantar fasciitis, you feel a really sharp pain deep within the center of your heel. With every step it feels as though you just stepped on a piece of glass. The plantar fascia is some really tough tissue, but when it tears it takes forever to heal. As I mentioned earlier, I've had it for over half a year now, and I understand that this condition can linger for 1-2 years!

I feel it's important to post this information on this forum because plantar fasciitis is a common injury for our sport, and all disc golfers should be aware of the condition and maintain healthy feet. Those people at risk of developing plantar fasciitis are people who put a lot of repetitive stress on their feet, either from jumping or spinning. For example, plantar fasciitis is also common among basketball players and dancers. Those who are overweight are also at a higher risk of developing plantar fasciitis.

Anyway, when disc golfers throw a backhand with a traditional x-step, it's that last step on the plant foot that puts us at risk. Because of the weight transfer up to the plant foot at the end of the throw, coupled with a big explosion through the hit, there is a tremendous amount of twisting, downward force on the plant foot. Just after the hit, most people will do a quick 90 degree twist on their heel, others will spin on the ball of their foot. However you follow through on your plant foot, the plantar fascia is being stressed.

Here are some disc golf tips to having healthy feet:

1. Wear good shoes. Don't play disc golf with cheap shoes! I would recommend some kind of hiking shoe (Salomons are great). They should at least be some kind of athletic shoes with lots of arch support. I would also recommend shoe inserts (Dr. Scholls, whatever) for additional cushioning and support.

2. Stretch your calf muscles. Before and during your round, take time to ensure that your calf muscles are fully stretched and loose. The calf muscle includes the achilles tendon and runs all the way down to your heel bone and affects your plantar fascia. Playing disc golf with tight calf muscles puts your feet at risk.

3. Stay light on your feet during your x-step. If you are heavy-footed during your x-step, you are placing more weight, and more stress, on your feet.

4. Maintain a good body weight.

For the hardcore players who might play several rounds a day, I would also recommend a 10-15 minute ice bath for your feet after you finish, even if your feet don't feel sore. Ice baths are not comfortable at first, but you get used to it after awhile, and the ice bath will quickly remove any inflammation and keep your feet in top condition.

Anyway, I hope this information helps. Unfortunately I learned all of this the hard way. Trust me: plantar fasciitis sucks. You don't want it. If you do get it it, you will experience pain for the next 1-2 years.

Play smart and have fun!

[Iceman]

Well I've been unable to play since about November and it's looking like it'll take close to another month before I'm able to play from an injury I had on the course that required surgery. So I felt the need to share this story with others so the same mistake isn't made.

My main local course has a nasty creek on it and there are only a couple holes where it is an issue, but 13 the basket is about 3 feet from the water's edge. I recently got my dad to start playing and he throws forehand drives, so I was letting him mess around with my Pulse one day and sure enough in hole 13 he throws it in the water. A couple days later I'm out again with my dad and my brother and we get to hole 13 and discover a couple of guys and a buddy of mine had been fishin discs out of the creek looking for one they lost. They found my Pulse, so I was pretty excited to get a disc back. My buddy has a six year old son who took the disc and wouldn't give it back, so I playfully started chasing him for it. As I was about to catch him, he threw the disc and it just barely skipped over the edge and into the water. I went over and looked and could see the ripple in the water where it went in. The water is brown so I couldn't see thr bottom, but I figured "what the heck I've been in there before looking for discs, so I'll just hop in and get it real quick." the place where it went in is only about 2 feet deep so I just rolled up my shorts and hopped in. I felt around with my feet until I found the disc. It was November so the water was pretty cold and it made my feet numb. I get out of the creek and start putting my shoes back on when I realize that the big toe on my right foot hurts really bad when I push on it. So I look down and see that I'm bleeding. "Not a big deal, just a small scratch" I think to
myself. So I have my brother come check it out with a flashlight (it's dark by now) and he goes, "Oh wow we need to go to the ER!" when I get into light and can see I sliced the bottom of my big toe off! I don't actually know what cut it, I assume a broken bottle. So after several hours in the ER getting the thing cleaned out and having several shots in my toe to try and numb, I finally getti go home on crutches. The next day I go to my doctor, who sends me to a plastic surgeon, who sends me to the hospital for surgery for a skin graft.

In hind sight it was a really stupid idea in the first place, but being a broke college student I don't have money to be able to afford losing discs. Moral of the story is stay out of creeks gettig discs. Just let em lie in peace in the water.

[Spike]

What about injuries connected to bad disc releases? There must be many who have been hit by discs. Both spectators and players. I can't imagine the damage a sharp rimmed driver would cause if it hits a person from a short distance.
Anyone?

[roadkill]

Occasionally passerbys will be hit. There have been stories shared on several threads about people who have been hit or hit others.

For the most part these incidents are largely preventable. Dgers are obligated to yield the right of way to others and take responsibility for the others' safety.

Newbies tend to be responsible for many of such incidents. I'd say on a whole it's rare. I' been playing 23 years and have been hit once and seen others hit once.

Cars get hit far more often then people.

[roadkill]

s As I mentioned earlier, I've had it for over half a year now, and I understand that this condition can linger for 1-2 years!

I've had chronic Plantar Faschitis since 1989. Never has gone away. I limp a lot especially after playing any kind of sports or long walks.

I was a basketball player and active in Tae Kwon Do. PF has really caused me a great deal of pain in the past 20+ years and drasticly changed my lifestyle. I guess if I was religious in doing a serious stretching regimen it would be more manageable.

It's definitely no fun.

[IowaDiscGolf]

I broke a sesamoid bone in my right foot with bad technique. For years I've been throwing RHBH with a sloppy pivot on the ball of my foot, and I over-pronate so it's on one edge of the ball of my foot. Early '09 it started really aching and I had to stay off it for a bit and try to change my technique but I think it was too late, and around Thanksgiving after 10 frames of bowling it abruptly swelled up and I couldn't walk on it for a couple days. Over the last three months I learned to walk without really using that main big toe joint, but then I'd lose my footing on uneven ground, etc. and couldn't push off on it, so this February I FINALLY saw a doctor and got an x-ray. Moral of the story: don't wait to go to the doctor.



I think I have a chance at healing as long as I'm real conservative with the foot the next few months. Really sucks not playing.

The upside is that at least I now know where that force was going. Improving my technique will hopefully impart more force into the disc instead of my bones and joints.

[kpc2004]

Over thanksgiving break I went back home to spend it with the family and I was in Houston for just over an hour when i got the urge to go play a round. Out at Windwood I had a drive take a nasty kick off a tree and right into a small creek and it was my CE Firebird so I wasnt about to just leave it there. Well, to get in the creek you have to climb down a 6 foot ledge where my disc went in so I took my shoes off at the top and right before I was about to climb down the edge I was standing on gave out and I fell to the water level and I put my foot down to try to land on the small bank of the creek without looking first and I landed right on a broken branch with a broken limb pointing straight up. I had a puncture wound about an inch long that went all the way through the meat of my foot and to the bone. I put my shoe back on and limped back to my car and when i took my shoe off again blood just poured out. Needless to say it was not one of my finest moments out at the course lol, and it cost me 100 bucks at the ER to get it taken care of.

[IowaDiscGolf]

100 bucks at the emergency room is not bad for a co-pay to get in and out, insured.

That sounds like a nasty wound. I did something similar, pierced my right calf a few years ago with a long honey locust spike.

Disc golf can be hazardous. When I have a disc kick off a tree into water or thick brush (like, thick) these days, I just tell myself to let it go, just like Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail. It's too easy to get injured retrieving discs.