driftrider

I tore my left rotator cuff badly in a training accident while I was in the Corps about 7 years ago, and while I don't generally have a problem with it for most activities, it's become a big problem for my shooting. Everytime I shoot my bow after about 10 shots my shoulder will start to ache, after 20 it will hurt with each shot and by shot 40 it throbs so bad that I can barely hold the bow steady. Finishing a 3D course is a excercise in pain control. At first I thought it was just my shoulder getting used to the new movement, but it's not getting better with time and after a shooting session my shoulder will ache for several days. I'm wondering if anyone else has suffered a similar injury, and what they've done to cure it if possible. I've already tried reducing the draw weight to 60lbs, which helps a little but after a moderate session it is still bad. Letting the bow down is a real killer as well, so I've gotten to the point that if I can't get the shot I want I just shoot the arrow into the target anyway because it hurts like hell to let the bow down.

I'm good enough with the bow that I am confident to 30 yards for hunting, and I have no doubt that I can draw the bow and shoot it fine in a hunting situation, but I'm frustrated as heck because I'm already limited in my practice time, and when I do get the time to really shoot I can't shoot as much as I'd like.

And suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Mike

BigJ71

Well Mike, you never said if you had your shoulder repaired or not. So I will start with not repaired. If you have not had any work done to it I would go see a doctor to find out just how bad the shoulder is. If it's not bad then some rest followed by light weights to build up the muscle may be the ticket.

I would ice it after shooting and lifting because the pain your feeling is probably a result from swelling in the joint. It will help with that. Now I don't mean slap a ziplock with a few cubes in it. I mean go the the store and get one of those rubber ice bags (with the screw cap) and fill it up completely with ice. Then add a little water and put it on at least 1/2 hr or till your shoulder gets soo cold that it goes numb. You will find that it will hurt like hell from the cold then it won't hurt so much at this point your done.(anylonger and you run the risk of frostbite)
The rotator cuff is deep inside and you need to get the cold to it. This will help swelling and thus the pain.

If the tear is not too bad this with the weights should help. If the tear is bad you may need to have it fixed. If it has already been repaired and you are just now getting pain back in it, try to find out why...what are you doing new? Did you take time off from shooting and are getting back into it? If this is the case the try to back off for a while to let you shoulder get used to the new motion you are putting on it. I would still ice itbut hold off on the weights till the pain goes away.

Always remember to stretch before you shoot and try to warm up your shoulder if you can as well. Don't just start shooting, give the muscle a chance to warm up first. If you noticed I am paying attention to the muscle because that is what holds the shoulder together. If your injury is not severe and has not bothered you for some time now but all of a sudden started to "act up"then this is the areathats probably the cause of the pain. If your shoulder is strong it will hold together that joint much better and give more stability to it. This will make even adamaged shoulder (too a point) still useable with little to no pain.

I hope this helps a little and if you can give more information I can try to suggest some other things. Believe me when I tell you I know how you feel. I have had more injuries than I care to talk about. I just had my left knee operated on last monday (third time for this knee and i'm picking at the stitches as I type this) and I will have my rightone done before hunting starts (first time for that one)so I can enjoy my hunting season without too much pain. I have had enough shoulder separations, broken bones, torn ligaments, ruptured tendons, torn muscles, nerve damage, ruptured discs and dislocated fingersto last me a life time. Hell I even had to have a root canal becauseI broke my facemask hitting a linebacker. The facemask went crashing into my face/jaw dislocating that and damaging my gums/tooth root. Not to mention the frickin headache I had for two daysafter that collision!

I hope you feel better.


All fun and games when I was in my 20's now that I'm 40 it's not so fun anymore

nodog

Good post bigJ. I second your advice.

G2 Shooter

You got a third here. I guess it's passed into legislation now.

I had torn my right rotator cuff 3 years ago and had it operated on the following spring after bow season ended. It hurt but I didn't want to miss out that year. Fortunately I did not do any further damage to it. Take bigJ's advice and have it looked at. Even if you had it fixed before, you may have done something to it again. Do some stretches and light lifting that targets the muscles in your shoulder. You really don't need to be lifting 50 lb dumbells. A 5-10 lb dumbell is all you need and you can do it while watching TV.

I too am paying for all the fun, stupid, macho things I did 20 years ago. I think the biggest problem us "men" have is that we don't go to the doctor and have things checked out.

