Dartitis Explained: What Causes It and How Players Work Through It
If you have found this page, there is a fair chance you are not here out of idle curiosity.
Maybe the dart has started sticking in your fingers at the point of release. Maybe your arm goes back and simply refuses to come forward. Maybe you have caught yourself pumping the dart three, four, five times before letting go, and you have no idea why a thing you have done ten thousand times has suddenly become impossible.
First things first. You are not going mad, you are not the only one, and it is not the end of your darts. Dartitis has affected pub players, county players and world champions, and plenty of them have come through it. This guide explains what it is, why it tends to happen, and what actually helps.
What is dartitis?
Dartitis is the name darts players give to a sudden loss of control over the release of the dart. The throw itself might feel fine, but at the moment you should let go, something interferes. The dart hangs, the arm freezes, or the release happens late and jerky.
It is darts' version of what golfers call the yips, and it sits in the same family as similar problems in snooker, cricket bowling, tennis serving and even the steady hand work of musicians and surgeons. The common thread is a fine, repeated, precise movement that the body has done automatically for years suddenly becoming unreliable, usually in the moments that matter most.
The most famous case in the sport is Eric Bristow. The five time world champion developed dartitis in the late 1980s and spoke openly about struggling to release the dart for years afterwards. If it can happen to the Crafty Cockney at the peak of his powers, it is not a sign that you were never any good.
What does dartitis feel like?
Players describe it in slightly different ways, but the common symptoms are:
The dart will not leave your hand at the point where your release should happen
Freezing at the top of the backswing, unable to start the forward movement
Multiple false starts, pumping the arm repeatedly before throwing
A jerk or twitch in the fingers, wrist or forearm during the throw
Releasing early and snatching the dart, often landing it well below the target
It is worse under pressure, especially on doubles, in matches or when being watched
It is often fine in other contexts, such as throwing a ball or throwing a dart casually at nothing
That last point is important. Dartitis is usually highly specific. It attaches itself to the darts throw, often to one particular part of it, and leaves everything else alone.
What causes dartitis?
Honest answer: nobody fully knows, and anyone who tells you they have the single definitive cause is overselling it.
What the research into the yips does suggest is that there are broadly two things going on, and in most players it is a mix of both. A useful framework comes from golf research by Smith and colleagues (2003), who split the yips into two types. Clarke, Sheffield and Akehurst's 2015 systematic review of the yips across sports broadly supports the idea that it sits somewhere on a spectrum between the two.
The psychological end. This looks like performance anxiety that has become attached to a specific movement. Something goes wrong under pressure, you notice it, you start trying to control the release consciously, and the conscious control is precisely what breaks an action that used to be automatic. The more you monitor it, the worse it gets, and a loop forms.
The neurological end. In some people, the yips behaves more like a task specific focal dystonia, an involuntary muscle contraction triggered by one particular, highly practised movement. Musicians' dystonia is the best known example. It is less common, but it is real, and it is why dartitis should not always be treated purely as "nerves".
Things that tend to trigger or feed it:
A spell of heavy pressure, such as a big match, a run of missed doubles or a public bad night
Overthinking the release, often after a technique change or reading about the "perfect" throw
Very high practice volume of one repetitive movement with no variation
Tension in the grip, especially squeezing the dart harder when things go wrong
Loss of a routine, where the pre throw process that used to hold everything together has quietly disappeared
Can dartitis be cured?
This is the question everyone types into Google, so let us answer it straight.
There is no guaranteed cure, and I would be wary of anyone selling you one. But many players do work through dartitis, either getting back to their old level or rebuilding a throw that is reliable again. Recovery is usually gradual rather than sudden, and it tends to come from changing your relationship with the throw rather than from forcing it.
One important point before anything else. If the problem shows up outside darts, for example in writing, typing or other everyday hand movements, or if you have cramping, pain or twitching that persists away from the board, speak to your GP. That may point towards the neurological end of the spectrum, and it deserves a proper medical opinion rather than a darts coach's.
For most players, though, the route back looks something like this.
What actually helps with dartitis
1. Stop trying to control the release
This is the counterintuitive one. The instinct is to concentrate harder on letting go, and that is usually exactly what keeps the problem alive.
Research on attention in motor skills, Wulf's (2013) review being the most cited, consistently finds that an external focus (attention on the target or the flight of the dart) produces smoother, more automatic movement than an internal focus (attention on your fingers, wrist or arm). Dartitis is, in a sense, internal focus gone wrong.
So shift your attention outwards. Look at a single tiny point in the treble. Think about the dart landing, not about the fingers opening.
2. Rebuild a pre throw routine
A consistent routine gives your brain something to do other than monitor the release. It also creates a rhythm that carries the throw through the point where it wants to stop.
