Elbow pain

[rm06]

Twice now this year I've been sidelined with some rather severe elbow pain in my draw arm. I went to the doc a few months ago and was diagnosed with tennis elbow and received a cortisone shot. I laid off shooting for a few weeks but ultimately it wasn't long enough as it has gotten much worse in the last few weeks. I head back for another appointment after Christmas.

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it is just me or that I've put some hard miles on over the years. I did change from a 2-finger release to a 3-finger which has helped as it doesn't put nearly as much strain on my forearm when I draw. I upgraded to a new bow last February and decided to get serious about bow hunting and I was shooting probably 600 arrows per week leading up to elk season.

I'm 6' with a 28" draw (helps me pull through and I have some worn down shoulder joints) at 72 lbs. I'm athletic and I go to the gym 4x per week but I really haven't done anything but cardio and legs throughout the season because I get too sore to shoot my bow, not to mention the pain in my elbow. I try to concentrate using my back and large muscle groups as much as possible when drawing.

I will follow my doc's recommendations for healing but has anyone else here struggled with this? Any recommendations?

 

[DavePwns]

Twice now this year I've been sidelined with some rather severe elbow pain in my draw arm. I went to the doc a few months ago and was diagnosed with tennis elbow and received a cortisone shot. I laid off shooting for a few weeks but ultimately it wasn't long enough as it has gotten much worse in the last few weeks. I head back for another appointment after Christmas.

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it is just me or that I've put some hard miles on over the years. I did change from a 2-finger release to a 3-finger which has helped as it doesn't put nearly as much strain on my forearm when I draw. I upgraded to a new bow last February and decided to get serious about bow hunting and I was shooting probably 600 arrows per week leading up to elk season.

I'm 6' with a 28" draw (helps me pull through and I have some worn down shoulder joints) at 72 lbs. I'm athletic and I go to the gym 4x per week but I really haven't done anything but cardio and legs throughout the season because I get too sore to shoot my bow, not to mention the pain in my elbow. I try to concentrate using my back and large muscle groups as much as possible when drawing.

I will follow my doc's recommendations for healing but has anyone else here struggled with this? Any recommendations?

Go see a physical therapist and find one that is graston or astym certified. It's one of the best ways to treat tennis elbow, it's painful as hell but it works. In general, tennis elbow is due to over use of your wrist extensor muscles which means using a strong grip with anything can cause overuse

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[BRTreedogs]

I was gonna say the same. Physical therapy helped my shoulder more the the shot.
Slowly try and strengthen it based on the therapy recommendations.
Going to the spott hogg keaton release mite help to. Look it up u pull w both sets of muscles.

 

[3forks]

If you've essentially got an overuse injury, it is most likely from your technique in drawing the bow.

Are you drawing with your back muscles or keeping them engaged? If you're not, you are probably relying on arm strength to draw and hold which would contribute to your elbow pain.

I had the same problem until I tried to learn back tension. I got some coaching when I first learned to shoot and had pretty good form, but until I started using my back to draw the bow, I didn't realize how much I was using my arm to draw.

Here's a vid from Larry Wise that describes the proper draw cycle:

[video=youtube_share;7lBK2ahoUP8]https://youtu.be/7lBK2ahoUP8[/video]

If you're not using back tension in your shooting, I'd suggest you try to incorporate it. One benefit is that you'll start getting better groups. The second and more immediate benefit to you is that after your elbow recovers, you will be using a different muscle group to draw and won't be re-aggravating your elbow.

 

[RosinBag]

Rm06, it is very common with archers shooting hand held releases verse wrist strap releases. It is an over use thing. Tennis elbow is a pain to deal with, and the advice above with physical therapy is a pretty good start.

 

[Superkodiak38]

Yep PT or Voodoo Floss

 

[rm06]

Thanks guys, I will look in that direction. Appreciate the responses.

 

[Beendare]

I've been dealing with bad elbows for about 5 yrs.

PRP treatment in one [meh] then infection [long story] but its better....trying rehab on the other but 4 mo now and its not improving....calling my doc for next step.

FYI, rehab is best strategy...a strict regimen of icing 3x a day and anti inflammatories works for most cases but you have to lay off. There is very little blood circulation in bows...they heal slow....and the surgeries they do is archaic compared to shoulders and knees. They essentially drill holes in your bone and sew you up hoping scar tissue does the trick.