Bow hunting with a shoulder injury

[RafterR]

I have had several shoulder injuries over the last 15 years. I haven’t tried to shoot a bow in the last 6-8 years because of it. I found that after drawing a bow more than about 5-6 times becomes hard to do because I can feel my shoulder slipping in the joint now. After starting to starting to study on Western big game hunting I’ve noticed all the extra options for archery hunting. So my question is, can anybody direct me to a viable option for a compound bow that I might could handle or does anyone have any experience with this type of problem? I would like to get back into bow hunting again and wanted to see if someone could point me to some bows to go track down and look at before just jumping out and buying something. Thanks!

 

[JohnCushman]

I'm in the same boat from having my shoulder and brachial plexus torn apart in Iraq. Not only do I have joint damage, but I also have nerve damage. I still shoot my bow as my primary means of hunting. I have to draw a bit oddly, but it's functional. It took me 4 years to be able to draw a bow again after my injury, but 7 years to get back up to 70 pound draw. With today's technology you can still hunt and kill effectively with a 50 pound draw. What I would suggest is to get one of the bows with a wide range of draw weight adjustability and start at a low weight to rebuild your drawing muscles. Mission, PSE, Hoyt, Bowtech, Bear, Diamond all have bows like that. If you put your mind to it, then you'll get it done. Just start out at a really low weight. My guess is that you're shooting too high of a weight now and that's what's messing with your shoulder.

 

[RafterR]

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the draw weight was on the bow I shot last. Odds are you’re probably right because it belonged to one of my buddies. I hadn’t thought about one looking into one that had a wide adjustment range. That’s a good idea. I had sold my bow after the first round of injuries so it’s been 10 years or so since I’ve owned a bow. I’ll look into those options. Thanks John!

 

[JohnCushman]

Glad to help. My 'odd' draw keeps me from teaching lessons at the shop I'm on pro staff, but it keeps me shooting longer each day without feeling like my shoulder is going to come apart. I bring my bow up in front of/into my right armpit. I'm right handed. Then I push the left arm away until it's locked in place and then bring the bow up to it's proper position. Most of my pain is in the draw cycle, so drawing this goofy way takes a lot of the needed muscle out of the equation, thus not hurting so badly and being able to shoot more at a time.

 

[RafterR]

That is an odd draw but I could sure see how that would help out with some of the shoulder issues. I may end up having to adopt something like that. No telling since I’ve been out of the game so long. Thanks a lot for your help on this. Nice to visit with someone else that is dealing the same issues.

 

[CForest]

The best advice I could give would be to go to some bow shops and give some a try. I actually just updated my bow (the old one was 12 years old), and it is incredible the difference with these new bows. They all draw so much smoother it is amazing. That said lbs are lbs, and what you're physically capable of is kind of unknown. I would probably start with a 50-60 lb bow, start shooting at 50 and if things are going well start turning it up. But I wouldn't dish out any cash till you find something you are comfortable with. %Let-off is another thing to look at, the higher it is the easier it will be to hold back. Just make sure you stay within your states legal requirements. Good luck!!

 

[MN Public Hunter]

Personally if this were me I would check into the options of using a crossbow if I wanted to archery hunt. I know some people say it's not archery hunting like using a regular bow, but if my arm were coming out of it's socket I would not bow hunt at all or would look at using a crossbow with a doctors note.

 

[RafterR]

I do use a crossbow some but I don’t know that I can get a doctor note on it. I’ve never looked into it to be honest bc in Texas I don’t have to have one to use it during archery season. I enjoyed shooting a compound bow and would like to again if at all possible. I do have a bow shop locally so I’ll swing in there and see what they can recommend. Thank you for your responses!

 

[Rancho Loco]

First of all, go to a Ortho doc (familiar with the mechanics of archery) and see if there's anything to be done to help you out either through treatment and/or therapy.

 

[Wapiti Warrior]

I had rotater cuff surgery 2 years ago and the one thing I told my doctor and my PT was I want to shoot my bow. So my PT set up my rehab with that in mind and we worked on the mechanics and muscles for pulling a bow. I was shooting my bow with in a year.
John

 

[RafterR]

That’s good to know. I’m not to the point of having surgery on my shoulder yet because drawing a bow is the only thing I’ve found that consistently gives me fits. But I will definitely keep that in mind for when I decide it’s time to get it fixed.

 

[JohnCushman]

The best piece of advice I can give you if you're not to the point of surgery is to start at a rediculously low poundage draw weight. I had to start at 35# when I was able to draw again and work my way back up. You will develop the muscles need to draw a bow and not overdo yourself in the process. The muscles you use to draw a bow aren't ones you normally use in everyday life, so they do take some work. When my wife started out I had her doing excersizes with half full milk jugs of water and working on that before I had her actually shoot her bow. Trying to shoot too much draw weight will not only give you bad form and pain in the long run, it can do more harm than good too. So, don't be afraid of what anyone says about starting at like 30# when you get back in the game. Once you can do that well and easily, crank your bow a turn and they should be 5-6 pounds higher. repeat the process and keep doing that until you are at a huntable draw weight. With today's technology you can easily kill elk with a 50# draw bow with good cut on contact heads.

