Pain in my elbow?

[Gerardo]

I am having a little pain on my elbow of my shooting hand. These is normally one day after I shoot. Is this normal? can I still keep shooting? what can I do so it will not affect me in the long run? It is not a lot of pain just some tickling in the elbow

thank you,

Gerardo

[TheFatboy]

Hey Gerardo,

My guess is either an irritated tendon or a beginning inflammation. If you have a bow with a lighter poundage, try shooting it and see if that'll hurt too. You should be giving it some rest, if that's the case.

[Big Ed]

A couple days rest or just limit your shooting.Naproxin Sodium(Aleve) is a great anti-inflammatory medicine. Takes the edge off.

[Gerardo]

thanks guys , I think that if it hurts the logic is to give it a rest , but we always want a miracle cure, jajaja and keep on shooting

[Stinger]

Take it from a guy who has been through the tennis elbow thing on both arms. If it hurts it is telling you that it doesn't want to do what you are doing.   Stop shooting for a few days and give it a rest.  Ice it a couple times a day and take some Aleve.  You do not want to make it worse.  I spent a full year and a half with multiple cortisone shots and rehab to get back to where I could shoot again.

[dragon rider]

Gerardo,

Ice your elbow, 15 minutes on 15 off for two or three times as soon as you can after shooting.  That should help you ward off a bigger issue = like the one Stinger mentions.

[Gerardo]

thanks for the advice I just took a warm bath and applied some ICE HOT, Putting the ice directly is a much better idea, I will try it later on, but I do think I need to rest it for some days, i really want to enjoy bowhunting for the rest of my life

[swampthing]

Tendons are starting to in"flame"  Tendonitis is, and, can get progressivly more tender.
 Try warming up your elbows by doing this movement. stand up, put your hands up, palms to the sky, now lower them as low as is comfortable, now raise them again, do this pumping motion for a whole 30 seconds, not reps. Idea is to warm up the arms before you strech them, never stretch "cold" muscles. Now take your left arm and raise it, now lower your left hand so that you are touching the back of your neck, with your right hand pull your left elbow backwards, to your back, not side, until you feel a good strech deep into the ligaments and tendons and tricep. Hold for 30 seconds and then do the other side. Do not bend your neck, keep it fairly upright. A couple times on both sides 2-3 times a day and you will ward off, if not cure, the tendonitis before it gets worse. Doing this before and after you shoot will also get rid of most elbow problems.
I would also let the bow arm have a natural curve/bend to it helps to act as a shock dispenser.

[30coupe]

How you grip your bow and how much hand shock it has can cause elbow pain. If I stick with my Kanatis and don't "heel" the bow, I rarely have elbow pain. Try rotating your hand slightly so that the bow lays between the lifeline and your thumb. I only wrap my index and middle fingers around the riser (very lightly) and tuck the other two under. This keeps both bones in my forearm parallel to the bow, so I have bone support instead of muscle/tendon support.

If you are sore, you probably need a rest, but unless you figure out what is getting the pain started and make some changes, chances are it will come back and/or get worse.

[AllenR]

That's good advice above.  I suffered with it for about 3 years because I was too hardheaded to quit shooting until the pain got really bad.  I finally beat it by doing several things:

1) warm up before shooting
2) stretch after shooting
3) Aleve for the inflamation a couple of hours before shooting
4) ice for the inflamation after shooting
5) exercises - there are quite a few that you can find through google
6) trigger point massage - basically find the spot that is most painful and GENTLY massage it.
7) modify form to keep the hand & forearm muscles relaxed during the entire shot.
8) wear a strap about an inch below the affected elbow while shooting.  Keep this strap as tight as you can stand it while actually shooting but be sure to loosen it every few minutes.

The bad news is that the elbow is an area that doesn't have a good blood supply, so it tends to heal slower.

Don't be stupid like me, treat it now.

Good luck,
Allen

[bayoulongbowman]

I played baseball till I was almost 30...elbow pain is serious, when throwing a baseball...everything mentioned is important, but remember to pray , our Almighty Father is there for you , have faith...now rest up...what worked for me was swimming laps, yes, swimming laps....after resting try it..Good luck...peace , mark

[Gerardo]

I have never stretched before shooting and i did it today and felt much better, I know I was not going to shoot for some days but 3 days was too much for not shooting. Stretch before shooting and applying some ice afterwards, those exercies are great!!!! thank you