Question about shoulder soreness

[Pete McMiller]

Dennis,

From my own experience, find a good LMT, Licensed Massage Therapist.  Much of the soreness in my own shoulders is the result of trigger points that "grew" due to excessive shooting.  At one point, when I was shooting upwards of 150 arrows a day I ended up with 6 very painful trigger points all around the shoulder blade of my bow arm shoulder.  This year it will be 10 years that I have been going to a LMT on at least a monthly basis.  Besides my shoulder, the work on my lower back has  all but eliminated my chronic back pain.  Currently working through issues with my ulna nerve and may try acupuncture in addition to my normal massage therapy schedule.  I am a huge proponent of massage therapy and think it is the best preventative care you can do for yourself.

[Rob DiStefano]

pete, that's an Excellent point!  i visit my LMT every 2 weeks for trigger point massage therapy.  it hurts so good, but makes a major difference in overall fitness and flexibility,

[hitman]

It takes me about 6-8 shots before the pain has lessened enough for me to really shoot at full draw . I can then shoot pretty much all I want to.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Thanks, Pete. Great recommendation!

I occasionally have flare ups, mostly behind my scapula and sometimes in the deltoids.  Mine is almost always because of problems cervical/dorsal dislocation which sets off a spasm that runs into the shoulder muscles. I go to an actuator chiropractor when things get too bad.  Some of the pain blockers can mess with your heart rhythm. A bad reaction to Celebrex caused me to have an arrhythmia one day when hunting which allowed someone to walk off with my longbow. Now I take no drugs, I take natural supplements and I follow a weekly routine with slow motion dumbbell exercises using moderate weights and an adjustable bench to keep things stable. I am in my 60s and I shoot hundreds of arrows every week, sometimes hundreds in a day.  It is hard for me to put the bow down when I am having a good day, but at times I kick myself for getting carried away.