a real downer

[Brad Arnett]

I've been shooting my Wallace Mentor 60#'er for about 10 years now and just this year my drawing arm really started bothering me. I kind of just ignored it all summer/fall but its gotten really bad lately. I had one of the Docs that I work with in the ER take a look at it the other day and he said it was a classic case of tennis elbow. He's not a shooter but his advice was to lay off shooting for a few months and then when I go back to it start low and work my poundage up gradually. He also recommended stopping at 50 pounds or so and not go back to shooting 60#'s.

Have any of you guys that have had this ever successfully worked your way back up to heavier poundage bows? If not, then I'll probably be that guy walking around the K'zoo Trad Bow Expo with a Wallace with a want to trade sign on it    :(  

He did say that he'd write me a prescription that said "Brad needs a new bow" that I could take home to the lady if I needed it.    :D

[Mechslasher]

your kodiaks will do just about everything your wes wallace will do at a lower poundage.  i'm reaching a point in my life where i'm paying for shooting all those 95 - 100# compounds in my younger days.  i have several bows in the 55-60# range but i'm liking my 45# bows better every year.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

50 lbs is all you will ever need unless maybe you go on an elephant hunt.

Good luck with your recovery.

[Sean B]

I just dropped almost 10 lbs on the new bow that I ordered last winter.  I went from 63 to 54 pounds.  A well placed shot will do the trick.  I'll be taking my 45# Kodiak out this afternoon.

Being that your WW is a take down, see if you can't find a lighter set of limbs for it.

[Hawkeye]

You may need to go to lower poundage, but I found a simple physical therapy exercise you can do at home with a $12 rubber bar used in PT.  So a search for "Tyler Twist."  Made a big difference for my "tennis elbow" pain...

[Orion]

Yep.  Had the same thing happen to me.  A month or so of physical therapy and I was shooting the same bows I always shoot.  At that time, they were in the 60# range as well, give or take a few.  That was more than 10 years ago.  I'm now nearly 65 and have dropped down a few pounds. Good PT should do it for you.  Good luck.

[Terry Lightle]

Same thing happened to me about 6 nor 7 years ago.Layed off a while,went from 63 pound selfbow to 56 pound Robertson long bow and am getting along pretty good now.

[Steve O]

Something else you may want to pay attention to is your arrows and targets.  I was doing a lot of shooting at 3d targets with carbons and getting tennis elbow from pulling OUT my arrows!  Switched to FMJs for easy removal. Also started pulling them out with my left hand.

[Bjorn]

I did drop 10#-down to 50# and that helped. But what helped the most was laying off the household stuff like painting! And I bought a nail gun, and got a cortizone shot. Problem solved.

[greyghost]

Trust me. I have been out since 2002 with both shoulders, elbow and hand problems. Just worked my way back up to 50 lbs. over the last 4 years and hunted for the first time 3 weeks ago.

On the elbow, I was told by 2 doctor's the same, tennis elbow. Well after finally seeing a Military Doctor at Bethesda he informed me is was a fracture. That was from x-rays that were taken.

I would have been back sooner if the first 2 would have done the X-rays and not rely on the classic tennis elbow excuse.

I will of cource not be going up any further in weight, but am working out with weights and 55/58 lb bows.

Also stay away from the cortizone shots. That is only short term and can make matters worse over the long run.

[A811]

If im not mistaken cortizone shots can make your bones turn to mush

[greyghost]

Originally posted by A811:
If im not mistaken cortizone shots can make your bones turn to mush

You are correct sir in a way. Not so much mush but defently weakening of the tendons, loss of fatty tissue and some cases crystalizes causing greater pain.. I wish I had looked a little deeper into treatments prior to 2002 and after.

[pdk25]

I had tennis elbow in my bow arm so bad that hiking hurt the elbow and shaking hands nearly brought me to my knees.  Wearing a brace only helped to keep it from progressing much.  A steroid injection a little over a week ago, and I'm shooting the same bows, from 60 to 80 pounds, that I did before with no trouble.  Now, my elbow problems are from chronic overuse at work.  Steroid injections are not to be used as a chronic treatment, though.  It is extremely uncommon to have any issues from a single injection.

[Steelhead]

I wouldnt worry about the drop in poundage too much.

I shot 65 to 70 pounds for years.

I know shoot 50 to 55 at 30 inches.

I enjoy it and thier plenty powerful enough for hunting.

Wes may be able to reduce the weight on those limbs and or maybe a new set would be a good idea.

I would do some serious rehab and when you resume shooting,shoot less arrows and strive for quality shots on every shot with more rest between shots and more time off between shooting sessions for full recovery and to help alleviate any inflamation that may occur.

Good luck

[Jim now in Kentucky]

I had a bad case of tennis elbow in my bow arm. Doc said "rest and aspirin." After a couple of months with no improvement I decided it couldn't hurt worse, so I just went back to using it even though it hurt.  I also drowned it in running water as hot as I could stand. No pain at all for a half hour after that. Also firmly massaged the area and otherwise just paid no attention to it.

In a week or so, it started to hurt less and cleared up in another six weeks. Doctor had said it could take a year.

Study this condition at reputable medical web sites and you'll find no one knows what makes the pain anyway--there  are no nerves in the tendons!

Jim

[pdk25]

Jim is right, nobody really knows what really causes the pain.  There are, however, good studies that show improvement with steroid injections.  There is also considerable evidence that untreated, unremitting tennis elbow can lead to avulsion fractures at the site of insertion of the extensor carpii radialis brevis tendon.  Here is a link to an article that may be a good starting point for you.  Even though it discusses surgical options it states that 90% of the time tennis elbow resolves with conservative measures, of which a single steroid injection is considered an option.

 http://www.plancherortho.com/education/research_pdfs/elbow/arthroscopic_management_of_lateral_epicondylitis.pdf

[Shooty1]

I've heard good things about the Flexbar for tennis elbow (google it). It's just a rubber block.  It, or an improvised equivalent, might be worth a shot before you start injecting things.

[trubltrubl]

I would also keep shooting if the pain is moderate only or minor ...use a good tensor brace on the elbow and ice it EVERY TIME after you shoot. Ice is a great fixer over time....If it is really bad try "active release" by a chiroprator

[Brad Arnett]

Thanks guys. It looks like I'm not the only one its happened too. I'm going to do some research and try some things.