Tendonitis

[Arrowind]

I think I got a little tendonitis from doing so much sanding.      

[Eric Garza]

Yeah, I got it one fall after spending too much time filing.  You have to stretch out before & after working on wood, otherwise repetitive motions will do you in.

[Little John]

I got it once from shooting an ELB with hand shock. Never hurt real bad but was always there for a year or more. A stinging sensation. Am rid of it now and now shoot bows with no handshock.    Kenneth

[Parnell]

I got it in my sternum/chest from the scraping motion I was doing.  Took awhile to go away, had to change the motion.

[ricktrojanowski]

Grind into the area with your thumb to loosen it up.  It should hurt, but it will help.   Helps to have some Tiger Balm or some other type of embrocation on it.   Then ice it when done.  And take some advil. 

[seabass]

i am a union drywall finisher for the past 21 years.i have it in both arms and wrists.i feel for you.i know it hurts alot.stretching out helps.when you get it real bad,your arms will be pins and needles when you first wake up.take it easy for a while and the swelling in your tendons will go down and it will feel alot better.good luck,steve

[gmc]

I read somewhere that muscle will build much faster than tendon.

Manual tools can be really hard on you if you don't take it easy.

[Caius]

Its all about building strength, get a gyroscope, squeeze tennis balls, hand strengtheners etc. Start easy then work your way up.  I'm a major climber so I really know how to keep tendons strong and in good shape.

And muscle does build faster than tendon, tendon doesn't build, just gets toughened and strengthens the muscles its attached to.  Think of your tendons like bow strings and muscles like the bow wood.

[Arrowind]

Thanks guys.  I believe in my case this is a "sudden use" injury.  I am new to building bows and went from not doing anything (bow buildingwise) to working on a bow almost every weekend or even working on something every other evening as well.  All the sanding sanding sanding to get tool marks out of Hickory has been tough.  I finally realized it's much easier to use 60 grit rather than 100 grit to start.    

The other thing is that I'm turning 40 this year and over the last 5 years I've noticed that my body seems to be slowing down big time.  I get injured pretty easily and have to take things a lot slower than I used to.  The joys of getting older.

Anyway. I was curious to see if anyone else has had similar issues and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. 

Actually since I posted this it has gotten better.   It's lasted for about a month and seems to be getting better with time off from that activity.

[markinengland]

The only thing I find helps is not to over do it. Once you feel the start of strain, stop or do something else. Rest and it will go away. Keep going and it will just get worse.

[ken75]

arrowind try scraping out your tool marks with a sharp knife then finish sand .

[Arrowind]

Thanks Ken.  ..but that would be working smart....    Guess I should of thunk o that...