"Tennis Elbow" of the bow hand?
Gregg Pitts
I am a recurve target archer 51 years of age. Recently I have increased
by practice time and I find that have symptoms of "tennis elbow" in my
bow hand elbow. I suspect that this is a breakdown in my form. Has
anyone out there experienced a similar problem? I'm pulling about 53#
at a 31 inch draw length. I begin my draw with the bow hand extended at
the target and use a sling to keep my grip relaxed. I tend to lock my
elbow rather than keep a slight bend to it. I figure that you veterans
have all been through this before and can give a novice some help.
Thanks. Gregg
John Kelly
In <4nqkm0$g...@moe.tas.drs.com> gpi...@tas.com (Gregg Pitts) writes:
>
>I am a recurve target archer
>
>bow hand elbow.
Gregg, I also developed archer's elbow, plus "tenosynovitis," a
nerve-damage problem involving the ring finger of the bow hand. This
came from improper and excessive longbow usage (60#).
My problem was alleviated by a) wrapping the longbow grip with padded
rubber tennis racket grip tape b) using bent elbow with the longbow c)
resting by shooting fewer arrows (eg. only 50/day three times a week
for two months) d) shooting a lighter recurve bow during that period
(52#).
I did NOT find that medicines helped, although they were useful a year
earlier, when I developed bursitis from shooting too much.
I talked with my Doc about these things the other day (he has a sports
medicine practice). He said that if this sort of problem develops, it
can not be expected to go away without changes in technique and a lot
of rest.
Your bow can be a culprit: you may well be suffering from vibration as
much as kick, especially if it has a metal riser (I've chosen not to
say "shock," since I've found there's debate about the meaning). You
might try 1) a heavier string (less vibration) 2) string silencers
(less vibration) 3) heavier arrows (less kick) 4) a bicyclist's padded
fingerless glove (vibration). Tennis players do all sorts of things to
their rackets, to damp vibration. No reason we archers shouldn't do
that stuff too.
I don't think it's necessary (or proper) to shoot recurve with bent
elbow. But I've got to master that for my longbow.
Incidentally, I mentioned metal risers because the loudest local
elbow-complainers, recurve category, are shooting a new Hoyt and, I
think, an old Jennings (PSE?).
As to 51, that IS probably part of the story. I'm 52. We do lose some
of our padding and tendeon stretchability with age. On the other hand,
we get tougher. For what its worth, the top competitive recurve archers
in New Mexico are, to my knowlege, 36, 48, 5?, and 61.
Shoot a little less for a couple of weeks, tune the bow.
JK
John Kelly
In <31A1AA...@dl.ac.uk> Hywel Owen <h.o...@dl.ac.uk> writes:
>
>Although I haven't suffered from it, a friend of mine has. I would
>strongly recommend seeing a doctor/physio, as my friend could no
longer
>do archery after he aggravated this injury (ie. for ever). The
principal
>thing which caused it seemed to be over-bowing, ie. he was trying to
>draw too much weight.
>Hywel Owen
I spoke to my doc (Doc?), a sports physician, about possible permanent
damage from archer's elbow/tennis elbow. He said that was highly
unlikely, as permanent damage would be prevented by the pain that would
cause the archer/tennis player to drop the activity for a while.
I can personally attest to that with tennis. It's darned hard to
continue playing when the elbow gets really bad. And tennis players are
a determined lot. I've never heard of one who was permanently crippled,
elbow-wise. I got to the point where I couldn't pick up a coffee cup,
couldn't shift gears in my old VW.
On the other hand, I have personally found that archer's elbow can be
tolerated more readily, as, in my experience, it doesn't interfere so
much with shooting as with all other activities...I was hindered in
everything except archery! Two weeks of reduced archery (lighter bow,
substitute recurve for longbow, fewer arrows)make the symptoms fade to
very slight.
But yes, overbowing can be a problem. Not an absolute cosmic problem,
however, there is no specific appropriate weight for a given archer.
We're talking mostly about physical conditioning, and the need to work
up to the weight you want to shoot. If, indeed, you actually do want to
shoot a heavier bow.
When I started shooting a couple of years ago, I began with a 45# Ben
Pearson. It hurt my back. I got a 54# Groves, it hurt everything, but
It was a HOT bow. I then got some 60# limbs for 3-D (flatter
trajectory). I was surprised that it didn't cause me new problems. I
shot it a LOT more, practicing much more intensely. SUDDENLY (that's
how it develops) I got seriously crippling Bursitis AND Tendeonitis in
my pulling arm (no elbow problem in the bow arm). That hurt so badly I
couldn't sleep, couldn't work, required urgent medical care. When it
hit, I was at a 3-D tournament, had shot around 500 arrows that week
already. Couldn't even carry the bow off the range. The fix was six
weeks of zero archery and a lot of Naproxen (prescription version of
Aleve). When I returned to archery, I chose to go over to a true
instinctive style. Canted bow, no aiming.
One thing about instinctive vs. aiming, often overlooked, is that when
you pull and release, vs pull and hold and aim, you don't stress your
body nearly as much.
