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I have an appointment this week. I am a right handed shooter and I can't hold my bow with my left hand. My left shoulder is the one bugging me.

Good luck, let us know the results.

I did some PT for a bit but time was the best healer. I will say I was shooting quite a bit and year round.

Then again, I am right handed, with a bum right shoulder.

Best of luck, Jeff

I always believed in the "No pain No gain" thing and decided one day that I was going to try to shoot once to see how it felt..this after two weeks of P.T. I shoot 68 pounds and managed to get it back and get the shot off...but big mistake..I just managed to set myself back and pissed of my P.T. I decieded to crank down the limbs to 60 pounds and case my bow intill this thing gets healed up.

To answer you question of when it starts to happen, it can happen any time..I mentioned that I did'nt know how I hurt mine but I'm guessing it was when I was crossing a tight barbed wire fence while looking for elk sheds this past April. I got hung up on the crossing and had to pull myself back up with my left arm while unhooking my pant leg with my left hand, which I remember put quite a strain on my shoulder. it just took a few days afterwards to show the effects. My doctor wants me to go threw 20 visits with the P.T. and if no improvement will then order a M.R.I.

tobinsghost...The best exercise my P.T. has given me that seems to help me the most is the "wall pushups" two sets of 10 first thing every morning.

Be honest with yourself and how the injury will effect you, not only now but in the future. For me, I had to give up bowhunting for this season, but I aleast know I have next year to look forward too.

Each individual has different circumstances as it relates to the injury and rehab...my advice is to take it slow and don't rush it.

I tired PT, did not work. Tried cortisone shot did not work. Went with the surgery and PT after surgery and my shoulders have never felt better.

Big thing I learned was training certain back muscles mainly rear delts and the smaller muscles in the back. This makes a big deal with shoulder strength and can prevent further problems down the road. These muscles pull the shoulders back and prevent the impingment problems.

See a Dr and follow their advice. My PT was very helpful in giving me exercises to build these muscles and also warm up exercise prior to working out.

I also had to give up bow season last year, but it was worth it in the long run.

See a good orthopedic surgeon and get another MRI. I am no doctor but I would bet you have a SLAP tear. I tore my left shoulder(right handed shooter) 2 years ago and avoided surgery with PT. My brother in law has had both shoulders repaired in just under 6 months and is doing good.

Rick M

He perscribed me stronger Anti-Inflamatory drungs today and gace me a cotisone shot in shoulder.

He said give two weeks and if not better come back.

The weird thing is today before the appointment has been the best the shoulder felt since three weeks.

We will see. For sure no shooting this week. Will try back next week.

If you don't recall falling or injuring the shoulder it would suggest an overuse and/or an impingement syndrome. When your left arm is fully extended and you are holding your bow out, your arm is perpendicular to gravity. This is taxing on the muscles/tendons that are required to perform this.

I would recommend PT for 4-6 visits to instruct you in a proper progressive Home Exercise Program to restore full mobility, improve stability and eliminate pain for prior level of function activities. I would recommend NOT sleeping on your side. I also stress to all of my patients that no strengthening exercise should be painful. Throw away no pain no gain. Slow controlled stresses to allow your tissues to attenuate to the stresses are needed. If you have a cut across your knuckle and keep splitting it open is it ever going to heal?? Listen to your body!!!

If you do not notice steady improvements in 3-4 weeks then go back to MD for further testing. If they do an MRI they are not 100% and many of my pt's will need surgery dispite a benign MRI. Best Of Luck!!

At different times I have torn my bicep tendon, my labrum, my AC joint, bone spurs, and had chronic tendonitis and hypertrophy of the bursa. You can have lots of different types of injuries to the shoulder and different degrees of injuries to the different parts of the shoulder. I say all that to say that even shoulder specialist orthopedist can have difficulty diagnosing certain shoulder ailements with a physcial examination. So make sure you go to someone who isn't knife happy and will take the time to get a good diagnosis and exhaust the different possibilities prior to cutting you.

The first orthopedist I went to after I tore my labrum in my right shoulder said I wouldn't be able to lift again with any substantial weight. He said let's give it 6 weeks of rehab and if it isn't bette let's fix it. I went and got a second opinion and he suggested 3 months of rehab. 8 months later I was lifting heavy again. I am finally getting ready to go under the knife for the first time for bone spurs, but that's a different story.

Make sure you get a second opinion prior to going to the operating table.

What if you have pain in the joint of ur shoulder?

Best advice that I can give is that you should go and speak with an ortho doc and not to take too much 'action' on the replies that you'd get on an archery forum. That said, prior to my surgery I searched every bow-related website that I could find to see what the recovery time was based on the repairs that I had done with my shoulder.

I have progressed far better than I originally anticipated and an very pleased that I had the procedure done.

Warning: It took me about two full months of recovery and aggressive physical therapy to realize that I was glad that I had the surgery. It can be quite painful. Good luck

Thats why one can't compare ones problem to another. Still and I think you would agree, just because one is feeling better does not mean its the right time to pick up right where one was before the injury.

