Arm Ache

[hopesman]

Okay, here's a question for the experienced shooters I have developed an ache in my upper arm when I shoot. It is similar to the ache that I used to get in my arm when I threw a ball too hard without warming up first. This is the arm that I hold the bow with. Nothing much else seems to bother it, just shooting the bow, even once. I do notice a little discomfort there from other activities from time to time but just barely noticeable. Anyone ever experienced this

[Greg Krause]

when I shoot a lot I sometimes get "tennis elbow" in my bow arm, but not my upper arm.........maybe someone else can offer an answer.

[stilllearning]

I sit at a computer 7.5hrs a day and have noticed that somewhere in the last 20 years of this I have lost a lot of range of motion in my shoulders. If I shoot to long I realy feel it in the upper arm and shoulder area of the bow holding arm.
I have found that working the arm helps the most or warming it up. If I shoot basketball with my son or go throw the football back an forth that helps the most.

Not sure if this any help at all to you but I have in the past tried ibeprophin (advil) about a half hour before shooting and that helped also to get the strength up in the arm by allowing me to work it by holding the bow at arms length.

[hopesman]

A little more on the description of the ache in my arm. This will start on the very first shot that I take and continues until probably 30 minutes after I stop shooting. It isn't sore muscles or anything like that but more like a tooth ache and exactly like the ache I used to get when I played ball and threw it too hard. It just makes your arm want to hang limp. The location seems to be on the outside of the arm, half way from the elbow to the shoulder. I have golfers elbow in my right arm (notice the strap in my pictures) and know what that feels like and it isn't it. I can shoot through it, but it is certainly uncomfortable. Also, I can't take any medications that have anti-inflammatory ingredients as I take warafin for AF.

[SPIKER]

It sounds like you need to lower the weight on your bow. I have gotten this exact pain when trying to up my poundage even a little. I will also feel the stress in the bottom of my forearm, between the wrist and the elbow.

How often do you shoot, and how long each session?

[BT]

This is a strange area to get pain from a bow
Generally speaking you will either notice something in the elbow or the shoulder socket.

Lowering the weight may be a good thing to start with if you are able to do that.
Another question I would ask is , are you pumping the bow when you draw?.
What I mean by this is , are you holding the bow so that the arrow is skyward as you drawl?.
I do not suggest this practice but if you have nothing at all in the backgound for a distance of 200 yards I might suggest this practice as it relieves alot of stress on the arm.
As your arm strengthens you will be able to get away from this practice.
If you use this practice , you should get away from it as soon as you are able too.

If you are already pumping the bow then it is too heavy and you need to reduce the weight.

[hopesman]

Thanks for the comments. I started out with the bow at 55 # and have left it there. I didn't notice anything at all the first few times that I shot and I don't believe that I am struggling with the DW but I will ask those whom I shoot with. I think that the first couple of times a shot I may have pumped the bow a bit but I don't think that I do now. Again, I will ask stilllearning to watch the next time we shoot together. I normally shoot for 1.5-2 hours taking turns with the others. It probably means that I shoot 20-30 arrows and it is maximum of 2-3 times per week. I tried shooting some this morning and didn't notice the ache right away but it was there after two rounds of 6 arrows each. I think I did 4 rounds and then stopped as I didn't want to aggravate the condition. I noticed the ache for about 20-30 minutes as it gradually faded away. More of an aggravation that anything else On a positive note, the issue with the shock stop was easily corrected by a little adjustment and now the bow is quiet like before I changed the DL from 31" to 30".

[BT]

Stick to 6 shots in the morning and 6 at night for a couple of weeks.
You sound as though you have torn a muscle ..... just drop back on the routine but continue with it.

[hopesman]

Thanks BT. I could very well be something like that I wish that I could shoot like you recommend but I can't as I don't have a place in my backyard to do it. I go to stilllearnings place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It will be hard to limit the number of shots but I will have to do something different to get it to come around

[BT]

hopesman said:

It will be hard to limit the number of shots but I will have to do something different to get it to come around

Good attitude!
It will pay off