possible shoulder injury at the worst time

[azrcks]

well I was working out this morning trying to be in tip top shape for my archery elk hunt in 3 weeks when something popped in my pulling shoulder!!!!!! I have an appointment tomorrow and will probably get an MRI to see if I tore a rotator cuff All symptoms point to this, I just hope it was not a tear and I can pull my bow in 3 weeks. Any other archers have rotary cuff injuries? although I probably don't want hear the bad stories...

[DUG]

That sucks. I hope you weren't lifting real heavy weights. My shoulder is messed up also. I can pull my bow back ok, but somedays I can't even throw a sotfball to my girls. Hope it's not a tear. Let us know what the doc says.

[cw4192]

Just went back to work today. tore my Rotator and yanked my bicep tendon from my shoulder on april 22 2010. had surgery on may 25th and just got back to work. the rotator healed pretty quick but the bicep tendon still is a mother F$$$er. Good luck, if it is torn expect a good eight weeks of pain and rehab for about three months.

[.270]

heck, i had to have my whole joint chopped out and a new titanium ball and teflon socket installed. and a buncha kevlar cord to pull the shredded biceps back to the bone. he did a little rotator cuff work, but the right one was in farly decent shape. whatever you do, don't let em cut on it or imobilize it until after the hunt. i'd take it easy and if your bow is tuned up real well, limit your practice to just a few shots a day in the week or so before the season. i'd take it easy for a week or so right now and let it heal up some. if you've been shooting a lot you might just have a sore joint or some bursitis. if they suck that toothpaste junk outta your bursa sack, well that is just a whole lotta fun. makes youre eyes go back in your head for a minute. i've had heck with my shoulders. kept me from bein' the greatest bow hunter ever. one thing to keep in mind is how you sleep on em. when they're sore, try real hard to not sleep on em. dr. told me that sleeping with a lot of weight on your shoulder can really cause some problems. as far as this season, if you take it easy and don't over do it, you should be ok. just let it heal up as much as you can until then. shoot a big one. Lark.

[cw4192]

Once again Lark you amaze me. You can deal with both injuries for a long time. But the younger you are the better the fix and you wont have to have a titaium shoulder. I put up with the rotator since 1987 but the bicep tendon I could not Flip while fishing or hold my arm up over my head. I'm 45 and I decided to fix it. Good luck

[DUG]

I think Lark stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night..........

[.270]

mine got so bad that i couldn't get my wallet out of my pocket. had to put my belt in my pants before i put em on. had to keep my knife in my left pocket because i couldn't reach in the other one. couldn't hardly even comb my hair. it was so arthritic it was about stove plum up. had a 2 inch bone spur growing into my biceps that cut about 35% of the muscle and it hung down in a little flabby ball. when ya have gorilla arms like me, that's a lotta muscle. had another spur about 1 1/2 inches growing sorta into my shoulder blade. there were a buncha little ones. it looked like a burr on an antler. i wanted to make a bolo tie out of it but they chunked it out with the rest o' the stuff and didn't save it for me. the new joint is amazing. smooth as glass and very little pain. i have to be a little careful when shooting a heavy recoil rifle and the dr released me with only one restriction. no archery. i shoe my mule, hammer stuff, tool leather, shovel, pick, everthing i want. i've been told i can get a permit for a crossbow tho and i'm looking at that pretty serious. arthritic shoulders are a little worse than an injured rotator cuff. and on the rotator cuff, it depends a lot on where the injury is. most folks think it's a rotator cup and has something to do with the socket, but the cuff is the group of muscles that attach in different places that allow you to move your arm in a circular motion. you get little tears and stuff where they connect to the bone and it causes all kindsa problems. my left one has some slight injuries in the cuff, but it has the beginnings of a buncha bone spurs. he said he can fix it in about 30 minutes. it's on my list, right after knee replacement.

 

i will give you one real good bit of advice. get a good dr. a lot of the problem i had with my right shoulder was because of some real bad advice by a dr. "she" told me surgery wouldn't help. what she really meant was that arthroscopic surgery, the type she could do, wouldn't help. i finally went to a dr a friend recomended and he took one look at the mri and said to see another guy, because i needed total joint replacement. i didn't even know they did shoulder replacement. i had an elk tag, so i waited about 7 months before surgery. the guy that did mine does over 100 shoulder replacements per year. rehab was sorta rough because of all the atrophy from letting it get so bad, but even he was amazed and how fast i recovered. a lotta that is because i'm one tough sob, but a lot of it was because he put things back right. get a good dr. if anybody ever needs a reference send me a pm. i'll tell ya his name and number. Lark.

[AllBoutHuntn]

Getting a good doctor is a must. I am an Athletic Trainer and deal with these type of injuries all the time. It could be that you just strained it pretty bad and a little rest and therapy will get you back to where you need to be. If you need some names of good orthopedic doctors let me know. The team doctor that works with me at my high school is in with a good group and they do real good work.

[tjhunt2]

Three years ago I tore up my rotator cup really bad. Tore the tendons right off the bone along with it. Wasn't able to left my arm over my head or reach out and do anything with the arm. Not to scare you but it was the worse thing I ever went thru in my life. Without the help of my wife I don't know what I would have done. I once had a titanium plate replaced in my neck to fuse my vertabres together after falling off a rock chasing Jevelina and the rotator was twice as bad when it came to pain. Therapy was pretty painful but was neccesary for the healing process.

 

Now,I don't know anyone as tough as .270. I wouldn't take any advise from him since he isn't really normal when it comes to pain or anything else for that matter. lol I do agree with his suggestion about hunting before the surgery and then have it done. If you are going to have surgery then ask around about differrent surgeons.

 

He!!, I bet .270 could do it for you and save you a bunch of money.

 

TJ

[fatfootdoc]

I think Lark probably even saved money on his surgery by refusing anesthesia!!!

If you heard a pop in your shoulder while lifting, there is an even chance that you tore a labrum, that only requires an arthroscopy, if it is the rotator cuff, you may or may not be able to hunt, depends on your ability to draw with that shoulder. They both can wait until after your hunt(if you can). Good luck, Ag

[.270]

did you guys see the show about pete shepley when he broke his arm right after he got an Az elk tag? broke his arm ropin', just below the shoulder. i mean mangled it. had to put plates and rods and screws and a grease zerk in it. he made a sling deal that went around him and his release hooked to it, near his shoulder. he would hook the string to the release and push the bow with his left arm to full draw and work his right hand up and pull the trigger. he killed a bull that way. you'll be ok this season. might need some work later on, but for now you just need to let it rest and get ready for that one shot. it's a rotten deal to get hurt right now, but you still have a tag and your arm is still attached. give'r h e l l. Lark.

[azrcks]

Great news, I did not tear it, just a bad sprain. Ibuprofin and ice for a week and the docs say I will be alright especially in 3 weeks. Man that scared me, I will now be walking around in a padded suit for 3 weeks LOL, thanks for the comments...

[Ringer]

You are a lucky man! I tore the tendon off my right throwing a chain in my pickup. Thought I dislocated my shoulder so I jammed it into the side of my truck like in the movies. Not a smart thing to do. I had it reattached and the joint scraped. A year later I fell on a boat ramp and tore the tendon off the other shoulder and had to do it again. I agree that it is about the worst pain in the world after surgery. Strong as a 60 year old bull now.