having had MANY forms of joint paint and joint ailments. from tendinitis to frozen shoulder syndrome to lymes disease, here's my two cents worth that i hope will help ....

FIRST, rule out that you don't have a tick borne disease such as lyme's.  as i've written about perhaps a dozen times, i had classic 'tennis elbow', went to 3 docs and 2 were orthopedic surgeons, it was NOT tendinitis, it was lymes disease and it took me 9 months of misery, cortisone and death delivering anti-inflams to find that out in a 1/2 hour visit to a naturopath doc.  i was put in remission and back to pulling string within 2 weeks, thanx to prescribed herbal supplements only.  also, i never had any of the classic tick bit signs of lymes.  you may never ever know that you were tick or bug bit, but yer joints will tell you otherwise within a week to several months.  DO NOT rely on western medicine to tell you that you don't have lymes!  all those blood tests and such are gambles and totally unreliable!  get thee to a naturopath doc who's more than familiar with lymes and other bug bite diseases.  

surgery - absolute LAST resort if all else fails over a very long period of time; don't take surgery as lightly as most surgeons advise, it's NOT good

cortisone, steroids - to be avoided like the plague if at all possible, they only mask the underlying problem and never ever will fix it

anti-inflammatory drugs - take ONLY the holistic, natural herbal stuff, stay as far away from concocted toxic drug anti-inflams as possible, they are all known causes of liver ailments at the very least, ask me how i painfully know this

physical rehab - the absolute first line of defense and the proper thing to begin asap, IF lymes is ruled out; remember that for the most part RICE is your friend; rest, ice, compression, elevation

Mine was calcific tendonitis(bone spur) on my tendon and it didn't respond to therapy at all.  Intensly painful and I couldn't shoot for 3 months.  It resolved itself in May when I had a tractor accident and tore the tendon.  The doc took care of the bone spur at the same time as the repair and I'm as stong as ever.  I don't think the bone spur would have gone away on it own so see an orthpediac doctor soon.

I am not sure what kind of bow you shoot, but my elbow always acts up more when I shoot my heavy HH's, as they have quite a bit of thump.  Might try lesser weight, and bows with less hand shock.  Heavy arrows also help to reduce the hand shock.

Got an elbow problem myself at the moment. My daughter keeps asking me about it and if I have seen the doctor yet. Will have to go just to keep her happy,    Which elbow do most of you get the pain in, mine is my left/bow arm, though it flared up while I have been off shooting for a couple of weeks. A Physio friend of mine said to ice but to make sure that I don't ice more than 20 minutes as the nerves run close to the skin and you can damage them with too much icing. I get burning pain while my arm is resting, which she said is probably nerve related. May see the doc today.

Rob any suggestions on the natural anti-inflamatories and supplements.

QuoteOriginally posted by razorback:
Rob any suggestions on the natural anti-inflamatories and supplements.

i use zyflamend, found in any health food/herbal store.  also consider traumeel anti-inflammatory gel (not the cream), rubbed into your elbow - that has at times worked magic for me.

I laid off shooting for couple months, dropped down a couple pounds in draw weight and when I resumed shooting....limited myself to quality vs. quantity sessions.

So far, so good.

As you get older most folks are going to have "pain"; however, most don't think about it until they are forced to. Playing aggressive sports when young, being Special Warfare in the military... past surgeries... well, you just accept pain. Then, hopefully, the smart light turns on from within and you start to think (most folks call it "maturity").  Such is the case with your elbow pain. Pain is a guiding light.

Most of what Rob stated above I can go along with; however, I would suggest MICE instead of RICE. It will allow for faster healing time.  

"M" for slow range of movement... as much as you can up to the point of discomfort, but NOT into it, or thru it. Your goal will be to increase range of motion SLOWLY... don't look for leaps and bounds. If there is swelling, the slow easy movements actually pump the congested material out of the area. Of course, rest is necessary, but... just laying there? My thoughts? Move it or lose it!  Work smarter, not harder... get results that can last.

Also, for some folks... Heat works better than ice. Saying that, try what works for you, and your body. If it's Ice, ice cubes work the best, not the cold packs. (Vasodilatation will occur automatically at approx. the 15-20 minute mark.)

Just for reference: At one point, Tennis elbow and Golfer's Elbow were both viewed (along with many other injuries) as "Tendonitis"; however, studies have proven most of these concerns are actually overuse injuries (tendonosis)... not inflammation (tendonitis).

So, many folks are still be diagnosed with "tendonitis" yet a major portion don't have "...itis".  I can't remember the percentages, but I think it's less than 10% of the diagnosed repetitive stress injuries are actually "tendonitis".   So, why do doctors still use the word "tendonitis"? I would think it's just easier for the patient to accept the tendonitis word (that way the doctor doesn't have to explain the difference).

Still, I would suggest you get a referral to an Orthopedic / Sport Physician to rule out "other things" first. Then find a PT (with manual focus) or knowledgeable – full time - Massage Therapist (one with an orthopedic focus...not spa back rubbing treatments).

Some folks go to an ND because they've tried doctors / medicine with no results, and it just so happens that the ND's solution worked. To me, it doesn't matter... doctor, naturopath, or the dog Vet... if it solution worked... it worked! After all, go to Wal-Mart and you'll see rows and rows of topical angelicas (Ben-Gay, Icy Hot, Tiger Balm, ect.). What works for one will or may not work for someone else.

I've been providing orthopedic services for the past 16 years... this is just my two cents.

Hi! My way to cure mine: Ibuprofeine to reduce the inflammation and light exercise for the arm - good warm up before shooting and if the pain is worrying me, not so many shots at a time 5 - 12 ...and that dont matter too much, because of one master shooter adviced to do rather just few focused shots than lots of sloppy ones...I have bows from 30 to 65 # and I choose the one, which comes back with ease...

Razorback I sent you a PM