Dropping bow weight: dilemma

slowbowjoe · March 16, 2015, 06:27:00 PM

Well one day I was shooting my 48" Javaman just fine, as usual, but felt a little sore after a nice stumping outing.
Next day, couldn't even draw it. Nor my wife's 44# Toelke. All I could manage is my first (adult) bow, a 40#er.

Now I'm OK with 44# or so, but can only draw, but not hold, the 48#er.
I don't want to jeopardize my recovery, and realize I need to shoot around 44# or less for some months yet. I could get my Falcon (my favorite bow right now) reduced to around 43#, or perhaps sell it, and pick up another fine used bow if I keep looking. My 40#er is OK for now, but it's a pretty cheep old Stemmler, and I'd prefer to keep shooting something of better performance.

So I'm curious - what would you guys suggest in this sort of situation?

DennyK · March 16, 2015, 06:35:00 PM

I wouldn't shoot anything for the next couple weeks. Let the damage that was done heal.

Krex1010 · March 16, 2015, 07:40:00 PM

I wouldn't shoot either, if in a week or two you still can't shoot your bows I would get to the dr, Id hate to see you have a minor issue turn major if it could be avoided.

halfseminole · March 16, 2015, 08:35:00 PM

I agree with the one before me here.

tracker12 · March 16, 2015, 08:40:00 PM

Tendonitis will not go away unless you rest and ice it. I have had three surgeries on my right shoulder from to much baseball. Every now and then it acts up. It will continue to ache until I rest and ice. My main bow is either a 43# RER or 43# Big River. Both are very easy on the shoulder.

**DONOTDELETE** · March 16, 2015, 09:03:00 PM

What's your draw length bro... i may have something perfect for you in stock i'd sell at a discounted rate just to keep you going.....

Please let me know soon i just advertized this long bow.

slowbowjoe · March 16, 2015, 10:54:00 PM

Kirk, thank you for the thoughtful consideration - PM sent.

Meanwhile, I'm going easy on the shoulder- a few arrows here and there out of the 40#er, and occasional draw on a 44 or my 48#, just to sense how things are progressing. definitely seeing improvement, but it's a slow process.

mark Willoughby · March 16, 2015, 11:22:00 PM

Brother I am in the same exact situation the best thing for you to do as hard as I know it's going to sound is to put the bow down for a bit I went from a 58 # bow to a 35# a shoulder injury is nothing to play with and my problem started out just like yours one day I texted my buddie all depressed Bc I struggled to pull my bow the next day it was impossible I put it down for about a month to let my self heal and am now shooting the 35# comfortably I can pull the 58 but I'm not going to risk it personally just my .02 not worth much but something to sleep on God bless you and I hope you get better

saltwatertom · March 17, 2015, 01:48:00 AM

The first four posts hit it right. Lay off for now and see a doc or a physical therapist for the correct road to get healed up right.
Good luck, and remember, sometimes going slow is the way to get there faster. ;-)

saltwatertom · March 17, 2015, 01:49:00 AM

The first four posts hit it right. Lay off for now and see a doc or a physical therapist for the correct road to get healed up right.
Good luck, and remember, sometimes going slow is the way to get there faster. ;-)

Pheonixarcher · March 17, 2015, 04:18:00 AM

Fly low and slow to keep out of trouble! You probably shouldn't touch the heavier bow for a while. At least until you are sure of the cause of your pain and weakness. Going to the Doc is a very good idea! There are some viruses that can cause muscle weakness, even arthritis and tendinitis. Not to mention, it is also very easy to damage the shoulder when it has been over-stressed. Good luck with a quick recovery.

njloco · March 17, 2015, 06:54:00 AM

Indian clubs !

OregonTom · March 17, 2015, 10:34:00 AM

Both of my shoulders, rota-tor cuffs give me problems. There have been times that I can barely pick up a bow let alone draw it. Take a couple weeks off but keep stretching , moving and doing light exercises.

slowbowjoe · March 17, 2015, 11:54:00 AM

Great to have the encouragement, support, and good advice here.
I have been taking it quite easy, and things are slowly improving.
Time for me to be more disciplined about stretching, and working with some light weights (meaning dumbbell weights - my 40# bow is the other lighter weight!)

In the long run, I'm thinking it'll be a good idea to drop down to 40-43#'s as my everyday bow weight. Not sure yet what bow that will be.

Bjorn · March 17, 2015, 12:59:00 PM

I would not hesitate to drop bow weight or go to the colored rubber bands sold for therapy uses. There have been several incidents that have had me shooting an 18# bow for a couple of weeks and longer before working back to my regular 50# bow. About 10 years ago I dropped permanently from 58# to 50#, and I may drop further one day.

pdk25 · March 17, 2015, 06:05:00 PM

No good reason to push it. You have to let the damage get healed and get rid of the inflammation. Asking for trouble, otherwise.

RC · March 18, 2015, 09:10:00 PM

I hurt my shoulder and neck years ago and never let it heal. I could not put the bow down. I would drop poundage and it felt better but still ached at times. I went cold turkey for a while after deer season and let the shoulder heal. I was weaker but now shoot a lot with zero pain and have worked my way back up too 55 lbs. still no pain. I am gonna hunt with a 52@27 mohawk.
Go fishing a while and let it heal up. RC

Orion · March 18, 2015, 09:13:00 PM

Good advice from RC. In case you haven't fishing in a while (bow shooting will do that to you), it's still fun. Good luck.

arrow flynn · April 01, 2015, 10:13:00 PM

cannabis oil and serrapeptase the former is still aagainst the law in many states and serrapeptase has been used in Europe for decades because the makers of ibeprofen and big pharma have kept it out till now.You will not need aspirin or ibuprofen anymore if you use serrapeptase.keep taking 6 to 8 ibuprofen a day and chase it with a 6 pack and it will lead to to a dialysis machine of course it may not help shoulder impingement and stuff like that.mho go ahead and flame

April 02, 2015, 05:37:00 PM

Go to an Orthopaedic Surgeon to get to the bottom line. It is good to have the truth as it stands today as well as your options ongoing.

I gave up archery altogether over a year ago based on my Dr's advise. Finally asked him/her to refer me to a specialist. They did so reluctantly.

The specialist chuckled, interpreted my MRI and took his own x-rays. He told me that I had a most common degeneration in my shoulder that kept a "tendonitius" alive and hot.

He gave me two options: Take a good steroid injection directly into the affected area (that works) and come back when that isn't working for another...

or..

Schedule a rather simple and non-evasive surgery to remove the irritation (calcification/arthuritus) and be done with it.

My Dr. would have let me suffer forever due to ignorance....seek professional advise.