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Reflections on Golf and Life After ECU Injury - Part 12

cipher

Entry posted by cipher

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I made it back from our Florida trip on Tuesday night.  It was great to get away from my crazy work schedule for a bit, and experience a little sun after the winter here in Wisconsin.  We were able to go the beach and do a little fishing as well.  My son and I both connected with Snook(bass like but longer fish) which is a lot of fun.  Any time you can catch a Snook from the beach with an artificial lure, it is a very rewarding experience.  

On my lunch break this Wednesday I decided to head over to the range.  It was time to give this golf thingamajig another go.  I was confident that all the waiting and physical therapy post-surgery had brought me to the point that it was finally time to see how my wrist would hold up to some swings.  I purchased the smallest size bucket of balls they had which holds about 30 balls.  I did not want to try and hit too many balls at first as I would not be making full swings anyway.  I took out a 7 iron and started hitting some little chip and pitch shots, it was going well, so I started adding a little more speed with each swing.  This is not really news for those who have seen my swing thread this week, but I was able to work up to about 125 yard shots with the 7 iron.  It was actually a little more aggressive than I thought I was going to be on my first time out.  The wrist was feeling great though and I was elated that it was going so well!  It was hard not to get a bit carried away after over two years of not playing.  I even felt the wrist to be strong enough to hit a few light shots with my 7 wood as well.

Today I went back to the range and was able to work up to about 150 yards with the seven iron.  It was about 85-90% of a full swing for me.  I also hit a few balls with the 7 wood again as well.  I was again very happy with these results.  The wrist feels a bit sore, but I think that is mainly because after the surgery it had not been used for many of the motions that are needed in the golf swing.  Overall it feels sturdy enough though. 

Time will tell if the wrist continues to handle repeated swings, especially with the longer clubs.  So far it feels great and I feel like the surgery was likely a success.  It is difficult to describe how it feels to be able to hit golf balls again after so long of not being able to do so.  Simple things like the sound of the ball contacting the face of the club head and the feel of a well struck golf shot are things I missed greatly.  I miss the sights, sounds and smells of walking the course as well.  I can’t wait to get back out there an experience those.  As I have mentioned in previous blogs, my perspective is different now, and should there be any setbacks along the way I will be able to deal with it.  However, being able to hit golf balls a couple times this week has felt like an incredible blessing and is so rewarding to do after all this time.  One BIG step forward and I am looking forward to completing my return to golf.

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iacas

iacas 15,847

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I actually wonder if wedges and things that have a sharper angle of attack and a bigger divot will be more problematic than a driver or a 5-wood.

Not "problematic" actually but I think you know what I mean. It was a thin shot with all the vibrations that caused the injury no?

poser

poser 40

Posted

I've read a few pages need to go through it all when I have more time but, had the same exact injury and got it form hitting a driver in a simulator at golfsmith.  Same exact thing a pop sensation and insane warm pain up my arm.  I couldn't grip anything for about 30 min and then for months would get a click / pop whenever I supinated my wrist.  I went to 3 different surgeons and one kept telling me to wait it out.  After about 8 months I started playing again but, had to change my release to stop the pain.  Fast forward 2 years since injury and I still have pain and still have a hard time supinating my wrist or even doing curls.  I play fine but, can't practice near the way I want but, slowly my ballspeed and distance are back to normal.  Although the driver maybe a little shorter from changing my release.  I can't beat balls like I use to anymore or I'll get pain in my wrist and certain shots if the club rolls over on me causes me pain and sometimes I have to stop playing for the day.  Luckily that doesn't happen much but, when it does it sucks.  I've been debating on getting the surgery this winter but, seems yours didn't go that well.  Good luck man!!

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cipher

cipher 677

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13 minutes ago, iacas said:

I actually wonder if wedges and things that have a sharper angle of attack and a bigger divot will be more problematic than a driver or a 5-wood.

Not "problematic" actually but I think you know what I mean. It was a thin shot with all the vibrations that caused the injury no?

Could be for sure and yeah it was a thin shot with a 4 iron where it all went south.

1 minute ago, poser said:

I've read a few pages need to go through it all when I have more time but, had the same exact injury and got it form hitting a driver in a simulator at golfsmith.  Same exact thing a pop sensation and insane warm pain up my arm.  I couldn't grip anything for about 30 min and then for months would get a click / pop whenever I supinated my wrist.  I went to 3 different surgeons and one kept telling me to wait it out.  After about 8 months I started playing again but, had to change my release to stop the pain.  Fast forward 2 years since injury and I still have pain and still have a hard time supinating my wrist or even doing curls.  I play fine but, can't practice near the way I want but, slowly my ballspeed and distance are back to normal.  Although the driver maybe a little shorter from changing my release.  I can't beat balls like I use to anymore or I'll get pain in my wrist and certain shots if the club rolls over on me causes me pain and sometimes I have to stop playing for the day.  Luckily that doesn't happen much but, when it does it sucks.  I've been debating on getting the surgery this winter but, seems yours didn't go that well.  Good luck man!!

Good you hear from you man!  I was hoping you would check back in at some point and share your experiences as well.  It is such a terrible injury without much info out there on it so that is why Erik encouraged me to start this blog.

saevel25

saevel25 3,044

Posted

I'm glad to see you back at it. I hope it all goes well!

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iacas

iacas 15,847

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1 hour ago, poser said:

I've been debating on getting the surgery this winter but, seems yours didn't go that well.  Good luck man!!

Nate can answer too but I think it went really well. So far anyway.

poser

poser 40

Posted

Yea just finished reading through the blog.  Man that incision was huge....  I just hate knowing I'm going to be out of doing much of anything for that long.  With that said I head into ortho for my shoulder wednesday and if that needs surgery I'm just going to knock out both since it's the same arm.  Maybe I'll regain my entire mobility.  It's obvious my sheath never healed properly since I don't have normal range of motion and still pain

cipher

cipher 677

Posted (edited)

15 minutes ago, iacas said:

Nate can answer too but I think it went really well. So far anyway.

The the end result so far is great. The process is just a long one as you will read about in the blog @poser.

7 minutes ago, poser said:

Yea just finished reading through the blog.  Man that incision was huge....  I just hate knowing I'm going to be out of doing much of anything for that long.  With that said I head into ortho for my shoulder wednesday and if that needs surgery I'm just going to knock out both since it's the same arm.  Maybe I'll regain my entire mobility.  It's obvious my sheath never healed properly since I don't have normal range of motion and still pain

Yeah that could definitely be the case with it not healing properly.  MRI does not really tell the Doc crap either with this injury.  I do think my recovery was unusually long and yours probably would not be so bad.

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I'm glad to see you back at it. I hope it all goes well!

Thank you Matt!

Edited by cipher

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