Scott Steele Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Wow. So about that tendinitis....Funny, I was thinking the same thing.But I lost interest some time ago. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmac Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Anybody have an idea what aspect of dry fire actually is the culprit in causing injury? I know that I can dryfire like mad with my double action revolvers, and I've had no issues. The last two months, I've applied myself to learning how to shoot semi-autos, and have been doing *LOTS* of "Draw - Shoot 2 - Reload" AKA "4 Aces" practice, and my elbow is getting tender. I *suspect * it is the multiple reps hitting the mag release on my S&W 5946 with my dominant hand thumb. Seems hitting the mag release on a semi-auto with your strong hand thumb requires applying force at an awkward angle, unlike hitting the cylinder latch on a revolver...where you just push forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robco Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Johnmac: Anybody have an idea what aspect of dry fire actually is the culprit in causing injury? ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Johnmac: I typed a nice long response and lost it when I changed page. Anyway, it is from the repetitive stress of pressing the mag release button. Happened to me in December while doing shoot-reload-shoot drills in a training session. Did about 30 in a row, non-stop, and got to under 1 second time (on 24 x 24 plate at 8 yards) - stressful. It obviously injured my tendons in the process and took me a couple months to get over it using therapies I described above in this thread. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=182257&page=3#entry2343952 I had shot 15K rounds, and about 20 matches in that same month in Mesa, Az, and shot every day of the month, even with the Xmas break. Not a problem, until I did that drill training with Kyle Schmidt. It was just too much for my elbow tendons. Damage occurs, then it takes a lot of time and effort to remodel the scar tissue and get the tendons all sliding smoothly again so they don't re-injure every time you use them. Edited March 3, 2015 by Robco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmac Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Johnmac: Anybody have an idea what aspect of dry fire actually is the culprit in causing injury? ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Johnmac: I typed a nice long response and lost it when I changed page. Anyway, it is from the repetitive stress of pressing the mag release button. Happened to me in December while doing shoot-reload-shoot drills in a training session. Did about 30 in a row, non-stop, and got to under 1 second time (on 24 x 24 plate at 8 yards) - stressful. It obviously injured my tendons in the process and took me a couple months to get over it using therapies I described above in this thread. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=182257&page=3#entry2343952 I had shot 15K rounds, and about 20 matches in that same month in Mesa, Az, and shot every day of the month, even with the Xmas break. Not a problem, until I did that drill training with Kyle Schmidt. It was just too much for my elbow tendons. Damage occurs, then it takes a lot of time and effort to remodel the scar tissue and get the tendons all sliding smoothly again so they don't re-injure every time you use them. Interesting. I suppose over the course of a typical match, where you're shooting more than reloading, and have breaks between stages, the stress from hitting the mag release is a non-issue. I guess "everything in moderation" is a good maxim RE: practicing reloading. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echotango Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The 200# grip squeeze will do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciolist Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I've been extremely fortunate in avoiding joint problems over about 30 years of rock climbing. My experience has been that tendonitis comes more from repetition than intensity. Torsion and traction can be particularly problematic. Yes, I've felt some mild elbow tendonitis from dryfire. I have a pretty good sense of how to work around it. One problem with this kind of injury is that it creeps up as you 'overdrive your headlights' with reps. That could be reps with a hammer, chinning bar, keyboard, pistol, etc. My philosophy is that, if you are committed to putting in the work necessary to get good, you are going to get hurt. It's not a question of 'if', but 'when'. Same as with sight picture and trigger press, the key is to be sensitive to change, to learn from it, and react effectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciolist Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I think drinking plenty of water helps, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkreutz Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I think drinking plenty of water helps, too. Judging by some of the posts in this thread, I think they must have been drinking Keopectate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just4FunLP Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Anyone tried the Armaid? http://www.armaid.com/page/853-3029/armaidhome When I first started training I got tendinitis and it took about a year to get over it. Lately I've been doing a lot of dryfire, which I really enjoy, and I'm making great progress on improving my grip. Unfortunately this, along with a long live fire session on the weekends, trashes my forearms. I recently discovered that massaging beforehand seems to reguvinate my arms. Massaging them is kind of a pain, and I found myself trying to dream up a contraption to help. Today I ran across this thing, and it seems to be perfect. It's a little pricy, but so is shooting USPSA. I'm 53. Do younger guys have these issues, or is it just the old farts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I'm 53. Do younger guys have these issues, or is it just the old farts? I'm 54 and since I started doing some simple exercises to stretch and use the opposing muscles as well, all tendinitis problems have gone away. My elbows also get abuse from hockey, dirtbiking, and reloading, but 3-5 mins every day of exercise has kept them feeling good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeislarge Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Just saw this thread and thought I'd chime in. After months of pain and research on how to relieve it I finally had MRI's done on both of my elbows and found out that on each arm the tendon was 80% torn. Eight weeks after epicondyle release surgery on my left arm the pain is receding and more like simple post-surgical tenderness. I will have the same procedure done on the right arm as soon as the left has healed enough to support me for a few weeks of being one-armed. It's a huge pain and will take months to fully recover from but these things DO NOT heal themselves past a certain point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I finally had MRI's done on both of my elbows and found out that on each arm the tendon was 80% torn. Yikes. Best of luck with your recovery. all the more reason to start PT exercises when you first get into shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just4FunLP Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Just thought I'd give an update on where I'm at with the arm pain... I've started warming up really good before dryfire by using 5 lb dumbbells. My warmup goes like this: 25 Standing curls alternating as I go. 25 reps where I start with both dumbbells down near my fly, pull up to my chest, then straight out in each direction. All one fast motion out and back down. 25 Tricep extensions Alternating left and right overhead bending at the elbow. 25 Hook shots, like a boxer, alternating left and right. 20 pushups. 10 squats (for the old worn out knees) Repeat. This sounds like a lot, but it's only 5 lb dumbbells. It seems to be just enough to get the blood pumping and the muscles warmed up without using up all your energy before you start handling the gun. This weekend I did an 1hr 15min dry fire on Saturday and a 500 round live fire on Sunday, and although my arms were pretty tired it didn't seem to cause a lot of pain in my tendons. I think I may be onto something here (but I have been wrong before). It only makes sense. It's an overuse injury. Rest as much as possible. After that, go to every other day to give your old arms a chance to heal between practice. Don't do a lot of other arm exercises to "strengthen" your injured arms. Duh! Your an athlete, warm up before you perform like EVERY OTHER ATHLETE IN THE WORLD!!. Let me know what you think. It's only taken me 3 years to figure this out... Edited August 18, 2016 by Just4FunLP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 A lot of us were raised in a "mind over matter" culture of pushing ourselves past where the body should go. The human will is plenty strong enough to push the flesh to injured conditions via repetitive motion. We hate to rest even when that's what we need, because we think we are wussing out or wasting time. Looks like plenty of good advice in the replies, very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockGuy1 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Yes, I ended up needing surgery. 2 years later, my support hand is still weaker, so I changed over to Limited and put a nitro fin on my gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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