1. Rotator cuff injuries
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons around the shoulder joint. As such, it’s no surprise this area is prone to injury when practising archery. This is especially so when you draw your bow consistently, you put pressure on the muscles and strain them. Over time, you might experience an aching pain in the shoulder, causing a restriction in your range of motion.
Prevention tip:
If you experience pain when drawing back your bow, take a break and let the muscles relax to prevent injury. Simple as that! Additionally, some archery stances tend to exert more pressure on your rotator cuff. Therefore, choose a comfortable stance using the proper bow-drawing technique. Make sure you also use your back muscles to pull your arm back, to lessen the pressure on your shoulder.
2. Tendonitis
As an archer, you’re likely experienced “archer’s elbow”. If not, you’ll definitely want to keep it that way. It refers to tendonitis in the elbow, which is when your tendon becomes inflamed. For archers, tendonitis is most common in the elbows, but also occurs in the shoulders and wrists. When this happens, bringing your bow to a full draw can be extremely painful as your inflamed tendons are being strained.
Prevention tip:
A heavy bow doesn’t mean that it’s a good bow. Instead, you might need to decrease your draw weight if you can’t maintain a correct form when drawing your bow as it might be too heavy for you. It’s also important to condition and strengthen the muscles you’re using, so your tendon doesn’t overcompensating for them. Of course, it’s important to practise your archery skills, but you should never neglect conditioning exercises that prevent these archery injuries.
3. Muscle strain injuries
We kid you not. There is such a thing as overtraining, especially in a sport that involves so many repetitive movements. When you’re working a certain group of muscles too hard, it’s only a matter of time before you experience a muscle strain injury. Archers are commonly seen to strain their muscles in the arms, shoulders and neck, making them feel achy, stiff and even potential cramping in those areas.
Prevention tip:
As much as archers hate to hear it, there is no better cure than rest. You should take regularly breaks to give your muscles the opportunity to rest. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your archery technique without physical practice. In fact, several of the best archers in the world highlight the importance of mental training. So why not try these ideas to exercise your brain and improve your archery whilst you’re away from the range?
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