Rota Cuff

[MarkCZ]

Hi guys, about 4 months ago I proper buggered up my right rota cuff. I still cannot draw my compound bow.
My bow is 65 pound draw and I cant move it an inch. My question is , at the age of 66 are my bow hunting days over? Can anyone please advise me if there is any thing i can do. Has anyone had the same problem?
Markcz

 

[MS 9x56]

Hi guys, about 4 months ago I proper buggered up my right rota cuff. I still cannot draw my compound bow.
My bow is 65 pound draw and I cant move it an inch. My question is , at the age of 66 are my bow hunting days over? Can anyone please advise me if there is any thing i can do. Has anyone had the same problem?
Markcz

I had the same issue at 62. I dropped my poundage to 45 and slowly worked my way back up to 55 which turned out to be my new max. I still bow hunt at 67. Lowered my max shot range to 35 yards. Start low and slow, work your way back up. You may never get back to 65 lbs but you don’t need to quit bow hunting. Worst case buy a crossbow.

 

[Doug3006]

I have the exact same problem! In Missouri, crossbows are legal during bow season. So I switched to a crossbow.

 

[dlmac]

Certainly depends upon the range and game taken, as noted some states allow crossbows. This happened to my Wife, she now hunts with a crossbow. Fortunately I have no major issues yet. 55# will do the job on most game under 40 yards,
Did you require surgery, if not therapy and as previously mentioned decrease the poundage and work back up. Have patience it will improve in most people overtime.

 

[coreydb]

I had to do the same as Doug 3006. I loved the bow and to me the cross bow was a facsimile of a rifle. That said, the crossbow is a great work-around at 72.

 

[WAB]

Hi guys, about 4 months ago I proper buggered up my right rota cuff. I still cannot draw my compound bow.
My bow is 65 pound draw and I cant move it an inch. My question is , at the age of 66 are my bow hunting days over? Can anyone please advise me if there is any thing i can do. Has anyone had the same problem?
Markcz

Google shoulder reliever.

 

[Moody808]

While I'm a bit younger than you I had a similar issue, I had 2 cortisone shots which allowed me to do a lot of physic and get it back to normal.

 

[Rare Breed]

I have the exact same problem! In Missouri, crossbows are legal during bow season. So I switched to a crossbow.

Curious is surgery not an option even at our age I am 65. Anything that can be surgically fixed I do given I am an animal at rehab

 

[Moody808]

You really have to get an ultrasound and that will let you know. If there is a tear then surgery is an option, but as in my case it was some very inflamed tendons and ligaments.

 

[dlmac]

My advice is go see a real doctor and stop looking for a fix on a hunting site?

 

[Flbt]

Hi guys, about 4 months ago I proper buggered up my right rota cuff. I still cannot draw my compound bow.
My bow is 65 pound draw and I cant move it an inch. My question is , at the age of 66 are my bow hunting days over? Can anyone please advise me if there is any thing i can do. Has anyone had the same problem?
Markcz

I not that old but both of mine are gone.
I want even look at a bow.
And have changed the guns I use.
I have not shot my 45-70 in 5 years
I just have not gotten the heart to sell it

 

[Doug3006]

Curious is surgery not an option even at our age I am 65. Anything that can be surgically fixed I do given I am an animal at rehab

Yes, surgery is an option. I’ve had 2 unrelated procedures performed recently and neither turned out worth a damn. I am not in a hurry for a threepeat!

 

[MarkCZ]

My advice is go see a real doctor and stop looking for a fix on a hunting site?

I tried that but getting to see a doctor in this country is like winning the lottery, just had one phone call and one visit to a physio, I think I will have to go private.
Markcz

 

[BryceM]

What country are you in? England? There has to be some way to get an MRI and see someone who can fix shoulder problems. Start making some noise.

I'm an orthopedic surgeon and fix rotator cuff problems routinely as part of my practice. But.......

It's pretty hard to recommend a fix before getting the diagnosis correct. Who knows what's really going on in your shoulder? Maybe it's not even a cuff problem. Ultrasound can be useful, but MRI will show the fine details of the soft tissues beautifully, allow you to see if there is a tear, partial tear, or just tendonitis. You can also see the cartilage, ligaments, other tendons, bone spurs, and other details that an ultrasound will often miss.

Age is only one factor that determines if a person is likely to be successful with surgery. Some surgeons might disagree, but the tear type and size, tobacco use, other damage in the shoulder, and presence or absence of diabetes are all more important than age. I've refused to operate on tears in certain people in their 40s and I've had success operating on some tears in people over 80.

And, for all you Americans...... I live in a rinky-dink part of the USA Rocky Mountains and there are at least 6 MRI machines within an hour drive. One of them will do walk-up studies the same day or the next day for cash. Any of them can get you in within a week. At the private centers a simple non-contrast shoulder MRI is a few hundred bucks, including the radiology read. It's at least double that at a hospital. Sure, we have some healthcare problems here (mostly from government and insurance companies), but at least help is available. Most of the world (even the developed parts of the world) has to do without or wait forever to be seen.

 

[AustinM]

I agree with the above, as an MRI or Ultrasound is needed. One has to figure out what is wrong, before treatment can begin. I will say, I have great success with the majority of my patients who have rotator cuff issues, in which muscles are not completely torn. I am a Chiropractor, so that is another option for you to look in to for healing. No reason to get surgery if it's not deemed necessary by the scans, but if it is, find a good one and get to it!

 

[WAB]

I agree with the above, as an MRI or Ultrasound is needed. One has to figure out what is wrong, before treatment can begin. I will say, I have great success with the majority of my patients who have rotator cuff issues, in which muscles are not completely torn. I am a Chiropractor, so that is another option for you to look in to for healing. No reason to get surgery if it's not deemed necessary by the scans, but if it is, find a good one and get to it!

My chiropractor got me using the shoulder reliever, which I mentioned above. It has made a tremendous difference for me. It has strengthened all the small muscles around my shoulders after years of hockey and general abuse took their toll.

 

[dlmac]

What country are you in? England? There has to be some way to get an MRI and see someone who can fix shoulder problems. Start making some noise.

I'm an orthopedic surgeon and fix rotator cuff problems routinely as part of my practice. But.......

It's pretty hard to recommend a fix before getting the diagnosis correct. Who knows what's really going on in your shoulder? Maybe it's not even a cuff problem. Ultrasound can be useful, but MRI will show the fine details of the soft tissues beautifully, allow you to see if there is a tear, partial tear, or just tendonitis. You can also see the cartilage, ligaments, other tendons, bone spurs, and other details that an ultrasound will often miss.

Age is only one factor that determines if a person is likely to be successful with surgery. Some surgeons might disagree, but the tear type and size, tobacco use, other damage in the shoulder, and presence or absence of diabetes are all more important than age. I've refused to operate on tears in certain people in their 40s and I've had success operating on some tears in people over 80.

And, for all you Americans...... I live in a rinky-dink part of the USA Rocky Mountains and there are at least 6 MRI machines within an hour drive. One of them will do walk-up studies the

 

[dlmac]

Glad to see that a Orthopedic physician chimed in. I was seeing several comments that really needed explaining. I'm just just a retired medical officer who did FP.