Keep it simple: the same stance, the same breath, the same look at the target, the same count. Cotterill's (2010) work on pre performance routines in sport shows their value lies in consistency and in occupying attention, not in any particular ritual. If you want the full breakdown, the pre throw routine article on the site walks through building one.
3. Loosen the grip
Players with dartitis almost always grip harder when it strikes, and a tighter grip makes a clean release physically harder. Hold the dart just firmly enough to control it. It should feel as though it could leave your fingers at any moment, because that is exactly what you want it to do.
4. Change something, deliberately
Because dartitis tends to attach itself to a very specific movement, a small change can sometimes give you a fresh pattern the problem has not latched onto. Options players use:
A different weight or shape of dart
A slightly different grip, such as moving from three fingers to four or changing the contact point
A different tempo, often a quicker, more rhythmic throw with less time to hesitate at the top
Throwing from a slightly different position on the oche
This is not about finding the magic dart. It is about breaking the association between one exact movement and the anxiety attached to it.
5. Dartitis exercises to rebuild the release
These are the drills I use with players working back from release problems. None of them are about accuracy. All of them are about getting the dart out of the hand smoothly again.
Blind throwing. Stand closer than normal and throw at the board with your eyes shut. With no target to worry about, the release often comes back naturally. Gradually open your eyes and move back to the oche over several sessions.
Count and go. Pick a count, for example "one, two, throw", and release on the word regardless of what feels ready. The count takes the decision away from the part of you that is hesitating.
No target throwing. Throw at a blank area of the board, the surround, or the back of a spare board. With no number attached, there is no outcome to fear.
Rhythm sets. Three darts thrown with a fixed, slightly quicker tempo, without pausing between them. Hesitation needs time, so do not give it any.
Short sessions, often. Ten minutes a day beats one long session where the problem gets rehearsed repeatedly. Stop while it is going well rather than grinding until it breaks.
6. Take the pressure down before you build it back up
Remove the stakes for a while. Practise without scoring. Play friendly games instead of league fixtures if you can. Then add pressure back gradually: scored drills, then online games, then matches.
It is tempting to throw yourself straight back into competition to prove it has gone. Usually that just retriggers it.
7. Talk about it
Dartitis thrives on secrecy and embarrassment. Players hide it, which adds another layer of pressure every time they step up. Telling your teammates, your coach or even your opponent often takes a surprising amount of the weight off. If the anxiety around it is spilling into the rest of your life, a sport psychologist is a very sensible next step.
What not to do
Do not practise the failing throw for hours. You are rehearsing the problem.
Do not watch yourself on video obsessively. Some video helps. Studying the release frame by frame usually feeds the loop.
Do not assume you have to quit. Plenty of players have come back, including at the very top of the game.
Do not ignore physical symptoms. If it is spreading beyond darts, see your GP.
Frequently asked questions
What is dartitis in darts?Dartitis is a loss of control over releasing the dart, where the dart sticks in the hand, the arm freezes, or the release becomes jerky. It is the darts equivalent of the yips in golf.
Is dartitis a real condition?Yes. It is widely recognised in the sport and is studied as part of the wider research on the yips. In some cases it appears to be largely psychological, in others it resembles a task specific focal dystonia, and in many it is a mix of both.
Which professional darts players had dartitis?Eric Bristow is the best known example. He developed it in the late 1980s and spoke openly about it. A number of other professionals have described release problems over the years.
How long does dartitis last?It varies enormously. Some players work through it in a few weeks, others over months or longer. Reducing pressure, rebuilding a routine and changing focus tend to shorten it, while forcing it and hiding it tend to lengthen it.
What exercises help with dartitis?Blind throwing, throwing to a fixed count, throwing without a target and short rhythmic sets are the most commonly used. They all aim to take conscious control out of the release.
Can changing darts cure dartitis?It will not cure it on its own, but a change of dart, grip or tempo can help break the association between one exact movement and the anxiety attached to it, which gives other work a chance to take hold.
The short version
Dartitis is common, it is not a character flaw, and it is not the end. Take the pressure off, loosen your grip, move your attention to the target rather than your fingers, rebuild a simple routine, and give the release something new to latch onto. Be patient with it. And if the symptoms show up away from the board, get a medical opinion.
Struggling with your release?
This is one of the areas where I work most closely with players at DartsMatt. I coach online and in person from my studio in Worcester, and release problems are almost always a mix of technique and the mental side, which is why I work on both together, using Sight Right technique work alongside the mental frameworks that help players stop monitoring the throw and start trusting it again.
It is also one of the hardest things to fix alone, because the harder you look at it, the worse it tends to get. A second pair of eyes and a structured plan make a real difference. If dartitis is creeping into your game, book a session with DartsMatt and we will build your route back together.
