Shoulder Pain?
01-17-2005, 06:44 AM
#11
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Florida Panhandle
Posts: 273
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
TexasHunter1, congrats on the bow, and man, I'm sorry to hear about your shoulder injury. I've had shoulder injuries in the past as well from weightlifting. The pain you describe sounds familiar to me as well, though I am curious as to what exercises you can do and with what kind of weight that it doesn't hurt.
It sounds like you've been given some sound advice, but I'll give you my .02 as well. First, I feel I should mention that you need to make absolutely sure you warm up very well before working your shoulders. As you've discovered, they are very prone to injury (on some people more than others). If you can work with 40lbs in each hand, start with 15's...if you work with 70lb's, start with 25's...etc. Also, NEVER do behind the neck shoulder press, this exersise compresses the shoulder complex when you come down and is a very good way to ruin your rotator cuff. Some people can get away with this exercise, but most of us can't without injury when you start getting relatively heavy. Ok...enough weightlifting preaching...
If you train your shoulders take a week or two off, or severly lighten up the weight you use. As you've already been doing, don't shoot for a week or two, take some anti inflamitories and maybe even ice the shoulder down if you're in pain. I'd even lower the poundage of the bow to 60#'s if possible and let your body get used to that.
Goodluck and keep us updated on your shooting condition.
It sounds like you've been given some sound advice, but I'll give you my .02 as well. First, I feel I should mention that you need to make absolutely sure you warm up very well before working your shoulders. As you've discovered, they are very prone to injury (on some people more than others). If you can work with 40lbs in each hand, start with 15's...if you work with 70lb's, start with 25's...etc. Also, NEVER do behind the neck shoulder press, this exersise compresses the shoulder complex when you come down and is a very good way to ruin your rotator cuff. Some people can get away with this exercise, but most of us can't without injury when you start getting relatively heavy. Ok...enough weightlifting preaching...
If you train your shoulders take a week or two off, or severly lighten up the weight you use. As you've already been doing, don't shoot for a week or two, take some anti inflamitories and maybe even ice the shoulder down if you're in pain. I'd even lower the poundage of the bow to 60#'s if possible and let your body get used to that.
Goodluck and keep us updated on your shooting condition.
01-17-2005, 07:41 AM
#12
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 51
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
I had the same problem when I first started shooting a bow. Stupid me pushed my self to shoot while it hurt ended me up with a trip to the doctor and not being able to shoot for two weeks. My advice would be assuming it is a 60-70 bow back it up to 60 and only shoot a few times a day and then start building up to shooting more and more. Only after shooting on 60lb for a while do you want to start building back up.
01-17-2005, 09:17 AM
#13
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: Shoulder Pain?
To put it in terms you'd understand, you do not have someone who's never lifted starting out with 300 pounds on the clean and jerk. They're almost certain to get injured because they don't have the proper form. No matter how strong they are, you start them off light and let them work up as they get the proper form ingrained in their lift.
Same thing with bows. You don't start a newbie off with heavy draw weight and aggressive draw cycle on a cam with an almost non-existent valley - which describes most cam systems out there today. Whoever sold you the bow should be hung by the gonads with his own bowstring.
When your shoulder heals, do like the others have recommended: back the bow off to 60 pounds and start there. Then you can slowly work your way up to 70 as you get the proper form established.
Same thing with bows. You don't start a newbie off with heavy draw weight and aggressive draw cycle on a cam with an almost non-existent valley - which describes most cam systems out there today. Whoever sold you the bow should be hung by the gonads with his own bowstring.
When your shoulder heals, do like the others have recommended: back the bow off to 60 pounds and start there. Then you can slowly work your way up to 70 as you get the proper form established.
01-17-2005, 06:53 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location:
Posts: 51
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions, guys. I took some Ibuprofen today and am going to lay off (ie not even attempt to draw) for a while. Next time I attempt to shoot it will be at 60lbs as Arthur and others have suggested. The clean and jerk metaphor really got my attention! I will be laying off the lifting and icing it down for about a week, and hopefully that will solve it. I'll let ya'll know how it goes, and you guys make this forum great! Thanks again!
