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Remedy for Archer's Elbow

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Ancient Archer

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have archer's elbow that developed over the past week while practicing for the upcoming deer season and am wondering what those of you that have had it have done to remedy this problem. Anti-inflammatory medication, Motrin, Tylenol, Aleve, haven't dome anything to relieve the pain. It's painful to just hold a drink, turn a door knob, etc. I'm about to visit my PCP for a steroid injection, but I'm curious if any of you have used a compression band, or other device, to help reduce the pain & remedy the problem and if it worked.
I hate not getting ready for the season and the thought of dropping the DW to 40 lbs, but i may have to.
 
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#2 ·
I had this problem a few years ago when I was a idiot and shot for 4 hours at the beginning of indoor season and I suffered for 6 months. Nothing helped until I did a couple things.

1. if using a hand held make sure your grip of the release is a flat hand where your fingers are stretched out in a j hook grip, if not as you overly clinch the release it causes a spongy effect in the forearm muscles as you draw and this injury happens.

2. if using a wrist strap don't squeeze the barrel of the release behind the trigger for the same reason because it locks up the forearm muscles for no reason and doesn't assist in the draw cycle but it can cause injury.

3. go to walmart and in the pharmacy area get a 30 dollar electric shock thing that has little sticky pads that you put on the skin and it sends little pulses of shock into the muscles and uses AAA batteries.

4. Only shoot one arrow and then go get the arrow when shooting, this forces you to focus on quality instead of tons of shots.

The little electric shock thing fixed my arm pain within a week after spending 6 months suffering so hopefully it can help you, good luck.
 
#3 ·
Yes, BTDT myself. There's no other choice but a fairly lengthy period of rest and then lowering your draw weight when you do return to shooting. I did find that shooting a handheld aggravated it for me, which was partly why I eventually went back to a wrist strap release. The wrist strap allows me to draw the bow involving only the bare minimum of small muscles, which helped me out considerably. With my handheld, I was probably doing what Padgett describes above....

lee.
 
#5 ·
Rest and ice. And as much as it may drive you nuts, don't shoot your bow. You need to give the inflammation time to settle down. The pain is from inflammation and the more you inflame it, the longer it will take for it to go away. There are topical anti-inflammatories like Voltaren gel which may be able to help too. When I battled some tennis elbow in my left arm elbow which is my arm, I found that the way I slept at night and what position my arm/elbow was in played a direct role in the pain level or healing process. Keeping my arm as straight as possible and not bent or twisted in anyway while sleeping helped a lot.
 
#6 ·
Same as above... handheld caused injury but what really caused it was my form. I was rotating the release from horizontal to upside down vertical (palm out) ON THE DRAW. This causes a lot of twisting stress on the muscles. I got over it by switching to a wrist strap and pulling only with my back muscles- no gripping the release. After it healed (6-8 months) and I returned to shooting with a handheld release (1 year), I made SURE to hold my hand flat and then rotate (and only a little... no more palm out stuff here!) once I was in the let-off zone.

To help with recovery, I wore a cut-off Thorlo support sock (quite a bit of compression) on my draw arm, from forearm over elbow. That seemed to help when shooting. I took a minimum of pain stuff because I know my tendency would be to shoot more and that's not going to help the problem heal.
 
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#7 ·
take a bottle of rubbing alcohol .get a bottle of 100 aspirin. smash them up then put them in the alcohol let them dissolve . shake well before use. pat the stuff on direct to the area. the stuff is called [witches brew ] then use a arm strap between the elbow and forearm. wear it when you shoot.....WARNING dont get this in your eyes and do not get this stuff on your family jewels it wont be pretty....
 
#8 ·
I have had archers elbow now (in bow arm) for over a year. Two steroid shots - physical therapy - ice - heat - flex bar exercises - etc. and nothing has helped. If I were you I would take a break right now until you are completely pain free. If not you may end up in a long term battle. Shooting is life and I haven't been able to for five months. Just happy my setup is ready to go. Just takes one, or three or four depending on how many tags you have. Hope you heal bud. Meanwhile keep the advise coming fellas!
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Great suggestions! Thank you all for your comments. I'm going to put the bow away for as long as it takes for the elbow to heal. Then I'm going to crank down the DW to limb minimum when I resume which would be 40 lbs. . In the meantime I may hunt with a camera.
 
