Shoulder injuries

[MrFish]

Which shoulder is under more stress when shooting/most susceptible to injury, bow arm or drawing arm?

[geoffretired]

If that was a question in a quiz, I would guess at the bow arm shoulder as the weight of the bow is held on a fully extended arm, the drawing arm holds a tab or a release aid and very close to the shoulder. The draw weight I guess is shared equally, but the bow shoulder is further from the line of the force. After the shot, the extended bow arm has to catch the weight of the bow.
Just guesses. I imagine those with a medical background will be able to give a better informed answer.

[clickerati]

I dislocated my right shoulder and my rheumatologist stressed that I should under no circumstances shoot right handed because the motion of pulling and holding would cause complications down the line. He said I was better off shooting left handed as my right shoulder would remain static and less liable to incur a new injury or inflame the old one.

[disbloke]

In all the time I've been shooting I've not yet, touch wood, managed to injure my drawing arm shoulder. I have though managed several times to tweek my bow shoulder. Never anything serious just agravating as it's meant not shooting for a while.

[LineCutter]

You drawing arm gets the most strain on the shoulder, as Clicki says (the bow shoulder should be pretty much fixed in position, whereas the process of the draw puts progressively more pressure through the shoulder as it rotates.

[jammed05]

my drawing arm at the moment is in no fit state to be doing archery, but i am still doing it as many people know

[Macbow]

I shoot hundreds of arrows a week from heavy-ish bows. I dislocated my right shoulder (drawing arm) just over a year ago. But after a long day's shooting if I have any mild stiffness it's usually in my bow arm shoulder I think mainly because my form is not perfect for uphill and downhill shots and my structure collapses slightly when I get tired. I never get any discomfort in my drawing shoulder. I honestly think it is regularly doing the Egoscue Method exercises that maintains my shoulders (and the rest of me). I actually have better mobility now in my right shoulder than I had before dislocating it.

[geoffretired]

So, it's the movement that does the damage rather than the loads imposed on the joints. Does that show up as muscle damage or joint damage or both?

[LineCutter]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

So, it's the movement that does the damage rather than the loads imposed on the joints. Does that show up as muscle damage or joint damage or both?

Either muscle tears or tendon problems. The latter being the really niggly ongoing ones.

It's the loading that does the damage, the movement element means that the load is transferring between muscles/tendons & if one gets too much load then ... twang! Another good reason for technique first & macho bow later.

[geoffretired]

Thanks for that, Linecutter.