Sidearm...help with elbow pain

[toddglee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHEmyPXzQNk&feature=plcp

Well, I'm just beginning to learn to throw sidearm. I am getting some OAT but more importantly, I am getting some elbow pain, nothing excrutiating, but enough to know something is wrong with my form. Any advice/critique would be greatly appreciated!

[seabas22]

You aren't transferring your weight forward over the front foot, and begin throwing early. Sink your hips and get more squatty before you begin to throw.

[toddglee]

Thank you. I'll work on squatting more and throwing later!

[JR]

The right left was off of the ground when the disc left. That saps power and shortened the follow through. It can make the arm stop suddenly considering you didn't have any waist action so the follow through was short. It can lead to OAT. The arm wasn't swished around fast so if you get pain from that you do need to change the form or switch to backhand throws. Have you tried to move the elbow closer to and farther away from the body at that angle and moving the elbow farther out with flat and anny shots? You should try those out. For a better follow through and more power generation you should actively move the left arm back faster than the right arm moves. When i don't know for sure but around when the arm comes to the right side area.

[toddglee]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Ill mess around with my reach and see if I can find something that feels more natural. The lack of power plus elbow discomfort proves something is just wrong. I'll work on hip rotation today and see if I can make that more deliberate. Thanks for looking.

[Mark Ellis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHEmyPXzQNk&feature=plcp

Well, I'm just beginning to learn to throw sidearm. I am getting some OAT but more importantly, I am getting some elbow pain, nothing excrutiating, but enough to know something is wrong with my form. Any advice/critique would be greatly appreciated!

What is MOST wrong with your form is that it hurts your elbow. The same form might not hurt someone else and be fine for them. But it doesn't matter.

I played a tournament this past weekend on long, tough courses. Including practice the day before I threw zero backhand drives (not that I never drive backhand but no holes on these courses convinced me to do it). How much discomfort did I feel in my elbow? None. Forehand doesn't have to cause pain if you find a form right for your body. Btw how much discomfort did I feel in my arm, shoulder, wrist and hand from throwing full out forehand drives for 3 days? None.

Listen to your body. Throw smooth, flat and balanced. Find a motion which gives you no pain.

[JR]

That assumes that there is a way with his body to throw pain free. There might not be a way. Only trying out each variation including elbow not leading at all but parallel with the forearm at the side should be explored. The more i lead with the elbow the more it hurts for me on all lines and elbow distances from the body. But i've had surgery and have abnormal anatomy as a result. YMMV.

[toddglee]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the experienced advice I get here! I tried several throws this morning first using only torso rotation to power the throw, then using only wrist flick to power the throw. Then slowly combing the two smoothly, almost eliminating arm power, and this provided good clean flight. I really didn't concentrate on elbow position since my arm was mostly passive and I had no soreness. I realize I was trying to power the throw with arm strength and it was causing too much strain. I also took some advice from a local pro and started doing reverse curls to help strengthen muscle and connective tissue. I'll post an update video when I feel I have something smooth and 100% pain free. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.