Casting around an injury

[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Casting with an injury can make fly fishing more of a chore than a joy. Casting in the normal manner with a torn rotator cuff can be very tiresome needless to say having to endure with the constant aching. So I have tried several different methods to see if I could still cast effectively and keep the pain to a minimum. I have discovered if I just raise just my forearm and bring the rod back to a 2 o’clock position making sure the line is fully straighten out before I start the forward motion, then at the 10 o’clock position I snap my wrist and the line will just shoot out quite nicely. Using this procedure eases the stress on my shoulder. Do you have a different method of casting to work around an injury?[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[macfly55]

man you do come up with some really good topics.. []

personally I dont have a problem with my shoulder as you described.. but.. on occassion I do get lower back pain (probably from my lack of expertise in casting).. Id be curious to see if anyone has any suggestions that may help me to keep this from happening...

MacFly [cool]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Oh yea the back pain scenario! I usually take a couple of Aleve which seems to help quite a bit. Guess that I should have taken up chess or golf in college instead of becoming a gymnast.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[macfly55]

oh Aleve and I get along well when my back starts to hurting..

gymnast huh.. DR Korbut :-)
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[flygoddess]

Sounds like you are casting the text book way. Put a book under your arm.
Sounds like that is what you are doing. Not going to get that 70' cast, but who needs it.

I get the lower back pain if I am standing all day. Specially in the winter in the water. I think I tense up.

Ibprofen and me don't get along in the sun. Got to be careful about the adverse reactions.
Tylenol and I are getting along much better since the ulcer and no more Excedrine. LOL
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Dam FGD do you mean to say that I'm doing something right? lol Also discovered that by doing a little adjusting I can make that fly shoot out like a rocket or float down like a feather. Guess we need to look for a swatter that is also an MD. Heck it sounds like we're all falling apart. But then again that happens when one passes 39. lol[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[Scruffy_Fly]

Here is something we all should be doing anyways.
This is what I started working on when I strained the muscles around my rotator cuff.

Learn to cast with the other hand.

But I must admit that I stopped working on it much after the muscles were to normal. But that took two years before the pain was gone.

Now in retrospect I believe my recovery would have been quicker if I would have totally switched to the other hand or given up FF for a year. Instead I did a lot of the "book under the arm " casting like you are doing.
My weaker arm would tire quickly so I would switch back when I was actually fishing. Should have reduced the fishing to just half a day and stop the repeditive days of fishing.
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Hi there Scruffy_Fly where have you been? We missed you. Well here is the bad news and that is I have a torn rotator cuff on the left side too. I still can cast decently using my right arm. In fact that doesn't bother me as much as my lower back gets real tired standing. So when I'm wading I make sure that there is an area I can park the old butt down to recuperate for 5 to 10 minutes. It always helps to pop a few Aleves before fishing. [/size][/#008000][/font]
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[cpierce]

The low back pain seems to be a common one for most people fly fishing.
I don't know if it is the standing, the posture, or the casting technique.

I find that if I take a minute or two between every 3rd pool or so and stretch or even stretch out on the bank and relax everything. I last longer. Doesn't completely stop it but it sure delays it. I start stretch before I ever start feeling any pain.

I know that I must look pretty funny with my feet sticking out of the willows![blush]
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