Elbow issues

tonythetiger583 said:

Sometimes my elbow flows freely on my practice strokes with no resistance. And sometimes (usually on shots I miss), I feel like my elbow joint needs to be oiled as I have to push forward and pull back with a bunch of resistance. Can anyone tell me what is going on with my elbow in terms of muscle groups, alignment etc.

I find it happens on pressure shots, so I can't tell if it's a muscle tension nerves problem, or an alignment problem (I guess I might face the shot more squarely when I'm nervous).

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The problem may not be in your elbow. Your shoulder might be tightening up and "spreading" down your upper arm. Make a mental note on how loose your shoulder feels when things heat up.

Best,
Mike

Your shoulders shouldn't be at the same level firstly. This creates tension in the entire upper back and shooting shoulder. When you raise the shoulder higher you take that tensing of the muscles away and into the lower back generally as you need to twist a little to get the shooting shoulder higher. This means the higher shoulder is relaxed and free to move.

As you get down, reach out with the bridge hand to where it needs to be then drop straight down. This should force you to get the right amount of twist in the torso and keep the shoulder higher.

Well stated Pidge. I like your comment very much.

I sometimes say that I have leprosy in my arm.

I generally just swing it around a few time in both directions & I get 'healed'.

Seriously, I think that motion just sort of relaxes or balances out my arm from the shoulder down.

In almost all other sports, exercises & stretches are down to get ready to play. I think most of us don't do anything like that to play pool. Perhaps we should.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick

ENGLISH! said:

I sometimes say that I have leprosy in my arm.

I generally just swing it around a few time in both directions & I get 'healed'.

Seriously, I think that motion just sort of relaxes or balances out my arm from the shoulder down.

In almost all other sports, exercises & stretches are down to get ready to play. I think most of us don't do anything like that to play pool. Perhaps we should.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick

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i actually stretch my arms, shoulders and back before and sometimes during play.....if i'm getting cold, like temp wise not a cold stroke, I have been known to do a couple push ups to get the blood flowing.....i also stretch my knees by pulling my lower leg while standing up and against my butt, which also stretches the quads well.

One of my favorite warm up methods is usually some moderately high speed banks, it greases my arm up and helps it get warm so it can deliver more fluidly.

Yes you can deliver just fine on cold start especially at a slower more controlled rate, but it can be testy on faster shots. Swing that arm, warm it up....full ranges of motion, get the blood flowing.

Warming up is for everything.....time to ready both body and mind. I'm sure it could even have a good psychological effect on a player, having prepared better prior to the start of the match just is better logic than jumping in there.

With that said basically I would just recommend as good practice to always warm up mentally and physically before the match begins, and once your ready you can even tell yourself "hey self I'm prepared mentally and physically, so lets do this"

Just making a statement to ourselves like that enforces the good vibes that come from such preparation, which will directly and positively effect the subconscious and conscious selves.

ready and warmed,
-Keeb

I like the comments here very much. One thought is for you to check your best strokes/when you feel good to see what your initial elbow move is... some play very well raising the elbow a bit in space as they start or to start the backstroke. Maybe on some shots it is moving; on others not.

The OP, Tony, posted his issue in April, but I do like what Pidge & Keebe have said.

I reread the OP & it reminded me of an issue that popped up for me, I guess maybe due to age & some weight gain.

I was having an issue on some long shots when the cue ball was 'in' a corner pocket & I noticed that the misses were to one side.

What was happening was that when I jacked up to stop or draw the ball from those situations, my stroking room was getting cramped up.

My solution was to turn a bit clockwise & that gave me more room to stroke & to stroke straight.

I think the OP's issues might have been similar for some reason & what Pidge said makes sense.

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