I did a search on this, but thought I'd ask the question again.
My shoulder is not good. I messed it up two years ago and have never quite recovered. I went through PT and things got better for a while, but I'm still at a point where if I shoot 20-30 arrows I am really feeling it the next day, and that's with my lighter bows.
My question is, should I just go ahead and go under the knife? Any one with similar experiences have some insight? Thanks,
Stan
As you can see, it ain't healin' itself, get it fixed. Good luck.
I have the same problem. I sold all my bows over 50 lbs. Use rubber bands for exercise PT taught me. Shoot a compound (Oneida) set at 48# with 80% let-off with a release when my shoulder is bothering me. Recovery is a very long process. My shoulder was out about 4 years ago and has never recovered enough to shoot a 60-65# bow (which was my preference yrs. ago). The other thing I was told is that if it hurts-STOP. I'm 66 and also believe age has something to do with it. Good luck
there are other options i'd pursue before surgery.
getting into a daily stretching and pt routine is what saved my long time 'frozen shoulder' from the scalpel.
lotsa times the problem isn't really in the painful area, it's instigated from somewhere else.
since doing the pt exercises, stretching, therapeutic massage and chiropractic, there is no need for cutting me up at all and i'm back to my 55# bows and feeling/shooting great.
there are homeopathic 'meds' that can help as well. never believed in that stuff 'til i found one that absolutely worked for me, and continues to help. it's an anti inflammatory gel called 'traumeel' - it works. use it three times a day on yer shoulder, in addition to the pt and stretching.
best of luck.
You haven't said what the problem is...bicep tendon? Rotator cuff? Impingement? If you haven't at least visited an Orthopod, it's hard to give any advice.
I've had three shoulder operations and shoot a 65# bow daily, up to 100 arrows a session. One of those was necessary due to tremendous damage requiriing screws, etc. The other two were more discretionary - glad I had them done. Still have a hole in a rotator cuff that I won't have fixed unless it worsens - the recovery is too long for an old man.
I had rotator cuff surgery yesterday; get a hold of me a year from now and I'll let you know if it was worth it...
Best advice I can give is to have a really good doctor who specializes in it check you out. No matter how well meaning, the advice you get directly from a message board is not adequate; bozara alluded to it - without knowing exactly what the problem is, any advice you may get here is somewhere between spot-on and completely wrong.
Best of luck to you regardless of your course of action.
S.
I would say do it modern medicine has come light years and what was a scary surgery years ago is now a piece of cake.Go and get the tune up! and throw in some new knees.I know plenty of people who have done it. :thumbsup:
I have been in some pretty bad accidents ( being young and dum)
I was shooting 60 but since my "accidents" every time i would pull it back my collar bone popped out of place. I shot with it out and could shoot ok but it sure did not feel good getting it put back in place.
What I did was buy a 47lb bow and now I can shoot all day with no problems. I dropped 13 lbs of bow and have a great arrow setup with a carbon with EFOC and I am not to sure its not a better setup then my 60lber anyways.
Best of luck and if you do get surgery make sure you take into account your recovery so you get healed properly so you don't have to do it twice.
by all means, see at least a few orthopedists. be aware that any surgery is a gamble - i've had my
share, some good, some not so good. western medicine hasn't come a long way at all, not by a long shot. investigate alternatives before doing anything invasive and non-retractable.
Like bozara I've got hardware in one of my shoulders to hold it together while it healed. Had some pretty severe damage but doc fixed it.
But I don't have the strength I previously had, even with a lot of rehab and exercises.
It took close to two years to get it back to really being functional.
The main thing is to do the therapy and exercises. Even if it hurts - a lot. MY PT told me "if you think this hurts, it's nothing compared to what it would be if the shoulder freezes up"
THE PROB. MAY BE SOMEWHERE ELSE; A COUPLE OF M.R.I.'S AND EX-RAYS DISCOVERED THAT MY PROB. ISN'T MY SHOULDER (CAN'T RAISE MY LEFT ARM MUCH), BUT A DISC PROB. IN THE NECK VERTABRA. GOIN TO SEE THE NECK-GUY TODAY TO SEE WHAT HE RECOMMENDS. THIS'LL BE THE FORTH DOCTOR'S OPINION OF THE TESTING THAT WAS ONE, THEN I'LL DECIDE WHAT TO DO. DON'T JUMP INTO SURGERY, BUT SEVERAL OPINIONS FROM THE ONES WITH THE KNOWLEDGE MAKES IT EASIER/SMARTER TO PICK A SOLUTION.
I'm 2 months into an open rotater cuff repair surgey.I had a massive tear in my left rotater cuff from a work related injury.I started therapy about a month ago.It's still somewhat painful and I'm only doing passive range of motion therapy right now.I should start to strengthen it in 2-3 weeks.The doctor said that it will be 6 months before I'm doing my job again.The therapist said that I should be able to shoot again in a few months.Shoulder surgery is serious and takes a long recovery time but in my case it was necessary.I couldn't even draw my 44# recurve before surgery.I bought some 37# limbs for my recurve to use when I'm able to shoot again.Hopefully in 3 months.
