Any rotator cuff recovered shooters?

[Walt Francis]

My recovery was a little different from those described above.

I went through the cortisone injections, they had little to no relief.  Next, the shoulder surgery, then followed it up with physical therapy for three months.  Continued doing the exercises for over one year.  The shoulder was not any better at three, six, or twelve monthes.  At six months I switched to shooting left-handed and went seven for seven the first year (seven arrows on seven different deer) all with pass throughs. A year and a half later, thinking I'd never be able to shoot right-handed again, I sold almost every custom and high end bow I owned.  The only bow kept was my Schafer two piece longbow.  

Two and a half years after the surgery I was sorting through a pile of selfbows I had made, they were leaning in the corner of my archery room and one of them caught my eye.  I picked it up and was wondering if it could be adapted to shoot left-handed without too much tweaking.  I strung it up and drew it left-handed but the grip would need changed and the tips adjusted some.  Then on a whim I drew it right-handed and didn't feel any pain.  A few more pulls and everything felt fine.  Been shooting mostly right-handed since with almost no issues.

Its easy to identify with many of y’all out there with shoulder problems, especially Walt’s experience as, in recent years I have had drop down in draw weight to accommodate my right shoulder as my mid 50’s bows were causing too much pain.  

Lookin’ back a few years I found myself visiting the Doc for cortisone  injections which worked great for a couple or so but that was it…  the Doc told me he would no longer “shoot” my shoulder because the injections would cause more harm than good from that point on.

Bad news indeed, and like Walt, I started to replace my prized but heavier bows with those with lighter holding weight.

Moving from Michigan to South Carolina a year ago, in concert with retirement, pushed me toward an unexpected victory; I needed to keep active in order to remain healthy so I did what worked for me years ago while spending four years in China where I taught foreign oil exploration engineering teams business communication.  Back then I spent most week day afternoons on the basketball court runnin’ and shootin’ basketball mostly to keep my sanity.  It was good for me in more ways than the previous two...

Eventually, when I returned to the USA in 2011 I started shooting agai.  Long story short, I was able to shoot longbows again and experienced ZERO discomfort in my right shoulder.  Now,  six years later…same story.  Consistent upper movement of my right arm/shoulder over a few months completely eliminated the discomfort / pain when drawing a bow.  

I'll be 65 in a few months...get outta that recliner!!  Run and gun!... it's worth the effort!!

YMMV      

[reddogge]

One thing my physical therapist is adamant about with my two shoulder impingements (fancy word for hurts a lot) is if there is any pain with any activity or movement STOP THAT ACTIVITY OR MOVEMENT IMMEDIATELY. It just aggravates the swelling and inflammation.

[A Lex]

Had my right shoulder done 2013, four months later was back to shooting my normal bow.

Going in in two days to get my left one done. Just an age and worklife thing.

Religiously did all the PT and excercises required last time, and the right shoulder has been fantastic since.

Will again do what I'm told and fully expect the left shoulder to recover totally too.

Not looking forward to the process though, was pretty painful last time, but certainty looking forward to the result.

It's certainly time to get this one done, I'm over the limited movement and pain. Just hadn’t been able to swing it with work and finances. My wonderful mother-in-law has offered to cover my lost wages while I cannot work. I feel very very blessed indeed.

A loving family is a wonderful thing.

If you need to get it done and have the opportunity to do so, do it!

Best

Lex

[snag]

My PT wanted to know what physical activities I enjoy. I told her shooting a trad bow and arrows. She wanted to see how I do this. So I mimiced drawing a bow to anchor. She told me I was “jamming the shoulder”. She went on to tell me the body is created for circular movements. Started drawing like Jimmy Blackmon instructs with the “J” movement and I just don’t have any he same problems anymore. No jammed or pinching of muscles and nerves.

[Matabele]

Awesome to hear all your experiences! Sounds like it's been a positive move to make for almost everyone. I've got a doc appointment booked for next week for a referral to a specialist. Should have done this years ago by the sounds of it!

[A Lex]

Alrighty,

Got home from hospital yesterday afternoon, still a bit groggy and in a bit of pain.

Operation on my shoulder turned out to be somewhat more involved than originally thought. What was going to be an arthroscopic clean up of a couple of partial tears ended up being an open shoulder operation to repair a 90% tear.

So it's no bows and arrows for me for a while.

Will have to wait and see what the end result will be but I'm pretty positive. Time and PT again I guess.

Will take a couple more days for the pain to settle down and to clear my head, then we'll work on getting all healed up and back into the bow.

The immense joy I get shooting and hunting with my longbow is a powerful incentive to do all the recovery steps right.  

Best

Lex

[Bob Morrison]

A lot of good advice here, Had left shoulder done 2 weeks ago everything seems good so far. I have 1st doc visit tomorrow since surgery find out what is next. As I understand I will be in sling for 6 weeks???? don't know how soon PT can start? I will need other shoulder done later.

Keep information coming thanks.
Bob

[Doug Treat]

I have had shoulder issues for years and dropped down to 35# bow. For me, if I use my shoulders for other things (other than archery) and keep them limber (doing shoulder-specific exercises) without overdoing it, I can shoot my 40# bow but I still need to keep my shot count down. I found this summer that paddling a kayak seems to help.

[Matabele]

I was wondering how long recovery after surgery has been in general? I mean to be able to do every day tasks, not necessarily archery or exerting yourself. Id be able to get a couple weeks leave off work but not much more than that.

[A Lex]

Matabele,

My Dr said I should expect to be OK for "Light" duties after two or three weeks. So I'll have to trust that's the way it will go, although I'm not sure what "Light" duties I can do as a Maintenance Fitter.

I guess this is where my life moto kicks in, "Do the best you can, with what you have, at the time".

I'll try to give a few updates as we progress.

Best
Lex

[Matabele]

Cheers Lex, all the best for the operation!    

[Cleveland]

I have tears in both shoulders. Eight months ago I started training kettlebell as my primary method of resistance training. It is no longer painful to shoot my bow, and I am more accurate now than I have been in years. I can't say that it's the right thing for everyone, but it certainly helped me and I didn't have to have surgery.

[Sam McMichael]

I had my left shoulder (bow arm) worked on a couple of years ago. The labrum was torn but not the rotator cuff. It went well, although I did not quite recover full strength (am at about 95%, though). It did not take long to get back to shooting my hunting bows. However, I still can't shoot my favorite bow which is 65# at 28".

Now, my other shoulder is feeling just like my left shoulder did. Essentially, I can't bow hunt effectively, because it hurts to draw and hold the bow steady. Practicing is excruciating at times. Even laying off for up to 3 weeks at a time does not help, which is why I don't think it is just muscle fatigue and strain.

I have a medical appointment coming up, and if the doc thinks I need to be cut again, I will not hesitate to do so. I went from 0% efficiency to about 95%, a most acceptable outcome.