View Full Version : Tendonitis from shooting a lot of .45?
This may be everyday stuff for serious competition shooters, but I wanted to ask if others here have run into a situation where you develop pretty intense pain in your elbow area of your shooting arm, especially when you bend the arm a certain way or lift even a small amount of weight.
I'm going to the Dr tonight, but am trying to figure out if shooting is the likely culprit. I've been shooting a lot of pistol lately, especially .45, and my hunch is that it's tendonitis. But it's not like I'm shooting +P or something, it's just standard 230gr hardball. I've never had something like this in my life from shooting, but right now, I cannot think of anything else that would cause this.
Anyway, just curious if others have run in this, I assume if so, it's a type of repetitive stress injury. If you HAVE faced this before, how did you get over it? Was it strictly rest, or were there exercises, or what?
This may be everyday stuff for serious competition shooters, but I wanted to ask if others here have run into a situation where you develop pretty intense pain in your elbow area of your shooting arm, especially when you bend the arm a certain way or lift even a small amount of weight.
I'm going to the Dr tonight, but am trying to figure out if shooting is the likely culprit. I've been shooting a lot of pistol lately, especially .45, and my hunch is that it's tendonitis. But it's not like I'm shooting +P or something, it's just standard 230gr hardball. I've never had something like this in my life from shooting, but right now, I cannot think of anything else that would cause this.
Anyway, just curious if others have run in this, I assume if so, it's a type of repetitive stress injury. If you HAVE faced this before, how did you get over it? Was it strictly rest, or were there exercises, or what?
What is a lot of shooting? How old are you?
I'm early 40's, and by a "lot" I just mean a lot of .45 for me, compared to normal. Typically I might shoot 100 rounds of .45, twice a month. For the 2 months, I've been doing about 3x that amount. Plus I've been shooting a large amount of .380--which you might think isn't a big deal--but I'm shooting it out of a little 9oz LCP, which really seems to produce snappy recoil. And the soreness has gotten progressively worse during this time.
To be honest, I don't KNOW that the arm pain is caused by shooting, it's just the most likely explanation I can think of.
I'm early 40's, and by a "lot" I just mean a lot of .45 for me, compared to normal. Typically I might shoot 100 rounds of .45, twice a month. For the 2 months, I've been doing about 3x that amount. Plus I've been shooting a large amount of .380--which you might think isn't a big deal--but I'm shooting it out of a little 9oz LCP, which really seems to produce snappy recoil. And the soreness has gotten progressively worse during this time.
To be honest, I don't KNOW that the arm pain is caused by shooting, it's just the most likely explanation I can think of.
Are you active outside shooting? Picking up kids, taking the trash out, etc? What I'm getting at is anything is possible as a drastic increase in any activity can do some weird things but if you are laying sod a few days a month, a couple 100rds of .45 shouldn't be an issue.
Just a thought.
Gutshot John
03-26-09, 19:09
Not necessarily .45 and I'm not even a serious competition shooter. I've gotten "shooting elbow" from shooting 9mm, it's actually the same tendon as tennis elbow so similar exercises should work. I think it's more about the grip than the recoil of the gun.
Motrin is your friend, rest for a couple of weeks, take 3 OTC motrin 3x a day for a week and you should be fine.
Doc looked at it tonight, had me push/pull on my hands and wrists, and indeed: the diagnosis was tendonitis. She suggested total rest for a few weeks, including no shooting. :(
Gutshot John
03-26-09, 21:04
Doc looked at it tonight, had me push/pull on my hands and wrists, and indeed: the diagnosis was tendonitis. She suggested total rest for a few weeks, including no shooting. :(
You'll be fine. In fact I think you'll notice a nice improvement after you take some time off.
Robb Jensen
03-26-09, 21:21
Doc looked at it tonight, had me push/pull on my hands and wrists, and indeed: the diagnosis was tendonitis. She suggested total rest for a few weeks, including no shooting. :(
It's usually not the recoil of the gun per say but the weight of the gun. I was shooting a heavy 46+oz .40 cal S&W STI for a year and it gave me 'tennis elbow' in my support (left) elbow for about 2yrs. This required me to stop shooting for quite some time and to wear a support brace AND shoot a much lighter weight gun. I then started shooting my Glock 17 and then a M&P9 and now a M&P9L. In the mean time I had 10oz taken off my STI by shortening the dust cover of the frame, losing the tungsten guide rod and magwell and lightening the hell out of the slide. This made all the difference in the world. It was such a big change that it made me shoot differently, mainly it confused my brain housing group as the sights didn't lift like they normally did. The front would lift so little that I'd think they were good and would pull the trigger too soon resulting in a high hit on the target. To help remedy me of this I've gone away from fiber front sights, sure it's costed me a few 100ths of a second in split times but I'm shooting more accurately with solid black sights....YMMV.
