exercise to fix damaged bowhand

[graysquirrel]

Hope this is the right place to post this.  I'm in need of some exercise or therapy to fix my bow hand (left hand) I have a great deal of difficulty coming to full draw with a bow that has any kind of wrist grip on it due to damage done.  I can pull a straight type grip  ok as long as I don't twist the left wrist down.

Got hit by a hailstone the size of a baseball in the web muscle between thumb and forefinger and the scare tissue is causing the muscle and tendons to not quite do what I want it to do. Doc said time and massage would do what could be done.

I'm already down to shooting a 42-45lb recurve and longbow.  But the grip on my Widows has just enough angle to cause pain that won't allow me to come to full draw.

Any suggestions????

[McDave]

You want to avoid doing things that cause pain, which is caused by the scar tissue pressing against nerves, because if the nerves get inflamed, things will get worse. Fortunately, scar tissue does get reduced over time, so things will probably get a better over the next year or so if you let it happen.

If there is a particular type of grip that you can use without pain, I would either have a new riser made for your bow using that grip, or else have your old grip re-worked if possible.

[eric-thor]

i just had carpule tunnel sergery on both of my hands within the past month the left hand this past friday and i just tried to draw my 27pound recurve and if i out my wrist down it hert ....but if i high wristed ti it felt just fine . im back to training at least for now .  

[BobCo 1965]

What the doc said, message will help work out scar tissue.

[graysquirrel]

I have several bows with a low wrist type grip. Those are fine.  However I have several Widows with the standard grip, those are not. Longbows with a very low type grip are also fine. Hate to have 4 PSA's reworked to the low type grip. I'll have to try one before I go to that extreme. As long as I'm using one of my GW Flannagan longbows or a very low wrist grip on my recurve it's workable.  No pain but I'm very much aware something is there.  Kinda like having a finger poked in your arm. Doesn't really hurt, but it's still there

Doc said whatever I do, don't stop using it and working it. That would just make it worse.  The stupid hail stone pretty much smashed the muscle and tendons in the part between the thumb and forefinger the first part of May.  A small spot of the "skin" no longer moves with the rest of the skin on the hand.

Guess that's what I get for opening the cellar door for a lady huh?

[grouseshooter002]

Graysquirrel,
            As a young man I went through a plate glass window and severed some of the tendons in my right hand. After the cast was removed I squeezed a tennis ball almost night and day. This simple exercise allowed me to resume the things I really loved which are archery and skeet. Try this because it can't do anything but help.

Grouse

[A.S.]

Bob, have you tried one of the spring grip squeezer thing used for strengthening exercises. (sorry, I have no idea of their real name).

I used one (and it helped immensely) after my wrist surgery from my treestand fall. They had to lift the entire thumb muscle off my arm bone in order to repair the bone, so I feel like it's kind of the same thing you are encountering.

My physical therapist recommended it after I let her know how important archery was to me.


Good luck, hope all goes well,

Allen

[graysquirrel]

Yep, am doing the squeeze thing now, but I need something that will rotate my wrist up and down, up is fine, down kinda bites, scare tissue feels like it's trying to tear.

It'll get there in time, but patience is not one of my virtues.

[A.S.]

Bob, they also had me get a 3# dumbell. I would hang my arm over my knee (or edge of a table)  with my palm facing up and hold the weight. then let the weight bend the wrist down, and do like little curls up and down with just the wrist moving.

Hope that makes sense!!

[graysquirrel]

It does, will try it.  Probably just something I'm going to have to work through.  Age plus arthritis, plus getting the hand hurt does not make for a good combination.  Doc said when he took the xray that he "thought' nothing was broken but due to the arthritis in the hand it was impossible to really tell.  Probably cracked something, but the scar tissue is what is really giving me fits.

[TheFatboy]

If you decide to use hand grippers and do wrist curls, I would recommend you to go easy. Use a gripper that you can easily close 20-25 times. Also, use a very light dumbbell, and do full-motion wrist curls. A 3# dumbbell sounds appropriate for this kind of work.

[TheFatboy]

By the way, grippers can be bought in nearly every sporting goods store  

[graysquirrel]

thanks, fatboy, I've already got a couple