Bursitis

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muldoon9
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:04 pm
Location: Old Dominion

Bursitis

Post by muldoon9 »

Hey you older long-term shooters out there........

What do you do about the onset of bursitis, especially for the longer prone strings?

It has come upon me suddenly and I'm not prepared for this. (swelling, pain).

and "RICE" dont help much........

Thank you,
Regards,
M
Martin H
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:01 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Bursitis

Post by Martin H »

I assume this is your front elbow in prone?
If so you need to look after it very carefully otherwise you will do permanent damage. Ice for 10mins, three times a day. I found that a slushy mixture of ice AND water was best as my elbow couldn't even bear the crushed ice touching it. I cut the ends out of a small polystyrene cooler so I could get my elbow in easily.
Rest from shooting for two weeks, then carefully ease back into it. Keep up the ice anytime the swelling comes back.

Get a soft mat to put under your elbow. Better still, use latex foam in your shooting mat so you have a permanent soft cushion under your elbow. Try thin foam inside your coat sleeve or inside your shooting top to protect the elbow.
Use clothing with a tight fit around your elbow so it can't pinch. My original problem started from having wrinkles under my elbow.

But look after it, it is a serious problem that can cause permanent damage.
Martin
Pat McCoy
Posts: 806
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:34 pm
Location: White Sulphur Springs, MT, USA

Re: Bursitis

Post by Pat McCoy »

Besides more padding in your prone mat, you might do a search for "cryotherapy" in your area. Full body cryo during the past year has helped my degenerating disks, and now there are some places using "spot cryo" instead of the full body cryo.
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muldoon9
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:04 pm
Location: Old Dominion

Re: Bursitis

Post by muldoon9 »

Yes this is my left elbow for prone.
I'm glad you warned me. I didn't know it would cause permanent damage.

I will keep up the ice and compression.........
...... it's good to know there's light at the end of the tunnel, judging by what you are alluding to in your posting.

I have is using a gel elbow pad for years, it apparently has not been enough of a cushion.

I have a match October 7th, 88 shots in prone.

Your thoughts ?

M
Martin H
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:01 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Bursitis

Post by Martin H »

My elbow flared up 20 years ago, I have kept it under control since then. So I am sure you can recover by 8th Oct. Lots of ice, get your mat as soft as possible, I used 20mm latex foam on the inside. I even replaced the hard rubber top surface with thin Topgrip so my elbow could sink further into the mat.

I used 50mm wide x 5mm thick foam with a adhesive backing and stuck it to the inside of my jacket. That helped a lot too.

I used two shooting tops, an Anschutz Coldwinner on the outside and a thinner Anschutz Stenvarg top on the inside. That also helped to cushion the elbow too. And they just passed the ISSF 2.5mm thickness too.
Cheers
Martin
gwsb
Posts: 425
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:13 am

Re: Bursitis

Post by gwsb »

With all respect to the other responders, I don't see M.D. behind their names, or mine either.

This happened to me maybe 20 years ago and I went to my orthopedist who was semi familiar with my shooting. He operated on it and after a length of recovery I was able to return to smallbore prone and wore a gel pad for a while. If memory serves, I had it done in the late fall and was able to be shooting by the spring and summer season.

Also remember our bodies don't come with a warranty that we would be able to shoot smallbore forever. Other physical issues have forced me to quit smallbore prone and take up air pistol.
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muldoon9
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:04 pm
Location: Old Dominion

Re: Bursitis

Post by muldoon9 »

Went to the doctor today and he gave me my options.

I chose the drainage and the injection of the steroid. He didn't have trouble with me Shootin in 2 weeks provided I use the foam donut, that I described to him.

However it's mighty sore right now and I was not sore before the visit to the office.

He also was an agreement that if it bothers me again he's going to cut it out.

I hope the delay the loss of prone and three position as long as possible.

very understanding and mature doctor.

M.
gwsb
Posts: 425
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:13 am

Re: Bursitis

Post by gwsb »

Good luck with it Muldoon however you and the doctor fix it. Getting old sucks.
Environs
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:28 pm
Location: New Zealand (Cambridge)

Re: Bursitis

Post by Environs »

I use this cup/ring made from foam to take pressure of tip of elbow. If I dont use it, I could be off shooting for a week or two till elbow comes right again.

Here is link to discussion on another forum: http://www.targetshooting.co.nz/ubbthre ... #Post11301
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muldoon9
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:04 pm
Location: Old Dominion

Re: Bursitis

Post by muldoon9 »

Thats a great idea. ill be copying that.
M
gwsb
Posts: 425
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:13 am

Re: Bursitis

Post by gwsb »

Is that even legal? It looks like it would help the elbow problem but I know it would not pass ISSF and I doubt it would pass NRA.
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muldoon9
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:04 pm
Location: Old Dominion

Re: Bursitis

Post by muldoon9 »

People complain at the NRA ,
but I tell him " you know what, if I take first place then argue about it,
leave me alone and let me shoot".

They're pretty much lousy Shooters anyway, relying on this straight jacket of a Coat to hold them up.

M
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