01-17-2005, 08:40 PM
#15
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Bureau County Illinois
Posts: 605
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
Good idea about holding off on drawing. I think, when you do decide to do a draw do a complete cylce of launching an arrow. For me at least, letting down a bow without shooting an arrow is tougher on my shoulder than actually shooting the arrow off.
01-18-2005, 11:34 AM
#17
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: South Bend IN
Posts: 296
RE: Shoulder Pain?
Texas Hunter-
I bought a 70 lb recurve last summer and also experience a very similar and often intense pain in my left shoulder after shooting it for a brief period of time, this despite the fact that I do very heavy weight training religiously and have been for 18 years now. This includes military press and lateral raises, which I would have thought would prevent this sort of pain. I am quite certain that I developed a bursitis involving the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa, which is the bursa that separates the roatator cuff complex from the overlying deltoid muscle. Sorry about the medical jargon but I slept at a Holiday Inn last night. LOL. Seriously I am a physician, and have had some rotator cuff issues in the past. My pain was unrelated to letting off without shooting, and I bet yours is from the act of drawing back the bow too rather than letting off. Regardless though, your problem should be self limiting. Take some Ibuprofen and go easy on the shooting for a week or two. If after 2 or 3 weeks, the pain isn't gone or at least significantly better, then I would see an orthopedic surgeon to make sure you don't have a rotator cuff tear or other significant problem.
Good Luck.......been there, had that...
I bought a 70 lb recurve last summer and also experience a very similar and often intense pain in my left shoulder after shooting it for a brief period of time, this despite the fact that I do very heavy weight training religiously and have been for 18 years now. This includes military press and lateral raises, which I would have thought would prevent this sort of pain. I am quite certain that I developed a bursitis involving the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa, which is the bursa that separates the roatator cuff complex from the overlying deltoid muscle. Sorry about the medical jargon but I slept at a Holiday Inn last night. LOL. Seriously I am a physician, and have had some rotator cuff issues in the past. My pain was unrelated to letting off without shooting, and I bet yours is from the act of drawing back the bow too rather than letting off. Regardless though, your problem should be self limiting. Take some Ibuprofen and go easy on the shooting for a week or two. If after 2 or 3 weeks, the pain isn't gone or at least significantly better, then I would see an orthopedic surgeon to make sure you don't have a rotator cuff tear or other significant problem.
Good Luck.......been there, had that...
01-18-2005, 02:28 PM
#18
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location:
Posts: 51
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
Take some Ibuprofen and go easy on the shooting for a week or two. If after 2 or 3 weeks, the pain isn't gone or at least significantly better, then I would see an orthopedic surgeon to make sure you don't have a rotator cuff tear or other significant problem.
06-21-2005, 02:27 PM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Coralville, IA. USA
Posts: 3,802
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
I found this topic during a search because I have the very same problem in my bow shoulder. I've never had a problem with shoulder pain from shooting before, but I've never shot this much before. A couple days ago I was messing with my drop away rest trying to get the timing just the way I want it. This involved repeatedly drawing the bow and letting it down. Next thing I know, I'm letting it down and I feel this sharp pain in across the top of my shoulder where it meets my upper arm.The pain is mild and doesn't restrict normal movement, but when I draw my bow it HURTS. I've alreadybacked the bow down to 60# which helps, but I think I need to slowdown a take it easy for awhile. I tore my left rotator cuff badly while I was in the service, and I really worried about re-aggravating that injury. At this time the pain is nowhere near what the torn cuff waslike, but I don't want that to happen again!
Mike
Mike
06-21-2005, 09:49 PM
#20
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location:
Posts: 63
RE: Shoulder Paib n?
You guys started touching on something that I had recently experienced. Which is the pain while letting down. Drawing with a solid arm didn't hurt at all. And draw weight hasn't changed all year and regularly shoot. But from what I see poor form on my let down. has recently turned to a pain. So if I do let down I keep my bow arm in exact possistion of shot and don't let it slouch because if my arm slouched the cam cycle would get me.