TargetTalk

I'm not a doctor, but I gripped a gun a lot back in my day. Could this be carpel tunnel syndrome? See a doctor for the best and most accurate diagnosis. What's the cause? It could be the way the grip is formed and how you need to grip it. It could just be a repetitive motion injury. You are shooting and dry firing a lot. Good luck.

So has this resolved for you by now? If not complete rest is the solution. I have had tendonitus from shooting. My solution is 100% rest till its completely healed, then gentle exercise and rehab. I have used the down time of my strong hand to work on my weak hand shooting in one of the other shooting disciplines I enjoy like IPSC and IDPA. I've even thought of getting left handed grips made for my target pistols, but that darn lack of money thing keeps getting in the way. Hope your hand is doing better.

Chris

I had a similar issue when I started shooting, though the pain was on the lower side of the wrist going towards the elbow..not sure what is medical term for that body part, other than hand..thats also my disclaimer that I am not a doctor :-)
My remedy was to stop shooting for 2 weeks till the pain subsided. When I started back, I included adequate rest between the series and matches (5 mins rest after 5 shot series for standard pistol..longer if required). Ice pack after shooting also did wonders. One day complete rest in a week is mandatory...never skip. Try to limit shooting time to 2 hours at a time, followed by rest, then shoot again instead of shooting 4-5 hours on a stretch. Ideally spread the training through the day, if you can

Mtl_Biker, we have not sweet 20. It is necessary to slow down and not want everything and immediately. The body needs more and more time for recovery.
I am 62, my first problems of this kind started 3-4 years ago

Mtl_biker, Looking laterally, are you thumbing smart phones in that hand, or using laptop trackpads at work or driving the car one handed? Changing to using my mouse left handed at work once cured me of a long term right eye twitch, much to the annoyance of the neurosurgeon who said there was no known connection. There was, and I proved it by temporarily changing back.

cloudswimmer wrote:So has this resolved for you by now? If not complete rest is the solution. I have had tendonitus from shooting. My solution is 100% rest till its completely healed, then gentle exercise and rehab. I have used the down time of my strong hand to work on my weak hand shooting in one of the other shooting disciplines I enjoy like IPSC and IDPA. I've even thought of getting left handed grips made for my target pistols, but that darn lack of money thing keeps getting in the way. Hope your hand is doing better.

Chris

The hand is much better now, thanks. Although still not back to normal. I'm no longer wearing a brace when I sleep (or at any other time) and I have greatly reduced my pistol shooting. (Luckily for me I also shoot 10m rifle.) I didn't shoot pistol at all for the last week and yesterday shot two full matches. I must take it easy and get back into it gradually. I modified the pistol grip somewhat, and benefited from some coaching advice about how to grip the pistol and where you should exert pressure and where you shouldn't, and it's all helping. But the biggest cause of this problem was an over-enthusiastic over use with that new (heavier and with different balance) pistol. I should have taken it easier.

Cheers!

pbrejsa wrote:Mtl_Biker, we have not sweet 20. It is necessary to slow down and not want everything and immediately. The body needs more and more time for recovery.
I am 62, my first problems of this kind started 3-4 years ago

Thanks for your comment! You're right of course. And I'm even older than you are! :)

Age in this case is quite individual. The symptoms, however, are typically the same. Be careful.

Recommendations from Chris is very good and often the most effective.

Mtl_Biker wrote:

cloudswimmer wrote:So has this resolved for you by now? If not complete rest is the solution. I have had tendonitus from shooting. My solution is 100% rest till its completely healed, then gentle exercise and rehab. I have used the down time of my strong hand to work on my weak hand shooting in one of the other shooting disciplines I enjoy like IPSC and IDPA. I've even thought of getting left handed grips made for my target pistols, but that darn lack of money thing keeps getting in the way. Hope your hand is doing better.

Chris

The hand is much better now, thanks. Although still not back to normal. I'm no longer wearing a brace when I sleep (or at any other time) and I have greatly reduced my pistol shooting. (Luckily for me I also shoot 10m rifle.) I didn't shoot pistol at all for the last week and yesterday shot two full matches. I must take it easy and get back into it gradually. I modified the pistol grip somewhat, and benefited from some coaching advice about how to grip the pistol and where you should exert pressure and where you shouldn't, and it's all helping. But the biggest cause of this problem was an over-enthusiastic over use with that new (heavier and with different balance) pistol. I should have taken it easier.

Cheers!

Late coming to this thread. 30 years on a motorcycle, 20 of those on one of two oilhead GS's...plenty of 500+ mile days in the saddle and most years putting way more mikes on two wheels than in four. Been down a few times as well (comes with the territory). Only been doing Bullseye on and off since the mid 90's. The bike definitely takes a toll on my wrist (right only for me), even with throttle friction device (I try to avoid roads that encourage use of mine whenever possible). Serious deep tissue massage...the kind that brings tears ...then revelation when it's over...that's what's helped my wrist the most and got me through some painful times (mostly from get-offs). Pistols haven't exacerbated it much but I tend to only do 1-2 hours 2-3 times a week. No triple matches for me.

Short version: I will second the recommendation for a skilled massage therapist. Keep the rubber down.