Now that 60# recurve feels light. I have no problems whatever with
Bursitis. I'm beginning to work with 65# limbs, which I got for an
upcoming boar hunt. I can feel the stress (not pain) in my shoulder,
but I'm moderating shooting those limbs. While I can comfortably shoot
100 or so arrows from the 60# limbs, several times a week, I am
restricting the 65# limbs to around 50 arrows once a week, with the
balance of the shooting using 60#. I wear a larger shirt size, too.
Bows are great exercise devices for the upper body.
JK
Hywel Owen
Although I haven't suffered from it, a friend of mine has. I would
strongly recommend seeing a doctor/physio, as my friend could no longer
do archery after he aggravated this injury (ie. for ever). The principal
thing which caused it seemed to be over-bowing, ie. he was trying to
draw too much weight.
--
Hywel Owen
Mark W. Thurm
>In <4nqkm0$g...@moe.tas.drs.com> gpi...@tas.com (Gregg Pitts) writes:
>>
>>I am a recurve target archer
> I find that have symptoms of "tennis elbow" in my
>>
>>bow hand elbow.
I've found that exercise to strengthen the tricep area is the most effective
preventative for "archers'elbow" Bench press and any of the tricep specific
exercises work for me.
A bow that has a small riser will thump somewhat but it can be minimized,
adjust your brace height, even small amounts of change can have signifcant
effect.
Hanging a quiver on a bow (objectionable to some I know) adds mass and will
tame the thump (especially a Selway quiver with the rubber mounts).
MT
--
It's not the bible that's filled with contradictions,
It's our brains that are filled with them.
J. Vernon McGee
Bowbuff
Yes. Rest it. If you don't want to do that support it with a constrictor
band and/or warm the elbow while compressing the tendons with a gentle
constrictor around the elbow. I used all three at different times. When
I refused to rest it, it took years for it to go away. Can't speculate
how long it might have needed to have been rested but I had to keep using
the wraps for years.
I cant understand why you need this with a 51 pound bow. If your bow has
an extraordinary amount of hand shock, I suggest you change to something
kinder to your elbow.
bowf...@fishnet.net
much gym work to build up upper body strength. Repetitive motion is the
killer. If you do get the soreness in the anterior pericondyle part of
your elbow (the bony knob on the outside), here's what worked for me. I
got an Rx from the family MD for industrial strength Ibuprofen. this is
600 mg vs. 200 m for the over the counter version. It really helps,
however, DO take it with food, repeat take with food! Also, avoid any
exercise that irritates the situation. Sounds like common sense but
remember, if it hurts, don't do it. Next, personal experience combined
the Ibuprofen with ice packs, you know, the gel pack kind. Freeze that
elbow, pilgrim, several times per day. It only took about two weeks to
bring the problem under control for me. Maybe I got lucky. Hope you do
too. Remember, Ibuprofen and ice packs. I tried the arm restrainer
gadet. No good, compadres. I used it on my drawing arm and just
ripped the hairs out at full draw. Anyway, best of luck. By the way,
there is a cosmic law at work here, in case you haven't noticed. When
you get tennis/archer's elbow, magically your elbow becomes magnetic and
attracts things like walls, doors, chairs, etc. In short, that tender
spot on your elbow will draw any solid object that can cause pain to it.
Ain't it amazing! Let me know how it works out. Anybody else have any
wisdom to share on other archery type injuries? Post stuff if so. In
the meantime, think ten ring!
rid...@hal-pc.org
My friend, go see a doctor asap! A guy I shoot with had the same problem and he suffered with
it for a long time before going to his doctor. eventually he had to have surgery and sit out
of archery for over six months. When he began shooting again, he was extremely weak and it
took a long time for him to be able to handle 50lbs. again. Go see your doctor now. -Geoff
Hywel Owen
By the way, I have a question. If you're a recurve target archer drawing
31 inches, why do you need to shoot over 50lb? Carbons should give you a
fantastic sight mark at a much lower poundage than that...
--
Hywel Owen
Stretch
That certainly sounds feasable. You might want to try to eliminate as much
vibration as possible from the bow as well, vibration will aggravate such
injuries (you might also want to consider dropping 5-10lbs from your draw
weight!)
I suffered from left elbow damage in 1990, too much vibration in the bow.
Stretch
--
John Dickson,(aka Stretch) Hoyt Avalon, Carbon+ 70" 45#
Multimedia Guru? Gemini Stabilisers, Spiga Carbon 30
Heriot-Watt University ASB Dyneema 22str, ACE 400 L4 32.5"
Raymond A. Grodnicki
increased
>
>
>bow hand elbow. I suspect that this is a breakdown in my form. Has
>
>anyone out there experienced a similar problem? I'm pulling about 53#
>
>at a 31 inch draw length. I begin my draw with the bow hand extended
at
>
>the target and use a sling to keep my grip relaxed. I tend to lock my
>
>elbow rather than keep a slight bend to it. I figure that you
veterans
>
>have all been through this before and can give a novice some help.
>
>Thanks. Gregg
Yea! and it's become real bothersome, I went to the local saw bones and
he said "you have tennis elbow" I thought to myself "no-shit". The only
advice he gave me was Ice and alieve and some kind of gizmo that you
can get in a tennis pro shop that you wrap around you arm. I have'nt
tried it yet, because the ice and the pills seem to work on really bad
days. Good luck and tuff it out.
50 year old Ray