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#12 ·
Been there and done that several years back. I was told to ditch the handheld releases by an ortopedic, which I did, sold them all.
Then after more than a year of healing, I started buying them all back, cause I hate index trigger releases.
Haven't had a problem since.
 
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#13 ·
Ice, rest, compression. Get a tendonitis band for the forearm and use it anytime you will be lifting anything. It will help a lot. ICE, not heat. Rest is the best therapy along with a steroid injection and good anti-inflammatories such as Mobic (meloxicam) or prescription strength Ibuprofen. I fought tendonitis for a while, but once I found out what triggers it for me, I have it under control and can shoot how often I want without any pain.
 
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#14 ·
REST....

ICE....

TIME....

For two years i shot a oneida 40-50 pound bow. That's how long it took for it to go away completely. Now being 8 years later i shoot 64 pounds but i'll never purchase an aggressive bow again. Mathews C4, Oneidas, Target stuff and low pound stuff.
 
#15 ·
You have tendinitis. Real common in tennis, baseball, etc. Ibuprofen is good to help reduce swelling and pain. Rest to alleviate the inflammation. Ice to help reduce swelling for the first 2-4 days. If you need to use the elbow I would recommend a compression sleeve. I had to wear one when I played baseball and it helped a ton. The sleeve helps warm the area up but is also will make your arm sweat and the sleeve soaks it all up. If it works, you may want a second one just for hunting to keep the smell out of it.
 
#16 ·
Quite a bit of it too comes down to pain tolerance and just how bad do you want to draw the bow. My elbow can range from dull throb just sitting around to full blown feels on fire depending on the day and activities. Some days picking my 2 year old out of his bed makes my arm quiver for an hour and me want to cry. I still manage to get to the gym and hammer out 40-50 sets of different types of curls. I do so because I see results from those types of workout and to me that is worth the pain. I don't hownever shoot on those days or heavy deadlift/shrug days. If it is not one of those days I suck it up and shoot. I realize the life I want to lead, the one that helps me pay the bills is dependent on me being able to stay in above average shape. If I can bear it for that then I need to realize I can as well for shooting, just limit how long at a time I do. I am not trying to sound like Rich Piana here but your body can do so much if you can continually push it. At some point you will have to stop and question your approach, but for me that time wouldn't be leading up to archery season.
 
#17 ·
Ibuprofen, gel cold packs, and rest. I also lowered my draw weight after I recovered.
 
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#18 ·
I'm going to go against the grain here.

Exercise.

Muscles work in groups. Flexors and extensors. Most injuries are actually over use of flexors and under use of extensors. This is not a professional opinion, BTW. But I've helped folks cure pain in the wrist, fore arm, and elbow using this idea. And a friend is a NMR message therapist and they track down muscles that have turned on or off too much and reprogram them. I'm actually working with her on my back pain currently. BTW, the problem isn't where the pain is. It's the other side that does not hurt and muscles in my thigh and calf that have turned on too much and not turning off.

Try this. Get a large rubber band. Wrap it around your fingers. Extend the fingers open as much as you can. Do about 10 reps or so on each hand. Even if both don't hurt. increase reps or sets as you get used to it. You can do this a couple times a day. The muscles used to grip in the wrist and forearm get overworked and overpower the extensor that are used less. You have to build the extensors back up. You have nothing to loose. I've helped guys that were about to quit at work from the pain.

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/r...itation-exercises/wrist-hand-finger-exercises/finger-exercises-with-rubber-band


When my forearm and elbow were doing this I tried drugs, ice, message, and compression sleeves. NOTHING worked. But the above completely fixed it in a few weeks.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Kinda late for this post, but on 9/26/2017, after thinking about some oif your suggestions, I purchased a pair of Simien elbow brace (https://www.amazon.com/SIMIEN-2-Count-Golfers-Compression-Sweatband/dp/B00QY0EFJM), one as backup when cleaning the other. I was curious (actually couldn't resist) how the elbow would feel when drawing the bow which was still set at 50 lbs DW. I was pleasantly surprised to find it significantly easier to draw the bow than before. I'll continue to lay off the bow, and other elbow related activities for the season as I want a full recovery for golf, fly fishing & archery next year. Thanks again for your suggestions.
 
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Ancient Archer
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