2005 Vette Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I recently have developed pain in my elbow, the outside bone similar to tennis elbow. I'm thinking I may be gripping the gun to tight. Has anyone else had this? Any tips please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Tons of folks in same boat. Lateral epicondylitis. Shit hurts. Tried all the exercises, had the steroid injections, wear the brace, got the rubber ball with the bands-iced till it was friggin frozen. Started Accupuncture for the first time today. It sux big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky316 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I get it to but I dont know what it is. If you find out a cure please post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTD Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I'm a new sufferer as well. Never had the problem when I had a crossed thumbs grip and a weaver stance, the change up in techniques is hurting. I don't know if what I'm experiencing is "shooters" elbow as the pain for me is more in the very top of my forearm and not in the actual joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norton1090 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Outerlimits does lateral epicondylitis generally hurt more, or have a spike of pain, when lifting something? Sorry for the thread jack. I also have been suffering from this same annoyance and have been wondering what it is. It's not so bad its debilitating but man is it an annoyance. Especially when drinking big frosty beers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Spike in pain. Try pinching something real hard and applying resistance...like picking up a heavy object. That's when you get the payoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hot loads and/or revo make it worse. Call me a wuss but that's why I like shooting minor. Make sure you have a little bend in your elbows. I've had it off and on for a long time as well... nothing seems to really get rid of it. Ice it when it flares up and I do use the band- I think that helps a little. Try to avoid exercises/activities that make it worse... yeah like that's easy huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Texas Granny Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Ouch. So far the elbows are ok even the one I broke the back and feet on the other hand... Do what the doc tells you and things will get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dart368 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I shoot right handed most time but my pain is in my left elbow. Same symptoms as above, hurts on top of elbow when trying to pick up something pinched in my fingers. Also I feel it when I dry fire one handed with my left hand. I had this a couple of years ago and it went away for a while but now it's back. I feel for you buddy. You might have to do some physical therapy to get it fixed. Good luck and I hope it gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03k64 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 A PA friend of mine who works for a sports doctor gave me a tip that helped tremendously. Sleep with a wrist brace on. Keeps the wrist from bending in all kinds of weird angles during the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Do the little arm band things work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (family doc mode) Yes the arm bands can work if put on properly and used consistantly, in mild to moderate cases, and help some in severe cases. Regarding shooting sports, too strong of a grip will lead you down the path of lateral epicondylitis (LE). Particularly a strong grip and extending the wrist (imagine the movement of holding your arms out level in front of you but your hand up to signal to stop a bus). Tennis players get it for those same reasons, grip and wrist extension. Mountain bikers get it the same way. Treatment options include the bands, NSAIDs, steroid injection, and physical therapy. You may have to STOP doing what's making it worse to give it a chance to heal. (end family doc mode) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sin-ster Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I experienced the same when my shooting volume increased dramatically. Essentially, my muscles out ran my tendons. It really, really sucked. I tried essentially every remedy known to man, with limited success. Finally, I went in to see the Doc-- although I can't for the life of me remember his specialty, it was "the right one for the task". He gave me a topical gel, Voltaren. Coupled with two weeks of Strong Hand Only shooting (my support elbow was the culprit), it cleared up the pain most ricky-tick. I was scheduled for some light physical therapy, and ended up canceling; the pain was entirely gone, and has not returned since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) One way to modify your grip would be to focus on relaxing the muscles that extend the wrist. Put your other hand on your forearm muscles, make a light fist, then full the fist back extending the wrist. Feel what muscles you're flexing to do that. Then conciously try to relax those muscles with dry fire and shooting. You'r going to have to increase the percentage of grip your non-dominant hand is responsible for to maintain good recoild control. Edited March 20, 2012 by Erucolindon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I experienced the same when my shooting volume increased dramatically. Essentially, my muscles out ran my tendons. It really, really sucked. I tried essentially every remedy known to