Archery is not commonly associated with injury but injury to the upper limb is more common than once thought

Sports injury in archery

Although archery is a sport with a low reported incidence of associated injury it can be expected that injury does occur because of the repetitive nature of the action of drawing a bow. Archers do not appear to recognise chronic aches and pains as being due to injury.

In July 1996 the FITA medical committee launched an internet survey to try to determine the incidence of sports injury in archery. The survey was started at the Hart House pages of the University of Toronto at
Http://www.utoronto.ca/archery/fitasurv.htm
The survey is also available at the FITA web
Http://www.archery.org/medical_survey/medical_survey_form.html

Injury reports relate to overuse or damage of muscles and tendons of the upper limb relating to the shoulder, elbow, wrist and finger joints. By far the most frequently injured area is the shoulder. A small number of reports relate to direct trauma. It has been surprizing to note that only under half of those reporting injury seek help from a physiotherapist.

A breakdown of injury reports gives the following results -

Shoulder injuries (including rotator cuff) 47%
Elbow injuries (common flexor & extensor tendon origin problems)                         17%
Wrist injuries                                         12%
Finger injuries                                         6%
Back injuries                                           5%
Forearm injuries                                     4%
Other injuries                                         9%

Reports have been received from archers in 20 different countries the majority being from archers in the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.

From the survey we conclude that the majority of injuries in archery involve joints in the upper limb and are related the repetitive nature of the action of drawing a bow. The archery coach should be aware of the risk of injury and should advise training to avoid overuse injuries.

Logo of the
International
Archery
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The shooting line at the World Target Championships in Riom, France, August 1999

British archer Allison Williamson who is ladies World Silver medalist - Riom August 1999

Jim Easton, President of FITA at the World Ski archery
Championships in Bessans, France, March 1999

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