Stan,
You and I have met in Vancouver [ I think we actually did a bow trade ] I had the Deltiod detach in my "right shoulder" at 55 years of age. In this case they put a "heil coil" in the bone in the joint with a post that they used to re-attach the tendon and muscle with kevlar thread. My shoulder was then immobilized for 6 weeks and then into theopary... Now that hurts worse than the surgery but well worth it :scared: My work was terribly demanding on the body. Over the past 28 years I have had 3 hernia's repaired and surgery on both knees and now both shoulders. As a result of all of this I'm now retired on a medical from the RR and loving every minute of it.
HARLEY'S and STICKBOWS.. Life is wonderful!!
Went back into surgery with the same DR...he's excellent by the way, and in Portland Ore. [ I'll give you his contact info if you like.]
This surgery was a "Piece of Cake" compared to the first. :wavey: :coffee:
home ph# 360-263-7974
cell ph# 360-989-6355
See a ortho doc. and get a cat scan done,this will tell exactly whats wrong. I had my right sholder done in 6 01 it was badddd took 9 mo. of rehab.and in 9 02 had the left sholder done same as the other one,but in my case it was an industrial acc.
I can shoot my bows pritty good ive been on per. disibility ever since.
But in your case it might not be a big prob.get it checked outfrom a good doctor{ tell him to give you an MRI this will show up whats wrong.
Good Luck
Thanks for all the replies. I should've mentioned what my family doc said and recommended first. His initial diagnosis was rotator cuff tendonitis. That was what spurred the PT. When it didn't help the diagnosis changed to probable rotator cuff tear.
I was x-rayed on the first visit, not x-rayed after the PT.
I have not seen an ortho. doc. I believe I will.
Thanks again.
in your best interests, get more than one professional opinion, and if at all possible visit a naturopathic doc.
MRIs don't always tell them what's wrong. I obviously had something not right but it didn't show up on the MRI. Doc had to go exploring to find the problem.
A few years back I had a torn rotator cuff and an impengement on my right shoulder . I thought I would never shoot a longbow again but after about six months I started with An old 25# recurve.I was so thrilled to be shooting again.In a years time I was able to shoot my 55 lb longbow with slight discomfort,but the pain subsided shortlt thereafter.If I didnt have repair I would surely be worse now.If you get it done be patient,and you will be alright.Best wishes, Glen
i am going through the same thing right now. i have been diagnoised with tendonitus in my rotator cuff. i had mri's and x-ray. i got a shot of cortizone that helped it for about 6 months. i was suppose to do PT but got wasn't able to continue because of work and now i am paying for it. i started back with PT and it seem to be getting better. 45# bows and lots of stretching after doc's advise
benji
QuoteOriginally posted by Bowmag:
MRIs don't always tell them what's wrong. I obviously had something not right but it didn't show up on the MRI. Doc had to go exploring to find the problem.
Same thing happened with me. The MRI didn't show anything. The ortho did laproscopic surgery(I think that was what it was called) and went in my shoulder in 6 places. Shoulder feels great going on 3 yrs.
Good luck Stan. After hanging drywall and framing for 15 years, I'm hoping I don't have to experience shoulder problems. Let me know if I can help at all.
I am rehabing an impinged rotator cuff, and have not shot period for several months. The Doc said, ignoring the pain caused by the impingment, would eventually end in a tear. I think, their diagnosis is correct and have committed to following their instructions to strengthen the rotator cuff and avoid any further stress to that area. It feels better after several weeks of limited exercise for the rotator cuff. It may sound strange, but exercising the deltoid muscle is exactly what I should not do, as it makes the problem worse.
I am not qualified to give advise, but if it were me, I would follow their advise, or get a second opinion. Trying to live with the pain, or working through it, just wasn't working. I tried that for two months.
Good luck, Barry
How does rotator cuff tendonitis differ from rotator cuff tear in terms of symptoms? I injured my shoulder last fall. It hasn't gone away. Yet I full mobility and otherwise doesn't seem nearly as severe as what I've read about a torn rotator cuff.
I am not going to tell you what is wrong with your shoulder, but if it is still working some and shows pain the next day, it is not totally locked up. Chiropractors and homeopathic supplements have saved my shoulders more than once from wear and tear strains. My wife is just recovering successfully from a shoulder and snow shovel complication, with the same regime that I followed. When my shoulder went bad one year I started swing drawing the bow up to target more before I began my straight back part of the draw and kept my arms closer to my body. the difference has the same effect as if you to pick up a bucket at arms length or right along your side. Also, one year my wife started drawing her bow so that it was pointing below the target and then she would raise the bow after she was at full draw. This put stress on her shoulders and caused pain. the fix was to get her to swing draw the bow all the way up to the target and then finishing with a short straight draw on target. This also increased her rabbit killing consistent accuracy out to 45 yards, which I still find disturbing.
I've had pain in my right shoulder for a couple years. I have no idea what it is, it's just a dull ache. I'm curious as to what you guy's do for stretching or warming your shoulders up before you shoot? Thank's, Jason