Darts Injuries: Elbow, Shoulder, Eye Safety and Prevention

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Thursday league night. Three boards along the back wall of the bar, a chalkboard full of cricket marks, a teammate on his fourth game in a row and starting to rub the inside of his elbow between turns. Somewhere a kid wanders behind the oche to fetch a dropped flight. Darts is one of the gentlest sports there is, and most players will never have a serious injury. But there are two honest things to know: throwing the same small motion thousands of times a week can wear on a shoulder, elbow or wrist, and a sharp dart in the wrong place, above all an eye, can do real damage. This page covers darts injuries at every level, from the basement board to the pro stage, and how to prevent them.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you’re hurt, see a sports medicine doctor, physical therapist (PT) or certified athletic trainer. For the bigger picture of the sport, start at our darts hub.

A note on evidence: there’s very little research on injuries in darts players, and we found no reliable injury rate for the sport. Most published work is about eye injuries, mostly in children. So the overuse advice below applies what orthopedic doctors say about repetitive strain in general to the way darts is played.

Overuse: the dart thrower’s shoulder, elbow and wrist

A darts throw is small, but a serious practice session can mean hundreds of them, with the throwing arm held up for each one. That’s the recipe for overuse: tissue loaded the same way, again and again, without time to adapt.

Elbow: tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow

The throw ends with a quick flick of the forearm and wrist, and the grip never lets go of the dart until release. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) describes tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) as wear and sometimes tiny tears in the tendons that join the forearm muscles to the outside of the elbow, caused by repetitive use of the forearm and repeated extension of the wrist and hand. Symptoms are pain or burning on the outer elbow and a weaker grip. Most people who get it are 30 to 50, which is also the age of a lot of league players. The good news: AAOS says about 80 to 95% of patients do well without surgery, with rest, physical therapy and often a brace. Pain on the inner side of the elbow is golfer’s elbow, which works the same way. More on both on our tennis injuries page.

Shoulder: rotator cuff irritation

Darts isn’t an overhead sport, but the upper arm is held up and steady for every throw, often for hours. AAOS explains that repetitive arm use can irritate the rotator cuff tendons and the bursa above them (shoulder impingement), with pain when lifting the arm and pain at night. One published case describes a 32-year-old whose right shoulder pain began after playing darts, without any injury, and who was found to have impingement and a partial rotator cuff tear. One case doesn’t make darts dangerous, but a sore throwing shoulder deserves attention, not more practice.

Wrist, hand and “dartitis”

Wrist and finger soreness can come from gripping too hard over long sessions. A different problem is dartitis, the darts version of the yips: a player suddenly can’t release the dart smoothly. Researchers increasingly see the yips as a task-specific movement disorder, sometimes related to dystonia, not just “nerves”, and a 2024 systematic review found no single proven treatment.

How to prevent overuse

• Build volume slowly. After a layoff, don’t jump straight into three-hour sessions. Add practice time week by week.
• Grip lightly. A death grip loads the forearm on every throw. A coach or experienced player can check your grip and release.
• Strengthen what you use. Light band work for the rotator cuff and upper back, and forearm work for the wrist, are standard parts of PT programs for these problems. Our resistance bands guide has options.
• Break it up. Short rests between practice blocks, and a day off now and then, give tendons time to recover. More on that on our darts recovery page.

Eye injuries: the serious one

This is the part of darts health that matters most. A British study of 19 people with darts-caused perforating eye injuries found 14 of them were children, and poor vision afterward was common, both from the injury itself and from complications such as infection inside the eye (endophthalmitis) and lazy eye (amblyopia) in young children. German eye surgeons reviewing four perforating injuries in children concluded that dart games are not suitable for children.

Soft-tip darts aren’t automatically safe either. In a German forensic case, a 16-year-old had a perforating eye injury from a plastic-tipped dart at a Christmas market. Doctors first doubted a plastic tip could do it, but experiments throwing darts at pig eyes showed a dart with a damaged plastic point could cause exactly that injury. The authors measured about 0.84 joules of energy in a hand-thrown dart, and they warn that the risk of darts is often underestimated.

