How an Archer Can Avoid Injury

Have you ever had an injury from shooting your bow which caused you to take time off from shooting? If not, there’s a good chance you will at some point with some studies suggesting over 50% of archers eventually experience an injury. This article is meant to decrease those odds, or at least decrease the time spent away from shooting due to injury.

Here are five suggestions that will likely decrease your chance of injury and keep you shooting your bow injury-free:

1. Make sure you have a properly fit bow. Don’t be like me. I purchased my first bow from a guy off online classifieds who had a draw length 4 inches longer than mine and set to 70#. I didn’t know anything about bow fitting, draw length, draw weight, or even anchor points for that matter. I shot that bow a lot without making any adjustments and luckily sold the thing before it resulted in injury, but the story could have easily been worse.  A bow that doesn’t fit the archer requires the person to alter the shooting position to get to full draw and hold for the shot. This alteration of position changes the joint and muscle mechanics making the shot not only less repeatable, but also more likely to cause injury. This problem can become exponentially worse when considered with my second suggestion.
2. Don’t be “over-bowed.” One common mistake archers (especially male hunters) make is starting out with a draw weight that is too heavy. With some hunters shooting 80# and commenting that they get “pass throughs” on every animal they shoot, others think they have to shoot 80# to effectively hunt large game. A couple solutions to this predicament could be: 1. buy your bow early enough you have time to shoot at a lighter weight for several months and increase your weight to 80#, if that’s your goal, prior to hunting season. Guys that have been shooting for a long time can get away with higher poundage than someone picking up a new bow 2 weeks before the season opens. 2. Worry more about your ability to shoot the bow well than worrying about how much poundage you are pulling. If you shoot really heavy poundage when you’re not safely able to do so consistently you open yourself up to injury and that is going to destroy your season faster than anything. Having that said, I see both sides to the coin. There are hunters I respect that shoot 80# and hats off to them, but if the hunting regulations state you can legally hunt at 40# (check where you will be hunting beforehand), I would give shot placement and accuracy more effort any day of the week.
3. If you want to be more safe, more stable, more accurate, and less likely to have an injury, work on exercises that are effective at stabilizing your shoulder blade. This could be done with many types of resistance including bands, dumbbells, machines, or no equipment at all. There are a couple things to consider when creating a strengthening regimen. Prone and side lying positioning may help to isolate specific muscles in the upper back important for executing a shot with a bow including the lower trapezius muscle. Adding in a couple exercises in prone or side-lying should be considered. But, bows are shot standing up, so make sure to work on some unilateral strengthening in standing to better simulate the position when shooting a bow. If you need help with these exercises, we’d be happy to help at Mountain Performance PT.
4. The fourth suggestion is to warm up before shooting your bow. If you’ve ever needed to pull back your bow after standing in one position for 2 hours waiting for the shot while the temperature is dropping 5 deg every 20 minutes, you already understand what difference it can make. In the field you may not be able to move in order to warm up (for the shot and generally to get warmer), but when shooting for practice this should be part of the routine. A warm-up could include 1 min of band work, some mobility exercises, or even just physically moving through your shot process before adding the resistance of the bow. Don’t plan on so much time that you skip it every practice, but I don’t know a competitive athlete out there that doesn’t have some kind of warm-up routine. Again, if you need help with what that should look like for you, let us know so we can help.
5. The last thought I’ll cover on this topic is fatigue. I would venture so far to say that a majority of injuries that are non-traumatic in nature are likely due to fatigue. Fatigue will lead to altering how the body moves to compensate for the fatigue until the body eventually finds the weak point. This suggestion can tie all the other pieces together. Make sure you have a properly fit bow and that your body positioning is appropriate. Make sure you can comfortably pull back your bow. Work some upper back and shoulder blade exercises into your workout routine and perform a short warm-up before shooting when possible. All of these things will help you avoid fatiguing too soon and will prepare your tissues for the stress you will put them through. If you start to feel like your shot and form is worsening, take longer breaks between shots, switch to a bow with lighter poundage for the last half of practice, if you have that luxury, or come back tomorrow and shoot more then. 

Archery is a great sport and is especially fun and challenging when paired with hunting. Most of us want to continue to do what we enjoy well into our later years in life. Don’t let pain and injuries set you back. These suggestions will help you think about some of the low hanging fruit that will help you stay healthy and able to perform as an archer at your best. If you’re unsure about how to apply these things, or you have already been injured and need some guidance, we’re your guys. We’ll see you on the archery range.