man, with limited success. Finally, I went in to see the Doc-- although I can't for the life of me remember his specialty, it was "the right one for the task". He gave me a topical gel, Voltaren. Coupled with two weeks of Strong Hand Only shooting (my support elbow was the culprit), it cleared up the pain most ricky-tick. I was scheduled for some light physical therapy, and ended up canceling; the pain was entirely gone, and has not returned since. Not sure what elbow the original poster was having trouble with, but essentially not using that hand to shoot for a while is a good fix. If its your dominant hand, work on your weak hand skills until your dominant hand improves. We all need more weak hand time anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) Erucolindon - you must be an auto mechanic?? Thank you for the advice. Are some bands better than others? Will the Wally World brand work just as well as the pharmacy type? I'm new to all of this and am glad to read I'm not alone. Here I thought it was an age thing! Edited March 20, 2012 by Bigpops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Brand of the band shouldn't matter so long as it fits and is worn properly. You want pressure over those same muscles I described earlier. As I understand it, you're essentially using the same concept as a pully to reduce the amount of work needed to attain the same task without the aid. That means it puts less stress where those muscle originate on the lateral epicondyl. Not sure about the auto mechanic question...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Brand of the band shouldn't matter so long as it fits and is worn properly. You want pressure over those same muscles I described earlier. As I understand it, you're essentially using the same concept as a pully to reduce the amount of work needed to attain the same task without the aid. That means it puts less stress where those muscle originate on the lateral epicondyl. Not sure about the auto mechanic question...? Thank you again! The "auto mechanic" comment was a joke! You have an extensive knowledge of the anatomy....it was my attempt at humor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR Gunner Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for the advice, all. Hasn't BE been telling us to relax when we shoot, anyway?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Got it, no problem and happy to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks Chris. It's hard enough to get people to heed the advice, "That thing you're doing that hurts - stop doing it." Your suggestions can help start to fix a lot of shooters' problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcCracken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Well, it makes a lot of sense once I started thinking about how we grip, with the web between thumb and index as high as possible on the grip and the gun in line with the forearm. That naturally extends the wrist. Than all it takes is for the shooter to learn some bad muscle memory, over gripping with that hand and straining muscles that work just as well for shooting mostly relaxed. Particularly if you over grip with both hands, pulling against one-another, you're apt to have it on either side. If you relax one you're going to have to relax the other or you'll find yourself pulling to the side with the non-dominant hand. If you just squeeze a fist for actual grip, you'll notice that the muscles that flex are on the same side as your palm. You can squeeze them hard without making the LE worse. Its the extra tension on the wrist pulling away from the gun that is doing the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round_Gun_Shooter Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) Do a search in the Physical Training section and be prepared to be amazed Basically it comes down to exercising your extensors to overcome the overuse of the Flexors Edited March 20, 2012 by Round_Gun_Shooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Basically it comes down to exercising your extensors to overcome the overuse of the Flexors Nicely said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sin-ster Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Not sure what elbow the original poster was having trouble with, but essentially not using that hand to shoot for a while is a good fix. If its your dominant hand, work on your weak hand skills until your dominant hand improves. We all need more weak hand time anyway. I genuinely wish mine had been the weapon hand, for this exact purpose. It would have been a nice excuse to really tune up my WHO shooting! I actually thought back a bit harder and realized that I was on vacation for a full week as well during that time period-- so 3 weeks. But it's better than the multiple months folks told me about, in the cases where it's extremely aggravated. In my case, it started out as basically stiffness in the joint, especially in the morning. A few press outs like I was presenting the pistol worked that out, and it would be fine all day; a little sore at night. It never really agonized me, but it just persisted for a couple of weeks, and the pain did start to increase. I knew what was coming, so I was taking steps during that period to help to stave it off; all it did was delay the process. Really, rest is always prescribed as the best solution, from what I read and was told. Fortunately, my job didn't require me to continue aggravating the area, although some won't be quite as fortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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