Let us know what the DR says. I have the same issue with my arm / elbow since I retired and started shooting more (800 - 1000 rds per week). I'm 62 and blame it on the projects my wife has given me to do. I am about ready to see a DR. It is effecting my shooting and exercise.
Much like with tennis, 'shooting elbow' develops due to a number of factors including how many rounds you shoot, how you hold the gun, how you angle (or lock) your elbows during shooing, etc. A lot of it simply has to do with gripping the gun tightly, which is why you see many serious shooters (who grip more tightly with their support hand) develop it in the support side elbow.
I'm going through something similar and had a doc (who is on this forum so he may have some tips to offer) send me a variety of things to help alleviate the pain and prevent recurrence.
Littlelebowski
03-27-09, 11:07
Good knowledge here. I can only imagine what's going to come up for me....
Wow Paul, if you're shooting up to 4K rounds of .45 per month, that's got to be getting expensive! I've been shooting from my cache and trying to improve my form with my 1911's, but I don't want to burn up all the .45 I have, so I will have to slow down anyway, even if I wasn't taking a break to heal the arm.
The Dr just said I had tedonitis (aka "tennis elbow"), and it could have been caused by any number of things, but since I'd been doing a lot more shooting recently, that was a plausible contributor to the problem. She seemed to think that just resting it was the best thing to promote fast healing. After mine heals up a bit, I'm going to do some stretching and exercises.
Does anyone have suggestions for exercises, or small gripping devices, to help build up strength and flexibility in your hands, wrists, and forearms?
About 5-6 years ago, we had an extremely wet winter here in the valley. I was missing the 'trigger time' so I started shooting 10m Air Pistol in the basement that winter while I was laid off. Started alright 50 in the AM and 50 in the evening and maybe alittle in the afternoon soon led to a sore elbow from not being conditioned for the position. Within a couple of weeks it was getting really sore. I remember I had to take a few days off because I was so sore I couldn't hold the position without pain but with alittle R&R, I came back. The down time was used to study the sport and when I felt better, I came back gradually.
I drastically reduced the quantity and went after quality. I would quit when I was getting tired instead of when I was tired (15-35 per session). I worked on position, grip and form. The biggest problem was locking the elbow. The quality sessions improved the mental game and I would focus on one thing per day or session, ie front site, breathing, natural point of aim, breaking the shot ect. and quit forcing bad shots (Yea right)
Does anyone have suggestions for exercises, or small gripping devices, to help build up strength and flexibility in your hands, wrists, and forearms?
Stepping out of my lane here but I've now had two chiropractors who are both serious shooters recommend getting a strong rubber band and wrapping it around the outside of my fingers & thumb so I can get resistance when stretching. Basically it works the muscles in the opposite direction compared to gripping hard/closing your fist.
Quite a few people get tendinitis from shooting. Shoot with your arms straight and not bent. When the elbows are bent they absorb recoil. Also shoot a smaller caliber until your elbows fully heal. Tendinitis takes a long time to heal unless you have a mild case of it.
Take Glucosamine and Chondroitin. I bought a bottle at Wal-Mart called Flex-a-min for ~20.00 with 96 tablets. It helped me with my tendinitis.
Tendons attach the muscles to the bone.
"Itis" refers to inflammation.
The tendonitis dx is most likely a result of his increased shooting activity. As the gun recoils, their is an increased load as well as vibration on the connective tissues and joints. The increased demand on his muscles and tendons will inflammation.
Tendonitis is traditionally treated with the use of braces (which re-directs the load on the muscles), NSAIDs, cortizone and rest. These options reduce strain on the muscles and tendons which allow for the inflamed area to rest.
My treatment protocol (as a chiropractor) for patients with tendonitis is as follows:
1. Adjust the joints in the area. The wrist, elbows and shoulders will most likely be subluxated (out of alignment) due the muscles being overworked
2. Soft tissue therapy (cross friction, PNF or ART) targeting the wrist, elbows, biceps and shoulders. (They all form a kinetic chain)
3. Ice, Biofreeze cream, contrast therapy, microbreaks and stretches
4. Rest if possible
5. Rehab protocol: Starting from Flexibility, Endurance, Strength and Power. <----This is very important because most patients want to move to strength training right away. You don't strength train muscles that are overworked.