 

[Hatchie Dawg]

The Iron Scap/Crossover Symmetry system is a fabulous program for general shld health and performance. The program would lend itself to drawing a bow and maintaining the humeral head in the fossa. It is a process gaining strength and stability.
HD

 

[Rancho Loco]

That’s good to know. I’m not to the point of having surgery on my shoulder yet because drawing a bow is the only thing I’ve found that consistently gives me fits. But I will definitely keep that in mind for when I decide it’s time to get it fixed.

Seriously, go to a orthopedic specialist, not the internet.

 

[oldillini]

That’s good to know. I’m not to the point of having surgery on my shoulder yet because drawing a bow is the only thing I’ve found that consistently gives me fits. But I will definitely keep that in mind for when I decide it’s time to get it fixed.

Surgery may not desirable, but sometimes it is the best. Making repairs while they are minor can be a lot easier than waiting until the repairs are extensive. After 3 knee surgeries and 1 shoulder I can say the ones where I waited until I could barely walk or lift a can of soup took much longer to recover from.

My shoulder surgeon told me that frequently a rotator cuff in early stages of tear will exhibit as minor aching and not necessarily out right pain.

If you choose to see the ortho doc, make sure he/she is well recommended. Choose my shoulder doc based on his work with college/pro teams in region.

 

[RafterR]

My biggest problem with having the surgery is that I’m self employed and no insurance. I can’t work I don’t get paid so if it were to all come down to that I’ll just leave the bow out of my hunting program. Cush I do believe I’m going to look into your suggestion of trying a bow that has a low enough draw weight that I can turn up a little at a time. Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

[BRoth82]

Look into the New Spot Hogg Keeton release aid, It's was designed to help hunters with shoulder problems and people who want to draw more poundage but have a hard time pulling it back. I've heard that it can help you pull 5-10 pounds more draw weight with the same amount of effort.

 

[MT_Chad]

Find a good physical therapist. My wife is a pt and a certified strength and conditioning coach and has helped me and a lot of other hunters with shoulder problems. She actually mentioned today about putting together a class here to help bow hunters with exercises and bow mechanics. She told me one of her patients last year bought a bow trainer made specifically for strengthening those muscle groups. Like others have said, get a good adjustable bow and start with what is comfortable.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I had rotater cuff surgery 2 years ago and the one thing I told my doctor and my PT was I want to shoot my bow. So my PT set up my rehab with that in mind and we worked on the mechanics and muscles for pulling a bow. I was shooting my bow with in a year.
John

I just had a major rotator cuff repair on my right side (right handed) last week. You were shooting "within a year". Good God I sure hope that's worse case scenario. My doc said I might be up and shooting in August. What about shouldering a centerfire rifle and shooting it? I can't imagine doing that now, but in 2 months? Maybe wishful thinking. I didn't apply for any archery only hunts this year other than in MT and I'm a little nervous. Never thought a shoulder surgery would be that big of a deal.

 

[BowHuntPhysio]

The archery is inherently stressful on the shoulder as it places the shoulder joint in an unfriendly flexed, adducted, and internally rotated position through the draw cycle. This causes the rotator cuff tendons to become impinged in the shoulder and can lead to repetitive strain and irritation of the cuff. Simply starting at a low draw weight and working up is good sound advice for both a healthy and unhealthy shoulder however should not be the end all be all of exercise for any archer's shoulder. Often the first place to start with a shoulder issue is strengthening the posterior rotator cuff. The posterior cuff is two muscles the infraspinatus and teres minor which are responsible for shoulder external rotation, humeral head depression (avoinding impingement), and keeping the ball glued to the socket. I have included a few links to some very basic exercises that go a long way in helping to alleviate shoulder pain and dysfunction. I am a sports physical therapist and would be more than happy to assist in making recommendations to anyone for their shoulder issues. As always take forum medical advice with a grain of salt (including mine), odd things happen and I have seen a few times people with shoulder pain present with much bigger issues (i.e. tumors). Never hurts to have things looked at by a medical profession as it could save your life. The co-pay is often less than you will pay for a half dozen arrows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNCuZh2Os_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G0feLqXA0E

As for time back to shooting a bow usually 4-6 months would be the time to resume after rotator cuff repair depending on the size of the repair and muscle affected. It is very wise to use a graded progression back to shooting which your PT should be able to devise. It should included very short sessions to start working on technique and taking very few shots at low draw weight. This should progress slowly by all variables including draw weight, shots per session, sessions per week, rest intervals between shots.