What's Up with my Shoulder ?

[Lamplighter]

For us guys in our late 40's that forget we are not as young as we once were, I shoot almost every day, a short volley early morning & evening. Recurve 49 @ 27.  

I always just before release, start curling those shoulder blades toward one another.

Lately, the inside of my left shoulder ( I shoot rgt hand ) is hurting.  This evening I simply cannot hit right.  Had to quit.

What is going on ?  What should I do. When ? How long ? etc.

[moebow]

Lamplighter,

We can't/won't diagnose  -- see your Doctor!

That said, the form movements I teach do not recommend any movement of the bow shoulder.  Once you lift the bow to your drawing position, the bow shoulder should not move again for the shot.  Trying to move the shoulder blades together is NOT what you want to do.  Only the string side shoulder blade should move during the release.  It is old theory to try to "squeeze" the shoulder blades together and largely shown to not work very well.

You might want to try this AFTER you see a Dr!

Arne

[McDave]

Agree with Arne on bow shoulder movement. Never hurts to just take a few days off with some Advil.  In my late 60's, I get aches and pains more often than I would like, but so far (knock on wood) they have gone away if I take a short break and don't push it.

[Lamplighter]

Yes I understand.  I might not be the best at describing actions.  I do not really move the left blade, but I do shoot from a closed stance, so there will be some tightening and compacting of the inner left blade muscle just by rotating that last second right elbow to the six position.

[mahantango]

Make sure that the left shoulder is down and into the socket. I've seen a lot of shooters kind of hunch up, with the shoulder riding up and out of the socket. This can cause some really weird stresses on the joint.

[Lamplighter]

Originally posted by mahantango:
Make sure that the left shoulder is down and into the socket. I've seen a lot of shooters kind of hunch up, with the shoulder riding up and out of the socket. This can cause some really weird stresses on the joint.

YES YES that is exactly what I was doing- I liked to do that to use it as a stop to rest my head.  I won't do that any more.  That is exactly what I was doing.  

I nursed it last night, and took some Aleve, and today I made a point NOT to LIFT that left shoulder.

[bradglaza]

As Arne said, we don't want to play doctor, but I've had three rotator cuff surgeries in the past four years (two on the right, one on the left), and I know a fair amount about the joint. Raising your shoulder like you were doing puts a lot of stress on your rotator cuff tendon and your supraspinatus muscle.

I don't want to get all technical, but bear with me here--I think this will clarify some things for you. The supraspinatus is a small and (usually) weak muscle which runs along the upper part of your shoulder blade. Its tendon attaches to the top of your upper armbone (humerus) right at your shoulder socket. It kind of wraps around the ball of your shoulder along the top of it. The tendon usually gets banged up at the top of the shoulder because whenever your arm comes up past 90 degrees, the tendon winds up getting pinched between the shoulder ball and your acromion, a tiny bone that extends off the end of your clavicle. (You can see all of this here:  http://drugline.org/img/term/acromion-216_2.jpg  )

Problem is, if and when the tendon gets pinched enough, it starts to swell up, and that means there's even less space for the tendon to move around, increasing the likelihood that it'll get banged against the acromion again. It results in a bad cycle, and once inflammation gets in there, it can be hard to get out.

So, to bring it back to what mahantango said, when you were raising your elbow up above the plane of your shoulder, you were probably pushing that tendon into the acromion, causing it to get inflammed. Now I'm not a doctor, and if the pain is bad, I strongly recommend going to see an orthopedic surgeon, but based on what you've said, it sounds like this is what's happening.

If you want to try a home remedy for now, do this: Ice it for 20-30 minutes every night. Never heat--always ice. And take ibuprofen for the pain and inflammation. Aspirin might help with the pain, but it won't do anything for the swelling, and that's the cause of the pain here. Use Aleve or Motrin, and take at least two every morning and every evening, roughly 12 hours apart, with food and water. Now, if you have kidney issues, don't start taking NSAIDs--talk to your doctor about what he recommends before taking stuff (aspirin is hard on the stomach and liver; ibuprofen and other NSAIDs are hard on the kidneys.)

And above all, keep the elbow down so the shoulder joint is firmly in the socket. You might have to learn a new anchor point or adjust your shooting (the position of the elbow can change the height at which you're holding the bow, among other things), but it's worth it if you keep your shoulders healthy.

Hope that helps, and please see a doc if the pain continues or worsens after a week or two.

Brad

[arrow flynn]

Diamatacios earth and Himalayan sea salt. A friend is a kettelball competitor and its what he takes.rich in minerals ithink it helped me my left shoulder has damaged cartiledgeand now I can shoot lefty and I can pull w my left arm.

[njloco]

Arrow flynn, your not saying your kettle bell friend takes it internally are you ?, I'll assume he applies it topically. Also, Arnica Montana is very good for pain and injuries and for inflammation, but no booze and no caffeine as it counters the herb. Also see your Dr. if it gets worse.