Pool Injuries

9BallPaul

9BallPaul

Banned
Can't remember seeing any threads on this topic, but then, I've been in Mr. Wilson's slammer for the past year and haven't been able to keep up with the posts, much less post myself, so forgive me if I'm spading old dirt.

Anyway, a recent injury in baseball got me thinking about pool and it's seeming safety. I'm guessing most serious injuries arise from fistfights, shootings, etc., all initiated over an argument about pool. Mostly in bars, I figure, with alcohol fueling the mix.

I once slammed my index finger into the rail while breaking, and while it stung for a while, it wasn't an injury. And I'm sure some drunks have stumbled over pool cues and broken some bones.

But is there such a thing as a legitimate pool injury? Worn-out knees, maybe? Flat feet?

Just askin'.
 
I would think it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to herniate a disc while playing. I'd think that would be the worst. Nothing sucks more than a herniated disc.
MULLY
 
I actually had to change the way I break because I developed a bad case of Golfer's Elbow.
 
Repetitive stress type of injuries

9BallPaul said:
Can't remember seeing any threads on this topic, but then, I've been in Mr. Wilson's slammer for the past year and haven't been able to keep up with the posts, much less post myself, so forgive me if I'm spading old dirt.

Anyway, a recent injury in baseball got me thinking about pool and it's seeming safety. I'm guessing most serious injuries arise from fistfights, shootings, etc., all initiated over an argument about pool. Mostly in bars, I figure, with alcohol fueling the mix.

I once slammed my index finger into the rail while breaking, and while it stung for a while, it wasn't an injury. And I'm sure some drunks have stumbled over pool cues and broken some bones.

But is there such a thing as a legitimate pool injury? Worn-out knees, maybe? Flat feet?

Just askin'.
Click to expand...

9BallPaul:

First, welcome back! Glad to have you back, seriously.

Second, I would think any injury having to do with pool (or the cue sports in general) would be "repetitive stress"-type of injuries. E.g. repetitive stress injuries to the back from bending over so much (perhaps incorrect form), repetitive stress injuries to the leg joints from being held in a certain [improper] flexed position, perhaps tennis-elbow from cueing, etc.

Perhaps if the grip is very wrong (e.g. too tight / mechanical grip with friction against certain pads of the hands), blisters can even result. (And yes, I saw this type of injury on a particular player that I ended up taking under my wing and tutoring him for a while to correct such bad form.)

Carpal Tunnel syndrome? Most definitely -- especially if the grip hand wrist is held at an unnatural angle (e.g. exaggerated sidearm / prone wrist position, or exaggerated retrograde [bent inwards towards the body] wrist position).

I figger lots of these types of injuries occur in pool. And they're not trivial, either!

Hope that helps,
-Sean
 
about 6 or 8 months ago while i was trying out a new stance, i noticed my shoulder was hurting an increasing amount every day i was at the table. i eventually had to change my stance entirely to fix it. It came from putting far too much weight on my bridge hand, stressing the socket too far - then also pushing myself up from the table using my bridge hand. i had read somewhere about a stance being a "tripod", so used that hand to take some weight to increase stability. I did it wrong, obviously. lol

i bet there are others out there though.
 
I've heard of pool fatalities involving a cue ball, although I doubt that classifies as a 'pool playing injury'
 
I am coping with arthritis in my bridge hand thumb. 20 years of play and heredity erased all my cartilage at the CMC joint. I'm on my second cortisone shot and am considering surgery.

I wrote about it and posted my X-ray here.

http://bit.ly/blhbFt
 
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I have been accidentaly poked with a guy's cue on his backswing, right in the ass. Some places have very little room around the table.
 
Arm Tendonitis can be damn hurtful.

I've had it, and I couldn't play pool for months.

Was it caused by pool? I don't know, but the doctor sure thought so.
 
You mean other than my butt being sore from getting kicked all the time? :p

I did a similar thing to the OP, rammed my hand into the side of the table trying to get a little extra on the break. Hurt like hell for a week or so. I can only imagine what might have happened if my hand had been travelling at the speed of some of the breaks I've seen "out there"...
 
Roy Steffensen said:
Arm Tendonitis can be damn hurtful.

I've had it, and I couldn't play pool for months.

Was it caused by pool? I don't know, but the doctor sure thought so.
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I heard playing pool left handed feels like a completely different person.

I've come close to injuring myself but never actually did. I've nut-checked myself several times on long shots over the corner pocket as well.
 
You guys slammed your hand breaking ONCE? I thought that was a battle scar that all pool players had. When I was a kid and just learning to play, I ripped the hell out of my knuckle on my index finger too many times to count. You'd think I might have learned the first dozen times or so but, oh no, I just kept on doing it. I still have the scar on my knuckle since I would nail it in the same place every time. :-/
 
I saw a guy get his finger caught in the return rails on a gandy which pulled his finger out of socket.... That was wierd looking...
 
probably the most common injury

DoubleD said:
I also almost became a eunuch when I was reaching for a long shot and the rug slid out of under me.
Click to expand...

It may seem funny but I think this was my most frequent and most common injury when I was playing different places all the time. A new pair of boots or a painted concrete floor. You stretch really focusing on a shot. Whop! %$%$)*$#&(

I think my record was probably four or five times in one night. New boots and the floor was slicker than greased owl crap besides.

Hu
 
9BallPaul said:
Can't remember seeing any threads on this topic, but then, I've been in Mr. Wilson's slammer for the past year and haven't been able to keep up with the posts, much less post myself, so forgive me if I'm spading old dirt.

Anyway, a recent injury in baseball got me thinking about pool and it's seeming safety. I'm guessing most serious injuries arise from fistfights, shootings, etc., all initiated over an argument about pool. Mostly in bars, I figure, with alcohol fueling the mix.

I once slammed my index finger into the rail while breaking, and while it stung for a while, it wasn't an injury. And I'm sure some drunks have stumbled over pool cues and broken some bones.

But is there such a thing as a legitimate pool injury? Worn-out knees, maybe? Flat feet?

Just askin'.
Click to expand...


Paul I have also jamed a finger when breaking, the dam thing swelled up like a baloon. But the worst injury I sustained was changing a light over one of the tables in my pool room. I had to reach a little bit and fell off the ladder, though the light fixture and ended up on the table with the broke lights and the broke fixture. While I was not really hurt except for my pride:o, I was very sore for a couple of weeks, but I did learn something very important now my employee's change the lights!!!!!:)

Take Care
 
After a couple of hours playing maybe a little eye strain and an occasional headache.

But, hell, we're a tough group. :grin:

J
 
I have a consistent pinch between my shoulders at the base of my neck, and my lower back aches after playing too long. Upper back pain is because I need to go to the chiropractor, been out of whack for a while now, and I also really get down on my shots, with cue touching my chin. Lower back is because I fractured two vertebraes in my lumbard when I was 10 years old, and bending over too much aggravates it. It's a trade-off.
 
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