AC Joint Arthritis Anyone?

[CodeMonkey]

So I was hit with the preseason jitters pretty hard this year. I have target panic, but usually I can get myself back to my baseline. For whatever reason, this year I could not get myself back to my blueprinted shot, so I broke things down to the point of blank bailing.

Once I pulled through my shot, it became extremely obvious as to why my form was off. Pulling through my shot results in pain in my AC joint. From what I can put together, punching the trigger and not loading my back were/are ways of me guarding my shoulder.

An ortho doc had previously diagnosed me with arthritis in my AC joint and did a cortisone injection in February. Sure enough, by mid March I was shooting lights out, but my form has degraded since. This has been my worst summer since I started shooting in terms of my performance at the 3-D range and I think it all ties back to subconsciously guarding my shoulder, which leads to all sorts of form issues.

I'm wondering if anyone can cheer me up with success stories coming back from these kinds of injuries and what I can expect if I go down the surgical route. Like I said, it seems like cortisone lasts maybe two months before my symptoms come back and I start guarding my shoulder and my groups open up.

The good news is that I didn't draw any decent tags this year, so I think my plans are to shut things down for the season and make sure I'm as close to 100% as possible for 2024.

 

[MattB]

No AC joint arthritis here (have separated mine though), but what release style are you shooting? If an index style, this might be a good window to learn to shoot a back tension release.

You may want to revisit the poundage you are shooting too, unfortunately.

 

[CodeMonkey]

No AC joint arthritis here (have separated mine though), but what release style are you shooting? If an index style, this might be a good window to learn to shoot a back tension release.

You may want to revisit the poundage you are shooting too, unfortunately.

I shoot an index and unfortunately the pain occurs when I pull through and my arm goes backwards. If I punch and don't load up my back, I feel fine, but my groups are not what they should be.

I don't think it's draw weight related because if I don't follow through, my shoulder feels fine.

 

[Tilzbow]

Yep! Dealt with it from the time I was in my 20’ to late 30’s, genetics and a 5 year job (washing big rigs by hand) in which I was using my arms above my head for 8-10 hours a day for 5 years, then started archery. Had injections, which helped, but each injection will last less time and most doctors will only do 3 in a year when soft tissue is involved. Also had a shoulder decompression on both the right and left which also helped for several years.

Finally had a AC joint resection done 20 years ago on the right (they grind about 1” of the joint away via the collar bone) and I’ve had no shoulder issues since in my right shoulder.

That said my left has been bugging me the last few years and might need the same surgery but after 11 orthopedic surgeries I’m pretty much done with that and would rather deal with the pain Unless it gets to the point I can’t shoot or fish.

 

[Beendare]

Yeah, AND in my elbows.
Voltaren and Advil is your friend but its crucial to talk to a good PT as you are probably aggravating it ( I was) and there are things you can do to make it better mechanically

 

[CodeMonkey]

Thanks all. Good to hear I'm not alone.

Meeting with my doc on Friday. Not sure how to proceed. The worst case scenario for me would be that I do some conservative treatments (cortisone, PT, etc.), put in for archery tags since its starting to feel better, only to have it flare up really bad and affect my shot sequence again.

If I'm going to end up in surgery, I'd rather have that decision made sooner than later so I can plan accordingly.

 

[Dschwan]

I had ac surgery in March of this year. I was out of work for 5 weeks. Started shooting my bow in six weeks after surgery. Took me four week to built the strength back up in my shoulder to go from 50# up to 75# draw weight. 8 weeks out I moved 4 tons of landscaping rock in a wheel barrow using a shovel. I have no stability issues with the removed bone. I did my own PT. Stretching was 100% key to recovery for me. I was doing light shoulder workouts at the gym and a lot of legs just to stay moving. Last fall when it was at its worst I noticed that the pain was almost gone while hunting due to the pressure from my backpack pushing the joint down so I was able to hunt pain free for the most part. I only had one injection and it was great until it wasn't. Like Beendare said, Voltaren does help keep the inflammation down and avoid activites that cause pain. For me it was shoveling and using a post hole digger. Good luck on getting pain free. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions that I could help with. I'm glad I had the surgery.