GRIZZLYMAN

All the above is good advice. I have had problems with my right shoulder for a few months. I limit my practice sessions to three a week with no more than 35 arrows per session. I've also developed a hand weight routine with 10lb weights that works for me.I have some pain after shooting, but it is minimal. My accuracy has actually improved. The piece of advice that I haven't followed is go to a doctor. I tore a muscle 28 years ago in OCS and the Army doctor didn't do anything for me, but give me drugs and put me on light duty for a day. I guess based on that experience, I don't have much use for doctors when it comes to these kind of problems (or any other kind of problem).

G2 Shooter

Grizzly, if I based going to a doctor or dentist on my experience with them in the Army, I would have fallen apart by now. [&:] Sometimes I wondered if they got their degree from a Cracker Jack box. (sorry if I offended any Army doctors but just my personal experience) It's better to catch any problems early on than to wait until it's too late. I worked with a guy who thought he just had a bum back for years until he went in and they had to remove a tumor the size of a football from his hip. That guy is in a wheelchair now with bags for number 1 and 2. That scared the chit outa me.

BobCo19-65

driftrider,

I'm not gonna get into your actual medical condition but offer some advise on the type of bow that you may be shooting. Some bows are most definetely easier on the shoulder then others.

First, if you are using a compound bow that is not your correct draw length, it will be tough on your shoulder.It's better to be on the short side then the long side, but it is best to have it exactly right.

Second, I have found that single cams will give you the most trouble on the shoulder followed by a dualradical cam system. I would say that eccentric wheels by far would be the best bet on the shoulder. Hoyt, Reflex, and many other brands offer Eccentrics. Although I have not shot it much, but I have a friend that has worse shoulder problems then myself and he is using a Parker Easy Draw successfully.

Another thing that could have an effect is the let off percentage of the cams on a compound. A higher let off will be tougher then a lower let off.

Do not ever let down on a compound bow, if you pull it back, expect to shoot the arrow, no matter what. That can really aggravate an already bad shoulder.

Now of course, longbow, selfbows, and recurves would be the easiest of all on the shoulders. Since I have gotten away from single cams (my last one was a Parker Feather Mag II), I have not have had any problems.

Arthur P

Man walks into the doctor's office and says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
"Well, don't do that."

The draw cycles they're building into cams these days was murder on my shoulders. The long dwell at peak weight, suddenly slamming you into the wall when you hit that abrupt letoff... and trying to let down with those %&*! beasts will kill you! I've been watching the forums over the past 5-6 years and have seen a noticeable increase in the number of posts dealing with shoulder problems.

I advise doing all the stuff the guys have mentioned above. Then go find yourself an old round wheel bow, about 50-60 pounds, and shoot that instead. Round wheel bows give you a slow buildup to peak, short dwell and gently cradle you down into the letoff. Nice and easy on your poor, banged up shoulders. Not so good for arrow speed but, what the heck.... Wouldn't it be better to shoot slower arrows than to wind up not being able to shoot at all?

RackLuster

Holly hannah! I almost thought I wrote that post. Except I was never in the military. hehe. I hurt my shoulder 7 years ago too (no kidding). But, I'm not sure how I hurt mine it just started aching. I felt a sudden pain in my shoulder that fall pulling back on a doe (which i proceeded to miss by a mile), but I'm not sure if that is what did it. After a couple days the shoulder seemed fine. But the ache just kind of came out of nowhere and progressed and progressed until I went to the doctor in November of 1997.

Besides me not really having a specific injury, my shoulder pain never goes away. I mean NEVER. I'm not trying for pitty here, just trying to show that we aren't in exactly the same boat. The only thing I can do to make the pain go down enough to fall asleep is to lay down on my right side put two pillows under my head and my right arm up over my head.

Do you have any pain behind your shoulder blade?

Anyway, get the shoulder checked out! The absolute worst thing you can do is not go to a doctor. oh, and go down to 55# or even 50# if you have to. I killed my first 4 deer at 50 pounds 3 pass thrus.

driftrider

My pain is all in the joint. I injured mine during close combat training (that stuff actually WORKS!). The Navy doc told me that it was bad, but not bad enough for surgery. He gave me 3 days worth of happy pills (don't remember what specific narcotic analgesic it was now, put it was good stuff), gave me a tight sling and told me to ice it and take Motrin (the great military cure-all...headache? Motrin...sucking chest wound? Motrin). I literally could not move my arm for two weeks because of the pain, and it hurt for almost three months.

I think that I'm going to try doing additional stretching before I shoot, and icing it afterward. I can't help but wonder if it might need surgery even 7 years later, but it doesn't bother me at all unless I'm shooting my bow. I think I'm also going to lay off the high volume shooting. I'll shoot enough to keep my skills up to an acceptable level, but I think that 3D is beyond my ability until I strengthen my shoulder.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

Mike