Shoulder Injury

[Robin Astra]

I injured my left (bow arm) shoulder in a non archery related incident back in the summer. Since then, shooting has become progressively more painful especially the first couple of ends. Warm-up exercises with rubber straps help but the pain in the shoulder join is very uncomfortable.
I finally visited my GP yesterday and he has advised me to lay off the archery for a few weeks Apparently I have inflamation of the ligaments that hold the shoulder in place.

Question
Has anyone experinced a similar injury? What did you do to speed recovery?
How long did it take to mend?

I'm getting toxo withdrawal symptoms already

Robin

[pwiles1968]

You definitely need to rest it for a while sorry, once you have rested it regular stretching will help you get the shoulder back in shape, talk to your doctor or a physio about suitable exercises, It is a real bummer I know I get antsy if I cant shoot for a week, but in the long run it is for the best.

[Flying Whale]

Sounds very similar to an injury my wife picked up playing squash. This was 15 years ago, she still gets problems from it from time to time. It locks up, the muscles pull, thge tendons get inflamed and she is in agony. Gave up squash, but still gets the effects.

Be very careful and get/listen to good medical advice.

[teknohippy]

The web of course is not the place for medical diagnosis, but I had a similar sound injury when I feel from my bike. It hurt if I put any kind of strain on it, I visited my GP and had a referal to a Phsyiotherapist.

I followed her instructions and by a year later I only feel a little tightness very rarely now, fortunately not while shooting.

So my advice is get it looked at and get it sorted, no time like the present.

[Bald Eagle]

Sounds like a rotator cuff injury I had a couple of years ago. Doc referred me to a physio and I had heat treatment and ultra sound. I did as I was told and yes, NO archery, for about 3 months but it was worth it. I'm back to about 57 lbs draw weight and it feels O.K. She even gave me a clinny band to exercise with!! (careful with the spelling!!!!)

[Mrs_Radar_UK]

I agree with everyone else take some time out and rest your shoulder for a while.

I injured my shoulder and spine in a motorbike crash a few years ago, as well as physiotherapy I also had accupuncture to help with the inflamation around the joints. I was a bit sceptical at first (as well as being nervous about having a load of needles stuck in me!) but after the first session the pain was gone and I certainly felt a lot better. I had 6 sessions in total and the overall improvement was amazing.

A lot of NHS physiotherapists use accupuncture now, it's worth asking, if not look into having it done privately, it really does work.

[Marcus26]

yep I had the same.
Was out for 6 weeks.
I ended up seeing a deep tissue masseur and a sports chriro at the same time. They worked wonders.
The final solution was improving my technique so it dodn't happen again

[vertek]

Hello.

I didnt read the other posts cos im lazy.
But I know a bit bout injuries like that cos i used to bmx stopped cos of that reason.

best remedy is,eat healthy dont use it for heavy work, walk alot
most important sleep alot thats the most important really.

seb.

[Quadratus]

I had a similar injury which kept me off archery for nearly a year. Tried physio, cortisone injections, osteo and chiro. All helped, but not much and the surgeons were starting to sharpen their scalpels. Then I tried acupuncture and I was shooting within a week and back to normal in 4 weeks, except I stopped trying other people's longbows without asking what the draw weight was first!

Worth a try.

[Snarkhunter]

Originally Posted by Robin Astra

Has anyone experienced a similar injury? What did you do to speed recovery?
How long did it take to mend?

Bear with me on this... Whilst cycling in France a couple of years ago (that makes me sound much more athletic that I am!) with my children, I pulled over to let them catch up. I put my foot down on what I thought was the grass verge but which turned out to be a very large square hole about 1½m on each side. Result: I toppled ignominiously into what has become known in our family as the "pit of doom"! It was, apparently, quite spectacular, but much less fun for my youngest (who was in a child's seat on the back) and myself. I put my arm out to break my fall and the immediate aftermath was my arm went completely numb and dead for 10 minutes. My shoulder was also very painful.

Following my return home, the shoulder pain continued. I visited a physiotherapist who prescribed various exercises, mainly to ensure I did not loose mobility in the shoulder whilst it healed. The exercises were, however, very painful! In the end I took myself to the doc who gave me an injection - cortisone I think it was. This reduced the inflammation and pain considerably.

The shoulder took several months to fully recover. The comments I had from both the physio and the doctor were that the shoulders, being a mass of bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles with relatively poor blood supply, always take time to heal.

Sorry, Robin, I think it could take a while.