Hope that helps.

Taking your time is very important. I pushed myself after my surgery and it ended up pushing me back an extra 4 weeks. Thats what happens when you are stubborn.

BTW if you do workout, watch what exercises you use for shoulders as some are more prone to cause the shoulder impingment problem then others. That was a major cause of my problems along with my job.

Overhead or above shoulder exercises can augment shoulder pain and facilitate impingement issues. However, the goal is to restore full painfree functional stability and mobility. I avoid these exercises when injured but my goals with all of my patients is get them back so they can perform these exercises without pain.

What if you were a carpenter, painter, waiter or sheet rocker etc... and not be able to lift over your head or above your shoulders. You might have misinterperted your therapist! If not, you might want to find another, respectfully!!

Hence, I do a lot of push ups, and other shoulder exercises.

I always felt that restricting movements only causes adaptive shortening and more dysfunction. Every exercise should be painfree and slow tissue attenuation needs to be stressed. It's easier sometimes to instruct the patient to limit full functional use instead of rehabing them to perform all prior level activities if possible.

Question for you, if you do not mind. It seems the normal grip one would use for military press, bench etc seems to cause a greater chance for shoulder impingment.

With bench and shoulder presses, I switched to Dumbells (DB) and switched to a palms rotated facing my body grip. Correct me if I am worng but this will put the shoulder better position and limit the chance of future impingment correct? Just curious as to my very limited knowledge of human anatomy it appears this is a much better option.

Thank You

For a doctor or therapist to instruct a patient never to perform certain movement there should be a valid reason. I hope it's not because the surgery was not done correctly or the therapist didn't know how to progress rehab to provide prior level of function. For your typical shoulder surgery patients if the surgery and rehab was done correctly full prior level of function should be expected over time. Why did they elect to have the surgery in the first place. Of course there are patients that have major pathology that require modification. I treat all sorts of patients from dancers all the way up to construction workers that need to perform the very movements that many are instructed to avoid..

Thank You for the information. I have really revamped my work outs since my surgery. I have gone alot more to dumbells and lowered the weights I use especially with shoulder exercises. Funny part I have seen my best results since I have done this.

One thing I have learned is that most people do to much of the glamour muscles like chest and to not work the back muscles. This causes the shoulders to roll forward which can increase the impingment problem.

Thank you once again for all the information, I wish I would have had some of this knowledge before I ran into problems.

I am right handed and have been dealing with left handed shoulder issues.

Injury occured while holding a pole saw for about an hour in my left hand while bent over cutting wild rose along a trail to my stand several years ago. Sudden searing pain in left shoulder, injury done.

My symptoms were identical to you (by the sound of it) - Weakness in internal and external rotation (elbow at side rotating palm towards or away from belly button, respectively); weakness in adduction (rotating arm from your side pointed directly to your left).

I did do 6 months of PT which helped immensely, but eventually failed when I stopped doing 1 hour of exercise just from my shoulder 4 times/week. My arm got week, my accuracy tanked and I opted for surgery at the end of this past season. SLAP repair and bicep tendonesis on Feb 3, 2012.

I JUST got cleared to start pulling on a bow this past weekend. I took my bow into the shop asked them to turn it down all the way. Fortunately the bow shop owner had had the exact same injury and started me pulling on his kids bow at 18 lbs. I was able to easily get up to 45 lbs, so that's where I'm at right now.

It is a long road. I do my exercises religiously and work with my physical therapists to make sure the PT is balanced for maximum return with minimal risk of injury. So I push to get stronger, but in an approved way (not just jumping in).

It's a long road and one that you should definitely get a second opinion on.

I had impingment surgery last fall, it did ruin my hunting season, but overall I am much better off for it. Listen to what your Dr suggests or course and do what is best for you.

Prior to my surgery I tried PT, but with my schedule I almost never got in. Tried Cortisone did not work. I only had one shot as to many can cause damage. With a change in insurance I decided to have surgery. Glad I did it saved me a ton of money and was very successful.

One thing you might want to try is ice on it at night or after PT or a workout it can help. Also as others have said try not to sleep on the hurt side. Good tip is put the injured side up if you sleep on your side and use pillows to support the injured arm to rest on while you sleep. This will keep your arm elevated when you sleep and will keep it from pinching and being impinged when you sleep as it is the same height as your body.

Good Luck, hope all works out with you. Shawn

Any MD or PT should be able to test you for impingement syndrome. You do not need an MRI. As a matter of fact if I had a nickle for every time the MRI's were wrong I would be a wealth man! Many treat the MRI's and CT scans and not the patients.

Remember, many things can cause shoulder pain. It could be cardiac, cancer, cervical spine pathology, postural faults, tendonitis, bursitis, spurs, impingement, tears, bankart lesions etc... or most likely a combo of many of the above!

