well. Saturday is opening day. Now I have tennis elbow again. Couldn't happen at a worse time. Always some. Anyone have suggestions to get by ? Maybe too much shooting this year
Hope you find a solution...
Had it over the summer. Had to quit shooting for almost 6 weeks
I had old elbow injuries come back to me last year. As much as I like lighter one pc. bows ,I seem to suffer when I shoot them to much. How hard I grip and certain grips amplify my situation. Finally went to ortho.back in April and got some steroid shots in elbow. Took the longest break in shooting since 2005 when I took up stick bows. My best advice is to shoot one quality arrow at a time,instead of maybe trying to shoot groups. Good luck, shots help.
Take a bunch of turmeric and use a compression sleeve long enough to extend a bit above and below the elbow. Along with ice packs.. I got it once from using a 10 weight fly rod too much in the salt. Put it away and stuck with my 8 weight.
AND as stated by mec above, don't shoot more than absolutely necessary before your hunt.
I have a pretty high pain tolerance but I'd just tell myself it doesn't hurt n shoot. I've done this w both shoulder rotator cuffs blown up, tennis elbow, brucitis, etc etc you don't need to know list but my shoulders would throb like toothache pain. Hard to sleep. Just started telling myself it don't hurt n fell asleep. Same w shooting. Don't concentrate on the pain. Forget it.
Just take a few shots than rest but I'd just do it.
Definitely get a Dr. look at it! If you haven't already. Might be more or less what you think it is....wishing you the best.
Ok guys, I've had this problem off and on all summer. Doc said rest ice/heat. Guess what i was asking is if anyone had any suggestions on how to deal with this right now that obviously resting it is out of the question. 👍
If you can draw for at least one good shot then go hunting and save that shot for a deer that comes by, sounds harsh but you just are gonna have to suck it up and drive on. Only other choice is to hang the bow up for the season. Sounds like an over use injury, don't know why guys shoot til their arms are damaged, 10-12 arrows with intense focus is all I've ever needed. Heal up and cut back. Good luck bud!
A shot will definitely help. It will still take some days for the pain to subside, but it's a much quicker solution. I can tell you from experience however, that you will need to make changes in your shooting habits, or the problem will return. The good news is, you will likely be pain free for the duration of the season. Going forward, take the advise others have already given, and focus more on quality practice, rather than quantity.
Good luck!
Also, wear a compression sleeve while shooting, and ice it following every shooting session no matter how many shots you take.
I have found that Voltaran gel works very well, but rest is what you need. I wouldn't practice very much at all, and save that shot for hunting. If it gets bad enough, you may need a steroid injection, but you still need to rest it to break the cycle of inflammation. Try opening doors with the other hand, and if you have to use a computer or mouse, use the other hand as much as feasible. What sucks is, frequently the way we sleep aggravates it. Good luck.
A tight sleeve cut off a wet suit makes a great compression sleeve.
I feel your pain. About month ago I started getting pains in my wrist and fingers. It was mild at first and progressed to where I couldn't shoot my bow. Dr. says it carpel tunnel syndrome. I cancelled an elk hunt because I Just didn't feel good about it. I couldn't practice and I just didn't want to be in the moment and not be able to make a good shot. I got a injection in the wrist the other day and have been soaking in hot/cold. The hot and cold seems to really help. I have another 20 days before season starts over here. Hoping I'm healed up by then.
Good luck.
arnica gel, arm bands, accupuncture or needleing in that order. No to meds, rooster juice or cortizone shots.
I'm not sure about tennis elbow, but have some shoulder pains sometimes , CBD cream helps it. Also the drops are good for inflammation so could help too.
I put sights on my bow, hoping I wouldn't need to practice as much because of my shoulder problems..
I think i just overdid it the past 4-5 months. Shooting too many arrows 2 or 3 times a day. Im just going to throttle back for the rest of the season and practice just what I need to. This tendinitis is no laughing matter. It can make it tough to put your pants on. Meanwhile. Saturday is the opener !