What emergency room data on kids tells us

The clearest ER numbers come from lawn darts. Before the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned their sale on December 19, 1988, lawn darts caused an estimated 675 emergency department visits a year. In a study of 76 young patients aged 1 to 18, the head (54%), eye (17%) and face (11%) were hurt most often, 54% needed a hospital stay, and some were left blind in one eye or with brain damage. The CPSC says three children died. Lawn darts are a different product, but the lesson carries over. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) goes further and advises skipping toys and games with darts or other dangerous flying pieces for children.

House rules that prevent most dart injuries

• Nobody between the oche and the board while anyone is throwing. Retrieve darts only when the thrower has finished. The World Darts Federation (WDF) rules even keep the opponent at least 60 cm behind the thrower.
• Hang the board right. Regulation steel-tip height is 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) to the center of the bull, with the oche 2.37 m (7 ft 9.25 in) away, per the WDF. Put it away from doorways and walkways, and use a surround or backboard to catch misses.
• Kids: adult supervision, soft-tip darts for younger players, and a clear “no throwing at anything but the board” rule. If kids play with dart toys at all, AAO recommends protective eyewear marked ANSI Z87.1.
• Check your tips. Replace bent or broken soft tips, and keep steel points in good shape so darts stick instead of bouncing out.
• Shoes on. A dropped steel-tip dart can go straight into a bare foot.

First aid: eye injuries and puncture wounds

A dart in or near the eye is an emergency. The AAO’s advice for a cut or puncture to the eye: do NOT rinse it, do NOT remove anything stuck in the eye, and do NOT rub or press on it. Gently shield it (the bottom of a paper cup taped to the bones around the eye works) and go to emergency care. Avoid aspirin or ibuprofen, which can increase bleeding.

Puncture wounds elsewhere (a hand, a foot): the CDC notes that tetanus bacteria enter through broken skin and that puncture wounds are a particular concern. For a deep or dirty puncture, see a healthcare provider, and make sure your tetanus booster is up to date (the CDC recommends one every 10 years).

Gear that helps

A strap is no substitute for rehab, so ask your PT. Many players with elbow pain use a counterforce strap like the McDavid Elbow Strap and a band set like Bodylastics for shoulder work. A good bristle board such as the Winmau Blade 6 means fewer bounce-outs landing at your feet.

When to see a professional

• Right away: any dart injury to the eye, a deep puncture, or a dart stuck in the skin near a joint or the face.
• Soon: elbow, shoulder or wrist pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks, pain at night, a grip that’s getting weaker, or numbness and tingling in the fingers.
• Release problems (dartitis) that keep getting worse: a sports medicine doctor or neurologist, plus a sport psychologist.

Back at the board, our darts training page covers posture and practice routines that are kinder to your arm.

Darts injuries: FAQs

Is darts a dangerous sport?

No. For players, the main risks are overuse aches in the throwing arm. The serious risk is to eyes, mostly children’s, when darts are thrown carelessly or someone walks in front of the board.

Can you get tennis elbow from darts?

Darts isn’t well studied, but AAOS links tennis elbow to repetitive forearm use and wrist extension, which a long darts session involves. Most cases improve without surgery. See a doctor or PT if pain lasts.

Are soft-tip darts safe for kids?

Safer than steel tips, but not harmless: a damaged plastic tip has caused a perforating eye injury. Supervise children and keep everyone behind the thrower.

What should I do if a dart hits someone’s eye?

Don’t pull anything out, don’t rinse and don’t press on the eye. Shield it gently with a paper cup and get emergency care right away.

What is dartitis?

The darts version of the yips: trouble releasing the dart smoothly. It’s increasingly seen as a task-specific movement problem, not just nerves, and there’s no single proven fix.