The above protocols change from doctor to doctor but I find that the above works very well for tendonitis. If your able to find a sports/functional rehab chiropractor, he/she can get you back to the range quicker.
The problem with having too much rest is that the muscles will decondition.
Stepping out of my lane here but I've now had two chiropractors who are both serious shooters recommend getting a strong rubber band and wrapping it around the outside of my fingers & thumb so I can get resistance when stretching. Basically it works the muscles in the opposite direction compared to gripping hard/closing your fist.
When certain muscle groups turn "ON" due to overuse. They are slightly flexed on a regular basis. This turns the opposing muscle "OFF". By working the opposing muscles with mild resistance you can actually get the problem muscle groups to relax :)
Another thing I failed to mention to the OP. Some time ago I found a really sweet USP 45F. I absolutely loved shooting it but after 4 boxes of ammo my wrists started to go numb and my thumbs would tingle. The end result was I had to sell the pistol to find something else that was more ergonomic for hand hands or risk some form of RSI.
If shooting X amount of 45ACP gives you problems you may want to consider shooting something more ergonomic for your arms if your condition flares-up after returning shooting. Feel free to PM me with any questions :)
Sidewinder6
03-27-09, 14:49
Old. Gym every morning, moderate weight lifting. 500 rounds of .45 acp a week and yes. I feel it in my elbow. Sometimes my 'safety' thumb and trigger finger. Two words, wet heat. I use epsom salt.
Thanks for the recovery plan, 45r!
Several years ago I was 3 days away from a scheduled 'Ulnar Nerve Transposition'.
They were going to free up and re-route my 'funny bone' nerve from the elbow area to just under the skin alongside the bicep.
My left hand little finger was nerve dead and the left hand was showing signs of muscle atrophy.
Making a long story short, I had been under advisement via a noted Orthopedic Surgeon who was a customer of mine while discussing the matter with the local talent. The scheduled surgery was to favor evaluation of the nerve channel and scraping it open if at all feasible. 3 days pre-op the local guy had forgotten that plan entirely and was absolutely moving the nerve. I reacted appropriately and left his office never to return.
I had a prosthetic 'night brace/shield' fabricated to protect the nerve from pressure as I slept. I had a Cortizone injection into the inflamed area.
Immediate results. Today I have 98% sensation in the little finger and 100% left hand strength and function.
Was my problem the result of shooting, an old motorcyle spill, a physical anomaly or just 'one of those things'...I don't know.
I don't think that the 45acp in modest quantity can have a negative effect on your elbow unless other unrelated conditions pre-exist.
As in all matters medical.........find a 'good doc'. It's worth paying $100 for a consultation with several doctors before choosing one.
The internet is a great resource for knowledge. Spend some time educating yourself on similar problems/evaluations/cures before consulting an 'expert'.
Good luck and happy/healthy shooting.
:)
Back in 2006 I jacked myself up pretty good shooting several thousand rounds of .40 while trying to find a solution to our non-working Glock 22s. Recoil from even seemingly moderate calibers can add up.
Wow Paul, if you're shooting up to 4K rounds of .45 per month, that's got to be getting expensive! I've been shooting from my cache and trying to improve my form with my 1911's, but I don't want to burn up all the .45 I have, so I will have to slow down anyway, even if I wasn't taking a break to heal the arm.
The Dr just said I had tedonitis (aka "tennis elbow"), and it could have been caused by any number of things, but since I'd been doing a lot more shooting recently, that was a plausible contributor to the problem. She seemed to think that just resting it was the best thing to promote fast healing. After mine heals up a bit, I'm going to do some stretching and exercises.
Does anyone have suggestions for exercises, or small gripping devices, to help build up strength and flexibility in your hands, wrists, and forearms?
It's not just .45 -- Mostly centerfire pistol .45, .40, 9mm and .38spec. A little .22 for bulleye and some .223 and 12 ga for 3 gun practice. I tried resting it for a few days but as soon as I get back to shooting and the gym, it gets sore. I do about 30 minutes a day of exercise and stretch on it but it just remains about the same. I have tried heat and cold - not much difference.
Any suggestions? How about an arm transplant????????? I stopped pojects for my wife and told her that fixed it - it still hurts but I show no pain around her unless there is a list!
I guess the next stop is an Orthopod. Any suggestions other than rest?? How much rest?? 2 day? 5 days 10 days?
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