I am a right hand shooter , and have tennis elbow (pain) in my left elbow. (bow elbow) I am pulling 55# . Does anyone else have to deal with this? I have had it for months, hunting season is comming, I must practice and tough it out.

Be careful not to make it worse rest is all that helps mine.

Have you tried an cortisone or like injection from a physician...sometimes this can be just enough to get past it. Praying for a speedy recovery

I suffered for years with it while still working. Talk to your Dr. And make sure that is all it is. If it is tennis elbow try some anti inflammation medication and get a wrap for your forearm. it will help. And rest. Lance.

Ice for 15 minutes or so at nite, or couple of times a day even better. There are quite a few exercises that can really help too. Just be consistence and committed to these, and it can really make a difference.

I purchased a custom recurve bow with a pretty nice grip, but something about that bow gave me the same pain in my elbow. No other bow I own gave me a problem. I laid off of that bow and the pain went away within a few weeks. I started shooting it again after I healed and it produced the same results. I sold it.

I had very band tendentious in my bow are for a while, had to stop shooting for while , I used these aids , ice pad after I shot and heat pad in the morning http://www.kingbrand.com/Elbow-Home.php? tid=9184ed50a0d4a6f13c261af687f39224&xc=ffefa6a8c9a0986a762f74d1fec0d03cd 55a57f8 and it really helped , I am free of it now. As I got better I wore a "Copper Wear elbow sleeve when shooting. Today its behind me. Its no fun.

This may sound crazy but I had it and got ultrasound treatments and acupuncture from my chiropractor and it was a quick cure. Haven't had any problems since.

my dr gave me a choice between a cortisone shot or 800mg ibuprophen 3 times a day-the pills worked-and it took a couple weeks-just feeling good--hurt like hell since april!!

What I did when my doctor said I had tennis elbow.He told me to go to the pharmacy and get an elbow brace and wear it when I had pain and ice&rest.I also looked up Physical Therapy exercises for tennis elbow on the net.I wore the brace when shooting,ice&rest and did the PT exercises.It cleared up after a couple of months with no cortisone shots.The elbow brace will really help with the pain when shooting.Tennis elbow comes from micro tears in the tendon in the forearm.The brace will help stabilize your forearm & elbow when shooting.But always go see your doctor for his advice first!In Bob Wesley's DVD on split vision shooting,he explained having a good strong forearm is important in shooting and had excercises in the DVD.

You better stop shooting, and get an " ACE " tennis elbow brace. Put the little air bag right over that point by the joint.

YOU MUST REST. You will find that you shoot way better after a rest anyhow, and when you do resume, use the ACE brace.

Lots of good advice here! I developed "tennis elbow" near the end of June. Didn't know what it was and kept shooting only to make it worse. After trying nearly everything and long story short, the main thing that worked for me was ice and rest. I ice my elbow/arm at least 3 times a day, especially morning and evening for 10 or so minutes. If you enjoy shooting as much as I do then you know how hard it can be to take some time off, but you must. I am still in the recovery stage and this has been very frustrating as the recovery process has been extrememly slow for me. I do not really notice "daily" decreases in pain only weekly decreases. I too also got the ACE brace and it did seem to help. Ibuproferin also helped as well but not as well as the icing and rest has. Good luck in healing!

I did the same as Legend. I went to my Chiropractor and did a series of ultra sound treatment and it fixed it. A very simple cure after a lot of pain in my drawing ( right arm).

Wow thanks guys. I see l am not the only one. I appreciate all the help.

This is what worked for me. I started shooting with a slightly bent bow elbow. It took about a month for the pain to go away and my accuracy suffered for awhile but I haven't been bothered with it again in 25 plus years.

I've had luck with the Flexbar. http://www.thera-bandacademy.com/tba-exercise/FlexBar-Tyler-Twist-for-Tennis-Elbow

Never never ever ever think you can exercise your way through Humeral Epicondylitis .. you can't. Cortizone injections are a short term fix, but once the effect wears off, the pain will be worse than ever because the underlying pathology hasn't changed.

In order to effectively treat tennis Elbow you have to treat the underlying patho-physiology

1. Rest .. this reduces the strain on the insertion of the tendon into the lateral humeral epicondyle

2. Ice and NSAID's ... Ice and non steroid anti inflammatory drugs reduce the inflammation of the micro trauma of the damaged tissue. This will reduce the excitation of the pain receptors in the tendon tissue

3. Tennis Elbow clasp or band ... buy one and use it ... it alters the angle of insertion of the tendon into the epicondyle and reduces the extensor load through the tissue.

DO NOT EXERCISE .. exercise will increase the power of the muscle. The contractile force of a muscle is a product of the contractile length and the cross sectional area of the muscle belly ... increase one of those components and you increase the load on the already over loaded tendon.

DO NOT MASSAGE ... massage will only traumatize already damaged tissue

hope this helps

I developed tennis elbow shooting a Howard Hill longbow. The bow was very light in the hand. Went back to a heavier recurve and the pain went away. What bow are you shooting?

I have been there. Two months of physiotherapy and years of healing.

First of all, DO NOT have intra-joint corticosteroid injection if you want to keep shooting, especially hunting-weight bows! It weakens your tendon and other tissues and makes you prone to further injuries.

Tendons do heal too slowly because of the lack of blood support. That's why the systematically administered painkillers do not work either.