Thanks to everyone for their insight
i had it a few yrs ago with bow season aproaching fast, i just quit using my arm for anything just to get the pain to go away. when the pain started to go away it went quickly. i used a preasure band and ibuprofen. (i couldnt even pick up a cup of coffee without dropping it.)
Brace with compression, avoid using, low dose aspirin. Increase blood flow to area with heat no ice.
Short range fixes, like ibuprofen and only shooting a few arrows at a time, might get you through the hunting season, but tennis elbow is a long range problem requiring long range solutions. Tennis elbow usually occurs in the bow hand elbow, and is a result of micro tears in connective tissue that get inflamed. The micro tears can heal, but with continued irritation can become chronic, and at that point it takes longer to heal. The micro tears are a result of many tiny shocks, none of which are enough to cause a problem by themselves, but cumulatively they can get inflamed.
Once your immediate problem is solved, the best way to avoid recurrence is to minimize the shocks that cause the micro tears. The best way to do that is to shoot a bow without much hand shock, such as a heavier mass recurve rather than a light mass straight limbed longbow. If you can find a r/d heavier mass longbow that you like, that would probably work too.
Shooting fewer arrows and ibuprofen help with the pain, but do not cure the problem. Surprisingly, neither does total rest. To cure your immediate problem you need to avoid further aggravating the elbow with whatever is causing the micro tears until they can heal, and provide your elbow with the right kind of exercise that will promote blood flow to the injured area. I used Theraband Flexbars, available at Amazon and probably other places, and other exercises you can find on the internet involving cans of peas, etc. None of these exercises are hard to do; they are to promote blood flow to the affected area, not to build strength.
I have battled this off and on for a couple years. This year I couldn't lift a coffee cup let alone work out. Someone turned me on to Collagen. In 4 days I was doing pullups and push ups. No joke..... The stuff I use is Ancient Nutrition Multi Collagen Protein. Taste kinda nasty but seriously, it worked for me. Good luck
I have it, too. I have used various medications and therapy. They are good, but rest is the ultimate answer.
I got it a couple of months ago when I started weight lifting. I found using the Bioskin Tennis Elbow Band when working out helped and then I would do the Tennis Elbow exercises on the days I wasn't lifting. The exercises I found thru a google search and they really helped. You need to strengthen those muscles. Ice, rest, then use the Bioskin Band and then exercises was the ticket for me.
Hello to all. This is my first post here Trad Gang. I'm getting back into shooting again after a pause of nearly 15 years . I never got into shooting a compound bow and traditional bows were all I ever shot. I used to shoot year round with some bows pulling up to #72 pounds at my draw length. I also trained with weights, with the no pain, no gain mentality. Unfortunately, I now have tendonitus in my right elbow, coupled with shoulder problems.
I recently purchased a Bear Wolverine that pulls 45#. My shooting sessions have been painful, but I'm working through it.
This thread has some very good recommendations. I do some stretching and warm up a bit before shooting, and this seems to help a little bit. I have thought of trying to shoot left handed, as my right elbow doesn't have any pain. I'm right eye dominant and not sure how that would work out. At any rate, I'm grateful that I got back into shooting again.
It seems as though most have tennis elbow in their bow arm, mine is in the draw arm. Not sure why.
I had tennis elbow really bad about 5 years ago. Kinda odd how I could do certain things without much pain but doing other things by using my arm at different angles just hurt so bad. I got to where I couldn't hardly drink a cup of coffee and hold my mug. I went to an orthopedic surgeon and he stuck a needle in my elbow and scraped around a little bit on the tissue connected to the bone before injecting the elbow. I haven't had any pain since. He said the scraping was just as important as the injection as it promotes healing in the elbow. The procedure sounds worse than it really is. would highly recommend it if your tennis elbow doesn't get better.
Shots in the elbows did great things for me. Do what the doctor says.
I know I'm going to be blown out of the water for this, But when I had it I started doing 5 pushups a day. Real show and after a few days add a few more.
Push ups don't seem to hurt all that much.
I injured myself doing push-ups for work. It was a lot of pushups and my tennis elbow flared up so bad and had shoulder pain. I ended up switching to lefty. So there you have it.