Medical Question
 

I'm experiencing some minor pain in my left elbow and shoulder. I'm a right handed shooter. Anybody else experience this? If so, what did you do to deal with it?

RE: Medical Question
 

i too have felt it before the best thing to do is let your shoulder rest for a few days and after that only shoot a couple of arrows everyday.

RE: Medical Question
 

Ite, that's good medicine right there, depending upon if shooting his bow is actually what's causing the problem. Sounds like tendonitis, tennis elbow, to me.

RE: Medical Question
 

ICE and Heat along with proper stretching to inprove flexibility. Shooting a bow is not a common action/stress/position we do all day everyday. I experience the same from time to time but being in the ARMY there are other factors behind my aches and pains. Personally I just play through it. Ice/Heat/Massage and continue shooting. I agree with everyone else.

RE: Medical Question
 

I had a lump appearat the point where you shoulder and neck meet last fall. I was shooting a great deal and it stayed there for quite a while until hunting season got into full effect. I hope I never have any problems out of my shoulder.

Good luck on healing up there buddy!

RE: Medical Question
 

i have tendinitis in my right shoulder but i shoot left handed so its all ok, give it rest if it doesnt get better go to the doc

RE: Medical Question
 

Normally shoulder pain will be in the draw arm, and elbow pain will be in the bow arm. No way of knowing if it is caused by the bow without seeing you shoot. If you had bad form and were not relaxed I could see this happening. However if you had proper form and were relaxed while shooting I can't see it being the bow.

One of the things that effects your elbow is recoil or shock in the bow when you shoot. I don't think it is a big issue with the newer bows since they are pretty shock free. The best fix for this is shooting with a relaxed grip. If you have a death grip on the bow it can transmit the vibration into your arm giving some wrist and elbow problems. If you grip the bow properly and have good follow thru this shouldn't be an issue either.

If you suspect the bow I think you need to have someone watch you shoot that knows something about good form and bow fit. You may be drawing too much weight, too much length or your form is all messed up, like having your bow shoulder too high when you shoot and or too much bend in your elbow, or having your elbow locked.

The only thing I ever hurt while shooting was when I first started I shot waay too much and messed up my back. Working in a factory didn't help any either;).

RE: Medical Question
 

Yes, I get it with my longbow. And I know (for me anyway) why it happens. It happens when I lock out my elbow. The shock from the bow goes right up the arm.

If you are not using them already, you may want to get a good stabilizer, and limb savers or anything else that can tame the bow a little for you. Also, don't shoot with a locked elbow or keep a real tight grip on the bow.

RE: Medical Question
 

The high shoulder that Paul mentioned was my problem last year.
I was practicing a lot and I was hunching up my bow arm shoulder towards my ear. It messed up all kinds stuff with my groups, but the main problem was the pain. I took a few weeks off and made a conscious effort to keep it low when I shot again. Just like magic, everything went back to normal.

RE: Medical Question
 

I get that same pain when I am not shooting much. It seems to stay in check as long as I keep it active. I guess you could say that I am shooting for medicinal purposes. I wounder if I could get a doctors order for this????

RE: Medical Question
 

Heres a good tip from pro-staffer I learned when I started bow hunting, before you shoot, make sure youre reaxed, then do some shoulder and elbow excersies, do about 3 minuterotating shrugs with both shoulders, alternate both directions. Then lift your arms straight up and go air swimming. This will work both elbows and shoulders along with most of your upper body muscles do this for 3-5 minutes. Then wait about3-5 minutes before shooting. If you still get some pain,wich im sure you will, do this everyday, not just before you shoot. If It doesnt go away, contact someone in physical threorapy.

RE: Medical Question
 

try some fish oil pills

RE: Medical Question
 

Pulling too much weight and too much shooting! I noticed it most when I would hold too long.

RE: Medical Question
 

It sounds like what you are describing is lateral epicondylitis. Without being able to see the area and actually touch and stress the area, that would be my guess. It can be caused from overuse and by repetitivelifting of something too heavy. It can happen at the ligaments at the lateral epicondyle or the tendons originating at the radial head and lateral epicondyle. I would suggest decreasing your shooting for a while, take an NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen, and ice, ice, ice. This is a nagging injury that can takes months to resolve, but you have to eliminate the cause. My guess is the bow being held out for extended periods of time and the slightshock transmitted to the arm is aggrevating, if not causing your symptoms. They make a strap for "TennisElbow" that actually puts the tension more in the belly of the muscle than at the origin to distribute the stress where it is better tolerated. It may help for a while to get you over the hump. Just my educated$.02 worth.

RE: Medical Question
 

As others have mentioned, rest is a good idea, as well as ice after shooting, stretching, and perhaps otc N-saids. I have found low resistance, high rep strenth training to be the best way to reduce shoulder pain. BTW, I had a class 3 separation of my bow arm shoulder, which was only partially fixed with surgery, and tend to get tendonitis in my draw shoulder, especially with late peak draws, or bows that are too long a draw length for me.