FYI, too many injections can cause damage! I would typically see a patient that started to develope pain without any injury or trauma that worsens over time. A simple x-ray and PT ordered. I would evaluate and treat. However, I would expect progress within 6-8 visits max if the patient is using prudent judgement and following instructions. If no improved mobility, function or decreased pain I would be on the phone with the MD. I have patients with $50.00 copays coming 3xwk and it gets expensive. I have patients that I know have a rotator cuff tear despite a negative MRI. I have patients on workers comp that are screwed because if the MRI or CT scan is negative you don't have a problem.

Modern medicine has it's pluses but old school hands on testing is also needed, respectfully. Remember a healthy shoulder requires a well positioned scapula, adequate stability, mobility and proprioception. The rotator muscle keep the humerous from riding up causing implingement issue but scapulothoracic strengthening as well as core is vital. You need proximal stability for distal mobility. You can have a great looking roof but if the foundation is made of clay you are in trouble! Good Night!

It sounds like you might have an impingement syndrome. What exercises were you given. Band exercise for the shoulder typically go like this: internal and ext rotation, flex, extension, adduction, abduction and ceiling punches. How about push up pluses, low and regular rows, horizontal abduction, seated presses, huggie bears (isolated scapula adduction). How about proprioception exercises like the body blade or rhythmic stabilization exercises and PNF patterns. Standing wall push-ups with both and single limb using a swiss ball. Core stabilization exercises and postural correction? Stretching those tight muscles like your ant pec's. work the core and scapula muscles. Not just the rot cuff muscles!!

The decision you may have to make could be tough. For me this time around it was a no brainer. In early 2009 I hurt my right shoulder, for months I hoped things would get better, after all I didn't want to give up the season, but by the end of Oct it was apparent it was not the case. And in my case the shoulder became worse. Jan 2010 I had surgery and was told by Dr I might be able to start shooting in 7-8 months. I had a elk hunt already planned for Sept so I really worked hard to recover and was shooting in July.

Looking back, yes I was able to shoot, but the reality of it I was not as strong as I thought, my shooting suffered somewhat... it was 3 months later that I began to really notice the strength gain.

2012 I injured my left shoulder, no waiting around this time, especially after my previous experience. The decision was easy, have the shoulder fixed and give up the 2012 season for the most part.

I have some hunts planned for 2013 and want to make sure this time around I will be 100% ready to go.

Everyone's injury is different, as is the recovery time frame. But when one is active and we look forward all off season in anticipation to the upcomming season, it as I have atleast learned can get in the way of better judgement.

I hope things work out, if not, do what must be done, recover fully....then maybe you won't need the x-bow.

The problem you are describing was very much like my own. I had a hard time picking up a chair or putting my arm out straight without it hurting. I could not lift more then 10 lbs overhead.

To me the decision was very easy as I was in pain at work due to the problem. If I waited and my insurance changed it would go from costing me about 500 out of pocket to over $3,500 dollars. I was not able to lift heavy or the gym and workout as hard I as I liked so a few months of no bowhunting was the sacrafice I made.

I am making up for the lack of bowhunting last year this year though and should be going on hopefully 3 hunts out of state with one being my dream hunt for my 40th b-day, a bison hunt.

Listen to what your body is telling you, your Dr your PT and you will make the right decision. Impingiment surgery took all of about 6 hrs in the hospital with recovery etc and I was only in "real pain" for maybe a week at most after surgery. I quiet taking the pain pills after about 3 days.

Good Luck Shawn

If it is impingment surgery, I was out of my sling in about a week. I was also able to sleep in bed on my non surgery side. Trick was to basically surrond yourself with pillows to prevent you from rolling over and stack pillows under you arm you had surgery on. Honestly I slept really well that way. Or maybe it was the drugs

For you guys that are having pain. I do not want to tell you anything that might hurt you. However, if you are hunting from a treestand your bow arm is not directly out in front of you!! It's facing the ground and you might get away with shooting from an elevated postion because it simply puts less stress on the shoulder. Get your bow and pretend that you are in your stand and see what happens. If this works practice from an elevated position!!

Shoot just enough so you know you can close the deal and stop to avoid over use and if should always be painfree! Be safe climbing and dragging!! Best Of Luck To All!!!

2)You want to always put controlled stresses on your tissues! Find a program that is comfortable and stay with it for 2 weeks. Start off slowly! Then only progress it 10-15% max and only one variable. This means you don't increase weight and rep's together. You must choose one and I would recommend more reps and less wt or tension from bands whenever dealing with the shoulder. Now stay with this for at least 2 week and advance only if tolerated well and repeat the 10-15% rule. This allows your tissues to attenuate to the stresses you are placing on them. We can't forget that it takes 6 weeks for the body to physiologically get stronger. It does not happen over night so slow and steady wins the race or you will increase your risk of injury.

3) Listen to your body!

These rules and way of treating has worked for me for almost 2 decades. My way might be so much different from what you are used to. It doesn't mean one is better, just different. I do believe that using prudent judgment, listening to your body and allowing your body to get stronger in a safe controlled fashion can never be wrong. Sometimes less is more! I didn't spell check!

I hope this might help someone. Much Peace and Happiness, Dennis