Have an epicndylitis-brace (called "ortez") and wear it all the time except when you're sleeping. Apply icepack one to three times a day, 15 to 20 mins each (NOT exceeding it). These applications mustn't be too frequently (morning and evening would be OK). Do not shoot for couple of weeks until the acute phase is over. It may take upto few months. Start light-intensity work-out just after the pain gets lost or decreased remarkably. Front raises with light dumbbells or cables with high repetitions (60, yes "sixty") is what a physiotherapist would prescribe too. I used clubbells (years after the acute phase had passed) to strengthen my forearm and increased the joint flexibility. It's worth to mention it, because I used to have short re-occurances until I adopted these to my daily exercise routine. Kettlebells, especially swinging exercises, work fine too.

Start shooting with a lighter bow. I was injured with (or by) a 60 pounder while trying to hit a coin in the air. When I was good enough to start shooting I started with a 38 pounder and avoided fast pull-release style shooting for months.

It takes a long time and some effort, but the good news is that you'll be much better. Now, I can shoot as heavy as 96 pounds with no problems. Slight re-occurance occasinally, but do not last long. Remember always warming-up before shooting. I know it's not possible in hunting. The solution is increasing your strength (lifting weights, using resistance bands or your own bodyweight)so that you will be able to shoot a hunting weight bow with less danger even without warming up.

First figure out if its really tennis elbow. I had the same pain in my left elbow. Was sent for MRI, doc thought maybe it was the ulner nerve and sent me to a hand specialist. Hand specialist sent me for another MRI (each of these MRI's was $500 out of pocket WITH insurance) and was convinced although I felt pain the the elbow it was coming from my shoulder. He sent me to a shoulder specialist. I never made the shoulder appointment and the pain went away on its own. I did some physical therapy didn't help.

Now i have the same pain in my right elbow but doesn't bother me as much as the left and I seem to forget about it after shooting a bit.

forgot to add that it took close to a year for it to go away.

I suffered from tennis elbow in both arms due to fishing and playing golf. Went to a sports medicine doctor and we did the cortisone shots and anti-inflammatory drugs. But he told me the shots were a temporary fix and would eventually damage the tendon. He prescribed physical therapy, ice and rest. My PT was ultrasound treatments, exercises and the elbow braces. Whenever I would fish I would wear the brace. At first I could not wrist curl a can of soup without pain. I followed my PTs instructions and stuck with it. Eventually, I got to where I could curl 5 lbs 3 sets of 10. I built up to were I could work our with 40 lbs curls and 20 lbs reverse curls pain free. I've been pain free for 15 yrs. I did this during the winter months when I wasn't fishing or hunting. But, do not take my advice. Go see your doctor and get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Phil's advise is spot on!!

" It takes a long time and some effort, but the good news is you'll be much better "

Have to disagree Phil, since specific exercises helped me. It doesn't happen overnight, but I didn't have any improvement until I started doing them.

I've had it. Mine 100% went away with time off from shooting, and didn't come back fortunately. Exercise to build strength is good pumping heavy iron is definitely detrimental to tendon health in the long run. Been there done that.

Drop bow weight and/or limit the amount of shooting you do. Your body will tell you what is acceptable and wha isn't. Drawing from a slightly different angle can also work. If this persists you might consider talking with a doctor. It's frustrating. Good luck.

I developed tennis elbow years ago. Our family doctor had me rest it for six weeks. No shooting at all. I have not had it since. I did however change my shooting. I went down in poundage and didn't shoot as often.

Quit playing tennis!

Yep. Stopped shooting for a while...dropped down in poundage...shoot fewer shots per session.

Time heals it, but sounds like you think you are running out of time. Don't fret about the time as you still should have plenty of time to get ready for hunting, or you might consider scheduling your hunting as late in the season as possible.

I would still give it 3 to 4 weeks then go back to shooting less per practice session to build back, even if that only provides a week before your hunt. Even if you don't think you have practiced enough for this season, it is better to rely on your past skills with less practice for this season than to miss the season completely or worse, have your elbow further deteriorate. Then you may have to quit shooting for even a longer period of time.

Just have to let the elbow itself have a mind of its own and determine the time.

Thanks every body. This forum is great.i have only been on it for a couple weeks, not sure how i did without it.

I had the same issues in my right elbow.Not from shooting but work related. I fought it for almost a year. Finally went to the vet and he sent me for phisiotherapy. ultrasound,electric stimulation and massage and in several weeks i was as good as new. I was lucky enough not to miss to much hunting time. The pain never came back. Now if you are worried about missing hunting I have another story for you. I had a severe hand injury just before hunting season. Required surgery to repair. No hunting. This is going to hurt me to even type this but here is what i did. Borrowed a friends crossbow for the season. Wow I can hear you guys moaning from here. I could have sat at home with my hand all bandaged up and miss hunting season altogether or take that ungodly monster to the woods. Point is I was able to still get out hunting.

I have had it in both elbows off and on for years. I haven't been to the doctor with it for a long time. Ice is your best friend. 15 to 20 minutes use it after you shoot. also Ibupofrin, advil will help. I agree with the above statement that different bow grips can be a problem. I bought a bow a few months ago and I could not shoot it without it causing pain in my elbow. I recently sold it. Good luck with it.

Flexbar and rest and when I resumed shooting I used a lighter bow, these things worked for me.

If you still need more convincing, I had it bad and did the hardest thing for me by giving up shooting for 6 weeks. Not one arrow. Tendonitis went away and has not returned. It has been 3 years now and I shoot a lot. I also wore the brace.

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