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Tendonitis and pistols


MrTriple

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I have tendonitis in my arms, and have found that shooting pistols hurts after around 200 rounds. It wasn't caused by pistol shooting, this is a longer-term issue caused by other, unrelated factors.

 

I've noticed that the problem is less pronounced with heavier guns as opposed to lighter ones, and that's left me in a bit of a quandry.

 

My primary home defense pistol is comfortable in my hands, but not terribly pleasant to shoot. The only factor at play, as far as I can tell, is its lighter weight when compared to other, heavier pistols that I shoot. I've considered for a long time now of trading it in for a heavier, steel-framed weapon. At the same time, I hate getting rid of stuff I own unless I absolutely need to. I also wonder if the issue can be remedied by focusing on other factors at play. If I'm not mistaken, felt recoil is also a factor of things such as recoil spring weights, not just the overall weight of the gun itself.

 

Would it make more sense to trade away this pistol in favor of something heavier, or would it make more sense to modify the gun to reduce felt recoil?

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Hopefully you will never need to shoot anywhere near 200 rounds to defend your home. :)

But at the same time I shoot it regularly for fun, as well, and I'm finding it uncomfortable to shoot. Home defense is one purpose, but enjoyment is another.

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Yes, of course. I hope you find something that you can enjoy without the pain.

 

What caliber/firearm are you shooting?

9mm, polymer framed pistol. Don't wanna say too much else.

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I have tendonitis...

 

Would it make more sense to trade away this pistol in favor of something heavier, or would it make more sense to modify the gun to reduce felt recoil?

 

For reasons similar to yours I'm considering carrying a heavier/full sized gun, which happens to be my favorite shooter at the range. With the right holster it is no more of a burden than a gun small enough to fit in my pocket. At the range I can comfortably run 400 rounds through the center of a small target at 25' (I'm cheap and hate to use too much paper). With my smaller carry guns the groups are larger and shooting is less enjoyable.

 

Carry what you like to shoot, what you shoot best.

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I have tendonitis in my arms, and have found that shooting pistols hurts after around 200 rounds. It wasn't caused by pistol shooting, this is a longer-term issue caused by other, unrelated factors.

 

Have you tried using kinesio taping while your shooting? The link below shows an example of it. I have used it very successfully for a variety of my activities. It helps.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJpV1wXaRGk

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Tendonitis shouldn't be chronic if its being properly managed. its an acute inflamatory response to some injury, strain or repeated stress. Its important to properly identify the root cause so it can be managed to allow healing. kinesio/kenetic tape can offer support while healing, ice and massage and possibly NSAIDs to reduce inflamation. But without correcting the actual injury mechanism its not likely to result in significant improvement.

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I dunno if OP reloads or not. If not, this may be a good excuse to get into the hobby. Due to my profession, I've got midrange-levels of carpal tunnel (we're still trying to keep it under control with braces at night rather than surgery), and I've had reasonably good luck with loading light-ish loads for use at the range.

 

For example, my standard 9mm load right now is a 115 gr bullet with 4.7 gr of CFE Pistol for a book muzzle velocity of around 1000 fps. I now have a couple of micro 9's that I enjoy shooting, and have heard from a few sources that heavier bullets at slower velocities are less punishing out of a micro. So, I just picked up a box of 147 gr JHPs that I'll be loading with 3.3 to 3.6 gr of CFE Pistol (book muzzle velocities of between 750 to 800 fps) to see how that works.

 

There's quite a bit of capitol outlay at the beginning to buy all the stuff needed for reloading, but once you make the investment, you can tailor loads for yourself much less expensively than you'd be able to buy them at the store.

 

Bri

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Have you ever went to a sports Dr and not just a regular Dr ? I had it in my elbow and forearm and could not straighten my arm, had very little gripping strength in my hand and my regular Dr wanted me to have surgery, i went to a sports Dr and after 3 weeks of therapy and a few days of pain mine was gone and was able to shoot normally again...that was last year and it still has stayed away.

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I had some pretty painful tendinitis/tennis elbow a couple years back from extended chain saw use.

 

I found that it was aggravated by smaller pistols as well, but was more the grip size than the weight. A larger grip like a double stack Glock was less bothersome than a single stack 9mm of nearly identical or heavier weight.

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