Slight shoulder pain

[kawika b]

A little tender right at the end of my collarbone,,, not bad but just worries me. I've backed down a little in draw weight and only shoot my 50# Quest right now. Never had this pain before but then again I have been shooting more often now. Over using it? My muscles don't ache,,, it's just the joint area that is tender to the touch,,, no strength loss.

[Shawn Leonard]

Be careful, I just had surgery to clean mine out. It may just be tendinitis. Rest and plenty of ice. Advil for pain, it may go away in a few days with no shooting. If it persist see a doctor. I am glad I did, lots of bone spurs and arthritis removed and had a slight tera in my labrum repaired, was up and shooting again in a month. Be good and treat yourself good, do not be stuborn like me!! Heel well my friend! Shawn

[kawika b]

where was your pain exactly shawn? your shoulder problem stories are one of the reasons whay i started this thread. any tips on what to watchout for is greatly appreciated.

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

Alright! I get to put my occupational therapy classes to good use!

Thats probably your acromioclavicular joint, if its where your collarbone (Clavicle) meets up with the front of your shoulder. (acromion process of the scapula)

Pain in this area is usually caused by repeated strain to that area, or by working with your arms up a lot. If you shoot your bow a lot, thats probably the cause of it.

My AC joint is separated due to getting hit by a car about 10 years ago. Its my right AC joint, which is the arm I pull my bow with. It gets inflammed and tender, but I can usually take Advil, or any other Ibuprofin and the pain goes away for a while. I also have problems in that same spot with my left (bow) arm. Usually, if I put my arm behind my back, and try to rotate my shoulder upward, it will pop really loud and give me some relief.

Because thats a form of tendonitis, and tendons don't heal much, you'll probably just have to baby it and medicate it.  We have a couple of patients who come into the clinic with it and some of them get shots for the pain.  Some say it works, some say it don't. Depends on the degree of pain.  

I'd say that backing down in bow weight is a good start. Dont overwork it, and if it hurts at all that day, simply don't shoot.

Good luck!

Cam

[kawika b]

don't shoot,,,simple? LOL,,,, thanks for the advice Cam. I'll do whatever it takes to prolong my shooting. The tender spot is the part of the bone that pops up/out at the top of your shoulder,,, not so apparent with my meaty shoulders,,, you can read that as being muscular,,, or fat    Any sepcific excerises to help in this area?

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

Here's some of the exercises we send home with our patients when they come in...
 
We'll have a patient lay on their stomach on a table, with their arm off the table, dangling towards the floor.  Raise your arm up, (toward your feet, not outward) as far as you can, and hold it there for a few seconds, then lower again. They have a name for this one, but I cant remember it. I just call it shoulder hyperextension.

Here's another one.  Bend over at the waist and let your arms hang to the floor.  Then, retract your shoulder as far as you can, until your fist is even with your chest.  The action you're looking for is similar to drawing back a bow, or even better, about to blast someone in the face with your fist. This one may be more of a shoulder muscles exercise...I can really feel my posterior rotator cuff muscles at work when I just did it. But it couldn't hurt to try it on that AC joint.

Also, make sure to stretch out really well before you start shooting. My pops has one of those Bowflex gadgets that he mounts before he shoots. That man has some serious shoulder issues! He's a direct example of what happens when you shoot a 65lb longbow for years, then stop for a year, then pick it up and try to pull it again. He's lucky to draw 48lbs now.

If I studied my notes well, that joint is a pretty common problem child for people starting at about the age of 50.  I just turned 30, but mine is already giving me problems due to my brawl with a '96 Silverado.

If your interested, I can pick up papers from work that give more of a detailed exercise plan and either mail them to you or copy them down and email them your way.

Good luck man!

Cam

[kawika b]

email is on my profile,,,thanks again Cam. anything you send is appreciated. i'm 34 so 50 is a bit down the road but man do the years fly by now! soory bout your accident (chevy probably looks better now,lol,,, i'm a dodge guy,hehe) and hope all is good now.