Why I Stopped Shooting My Bow

If you've followed my archery journey then you know it started in 2020. I just had the idea that I wanted to learn to shoot a bow. I never imagined that within 10 months of getting my bow, I would have learned to shoot, hunt, kill my first deer, and process the meat ALL ON MY OWN! If you want to read the beginning of my journey, check out this post or my many videos on YouTube.

The day I got my bow in January 2021 was the first day I started my practice. I practiced EVERY DAY. I was outside in the heat, cold, rain, and wind, it didn't matter. In the one-off chance I didn't get a full practice in, I would use my resistance bands or Accubow to practice. I was obsessed. I had no idea that this would change everything in many ways.

Throughout my daily practice, I was working muscles I had never worked on before. I was pushing my limits every day. If I was down on my draw weight, I would push myself harder in the gym so that I could try again the next week. I was completely overdoing it. Looking back, I am not sure I would have changed anything. I learned so much about myself and gained so much knowledge about nature and conservation that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.

In 2022, I was having a hard time pulling my bow back and practicing the way I had in 2021. The pain in my chest and shoulder was so bad that I had to take a break from practicing. Since I was so new to the sport, I knew if I wasn't practicing then I wasn't going to be confident enough to take the life of an animal. My upper body workouts became excruciating and daily tasks like lifting something sideways or reaching over my shoulder to grab something were almost impossible. I decided to go to a Chiropractor to get checked.

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"my ribs and shoulder were out of place"

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Upon visiting my Chiropractor, I learned that my ribs and shoulder were out of place which was causing the pain when I attempted to pull my bow back. We assumed from overuse, but could have also been from an injury.

I continued to go to the Chiropractor weekly, then bi-weekly, and now monthly. Even though I have taken a break from Archery I still experience pain and my ribs/shoulder are out of place almost every visit.

I want to shoot my bow again terribly, but I know I have to get my shoulder pain fixed so I don't ultimately mess it up even more.

Over the last several months, I have incorporated some physical therapy work into my daily habits. An app offered through my job called Hinge Health has helped keep me on track so I don't lose focus on fixing my shoulder issues.

My bow is now set at 42.5 lbs. and I haven't adjusted the weight. Until recently, it had been 6 months or more since I’ve even attempted to pull my bow back. This time, the pain wasn’t bad and it felt great to finally shoot my bow.

I tell this story because I wonder if anyone else has struggled the way I have with this sport. If so, what did you do about the pain? Did you give up? Power through? Fix it and now you’re able to shoot with no issues? I want to know what you’ve experienced because this is very new to me and I never imagined it would have caused the issues with my ribs and shoulder.

I am not back to 100%, but I am slowly working my way there. Below are the things that have helped me:

• Hinge Health Shoulder Physical Therapy.

• No pushing workouts in the gym and focus on pulling movements to strengthen the muscles.

• Chiropractor adjustments weekly - bi-weekly - monthly.

• Tens unit several times a week.

• Heat.

Originally, I planned to get back out there this hunting season, however, as of now we are not able to hunt due to restrictions. The deer in our area have Chronic Wasting Disease and from what I've read I don't want any part of it. When I do get back into my hunting journey, I will post to my YouTube channel. Until then, I am thinking of ways I can still keep my channel alive after several years, and nothing to post about archery or bow hunting.

If you've experienced any of these same issues or have any insight into the Chronic Wasting Disease, post a comment to let me know your thoughts.