Shoulder

[Scoot]

Well, I screwed up my shoulder. I drew my bow back about a month ago and got a weird, hot pain in the middle of my shoulder. I immediately knew something wasn't right, so I quit shooting that day. It felt better a couple weeks later, so I tried to shoot again. No good... a bunch of pain in the shoulder after only a few shots. After talking with several people with shoulder problems and doing some digging on my own, I'm pretty sure I've got either a torn rotator cuff or a screwed up labrum. Either one is no dang good and will have a serious impact on this coming bow season for me.

I gave it the two weeks rest, but when that didn't work, I immediately scheduled the appointment. I wanted to get on it right away- lots of people I spoke with said they didn't do that. Doc told many of them if they had, they may have avoided surgery. Anything I can do to not miss a bowhunting season sounds smart to me, so I scheduled right away.

Doctor's appointment today at 1:20- wish me luck!

[DonBo]

Too bad you're not 55. You could just go get a crossbow.

NOTE: Heavy scarcasm here. Please don't turn this into another crossbow debate.

Sorry to hear about your injury Scoot. Hope you get it back in shape before this fall. I'd be devistated, as I'm sure you are.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Good luck with your appointment Scoot. Shoulder problems are no fun, the best thing you can do is not push things too hard. Hopefully it is a nothing some light rehab can't fix.

[96trigger]

Good luck, hope all turns out well.

[elkhuntingfan]

I've worked with a lot of people who have had rotator cuff or torn labrum surgeries. They are typically very successful with a good recovery of both strength and range of motion. Most of the surgeries are done arthroscopically. If you get it taken care of now, you should be good to go by September.

[Code-Man]

I had shoulder surgery at 18 from football...should have done it right away and keep up with PT. Had mine at Orthopedic Associates in Fargo on 25th. Hopefully you wont need it but better be more cautious cause bow season starts in less then 6 months!

[harvey lee]

I have had both of mine done Scoot. I had a scope surgery on one and an open incision on the other.

For me the scope surgery was far worse and also a much longer recovery time. Both shoulders had the same work done. I would never choose the scope surgery done for my rotor cuff repiar.

I did miss one season of archery hunting after the first surgery as I had it dome in March and it was not ready in October. The open surgery was also done in March of the next year and I was shooting again in late July.

It can be a painful one but my shoulders are now great again.

Good luck and if you have any question about either procedure, you have my number.

[Wanderer]

Good luck Scoot.

[sticknstring]

I hope all goes well. You may have to learn to shoot left-handed this fall or drop down to 40# limbs. At least you'll be in the woods!

[mrklean]

good luck scoot hopefully its not to bad and you wont miss any time shooting

[fishing 101]

had a torn labrum (scoped). Had surgery late August, and I was muskie fishing in November already (didn't dare shoot bow that fall). PT was going great for 2 weeks, then fell on shoulder, PT was a b!tch from there on. If I wouldn't have fallen, I really believe that I would have been back to 100% in about 8 weeks, but who knows. Still not 100% for throwing a ball or climbing a ladder, but everything else is good. Just commit to the PT and it will go good. You might not make bow opener, but should definitely be back for late season. Good luck.

[Scoot]

Thanks for the reply and the well-wishes, fellas. Good news from the doc- I've only got a swollen/tweaked bursa sack and a tweaked tendon. He figured with a few weeks of PT I'll be in good shape. He said I definitely don't have a torn rotator cuff or a bad labrum. So... with any luck, I'll be flinging arrows in a few weeks!

Thanks again for the info and pick-me-ups.

[Code-Man]

Great news for you, bad news for the deer!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Great news... Did he say that stretching and or something like that would have helped?.. It amazes me how many people shoot and do not stretch first.

[Scoot]

Great news... Did he say that stretching and or something like that would have helped?.. It amazes me how many people shoot and do not stretch first.

Nope, he didn't say, but I didn't ask either.

This is interesting- I stretch my legs multiple times every day. I've got a couple stress fractures in my spine and if I don't stretch my legs good, they tighten up quickly to protect my back (according to my doc). So, I'm adimate about stretching. However, it's never once occurred to me to stretch anything before I shoot my bow. I'll have to rethink this...

DD, what stretches do you do before you shoot?

[Deitz Dittrich]

When shooting leagues, I stretch probably about 20 mins before each shoot.. for practice I still bet I spend a good 10 mins.. I do mostly shoulders, neck and upper back.. but also do legs and such as all the stress from up top can just crawl down the spine. Hard to really describe what they are, even as a PE teacher I am not really aware of names for them.. But arm rotations and holds across the body line.. and up over the head and behind the back ect....

Try it.. it will make pulling the bow back easier as well.

[DonBo]

Good advice DD. I never thought much about it either, but the first couple arrows are sometimes tough. Probably some simple stretches beforhand would make the whole process easier. (and safer)

Scoot, glad the news was good!

[Musky Buck]

Got issues myself, injured in 1989 playing college baseball, never got it fixed, now lots of arthritis in there, good luck with it. I'm sure the Obama care will take care of it.

[harvey lee]

Great to hear that its not a surgery Scoot.

See you this fall. Hopefully this fall we can hook up for a few days of hunting at the ranch rather than missing each other all the time.

I hope I get out in the woods more than last fall but my back will decide that I guess.

[Scoot]

Great to hear that its not a surgery Scoot.

See you this fall. Hopefully this fall we can hook up for a few days of hunting at the ranch rather than missing each other all the time.

I hope I get out in the woods more than last fall but my back will decide that I guess.

Yes, I was very relieved to get that news. Yep, I'd definitely like to team up with you and meet your son too. Maybe the three of us can backburner that hunt out West we talked about and think about when it might come together down the road. Regardless, I'd like to get together with you out there.

I hope your back treats you well. Back problems are no fun- trust me, I know about them...

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Good luck with your shoulder, Scoot! Good to hear you won't be missing out this fall.

I recently had a scare coming down with a bad case of tennis elbow. It didn't occur to me at first, but then I started thinking of bow hunting and rushed to dig my bow out of the case and pulled it back and held it as long as I could. Fortunately, I didn't feel any pain. Hopefully it heals well before then anyway, but it did spook me for a second.

[engfish]

Scoot, glad to hear you got good news from the doctor. If we would have lost you and Joe Nathan in the same season, I would have stopped reading the Forums! The upside of the discussion was some of the feedback related to stretching. It seems like there a lot of "old jocks" sitting out there in tree stands and in ground blinds bowhunting, and we don't take the time to do what we did when we were playing--warm up. While it's probably not going to make a huge difference on most days we're hunting, it sure makes sense when we're practicing. I always enjoy what you and others in this forum have to say, especially when it benefits others.

[Scoot]

Scoot, glad to hear you got good news from the doctor. If we would have lost you and Joe Nathan in the same season, I would have stopped reading the Forums! ... I always enjoy what you and others in this forum have to say, especially when it benefits others.

LOL! That's funny stuff, engfish. Somehow I don't think the two quite compare... I appreciate your compliment though!

Yes, lots of people here who are willing to help out and offer up their $.02 on what might be helpful. It's a cool resource, for sure.