Physiological and Biomechanical Perspectives on Elbow Function During Forehand and Backhand Disc Golf Throws: A Novel Investigation

Over 81% of players have reported injuries linked to disc golfing, predominantly due to overuse. Since disc golf originated, there is a lack of research on the proper biomechanics of the disc golf throw. This descriptive, quantitative study seeks to be the first. We investigated 6 females and 35 males, aged 21-66, registered to compete in disc golf. The goal was to examine the kinetic parameters of healthy disc golfers to identify biomechanics likely associated with safety. Research questions investigated whether there is a connection between lean body mass and disc distance traveled, elbow torque and disc distance, or grip strength and torque on the elbow. After recruitment from tournaments, biometric data including handgrip strength (dynamometer), body mass index, and body fat percentage (bioelectrical impedance assay), were collected. Torque was recorded using a Motus sensor during forehand and backhand throws. Assumption tests revealed that lean body mass, maximum backhand and forehand distance and handgrip MVIC were normally distributed, while torque on either style of throw were not. A two-tailed Pearson correlation indicated that while some relationships were observed, none were statistically significant, leading to a failure to reject the null hypotheses. Factors such as individual variation and form might explain this, although notable findings emerged. Specifically, some torque measures surpassed the upper limits established by studies in other sports. There are numerous opportunities for future research to build on the findings of this study including introducing a longitudinal aspect, expanding to other sports with different throwing forms, and expanding to torque with “swinging” sports such as tennis or golf.