Joint pain

[Skipper]

I am an arm chair hunter/reader right now due to elbow pain derived from repetitive motion. ( swinging that damned weight back and forth ). So the Doctor said....... I love to beach and water hunt. I been to the Doctor twice now. Once to receive anti-inflamatory/pain pills, (Naproxen 500 MG and muscle relaxers), and another to have an ex-ray of my elbow and shoulder, (Right arm), still pending results, well.... anyway..
Do any of you experience the same? What are your remedies? How long til I may get back in the water without pain? I am frustrated
and my Excal battery has not been charged in about a 2 month period. Will this hurt my battery?

Hope this is the correct place to ask since I hunt beach & water.
Your comments and experience is greatly appreciated.

Skipper

PS....Sorry for all the compound questions....

 

[Sandman]

I have felt your pain only mine came in the form of Golfer's elbow from playing video games. Yeah, Pirates of the Caribbean too.

It will take a while for the arm to get better and the batteries won't short out. You can still charge them anytime if your worried about them. It won't be long and you'll be back out there. My suggestion is to unwrap that coil wire from around that shaft and just tape it along the side up to the handle. Then hang the controls from your neck to take all the weight off the arm or you'll soon be laid up again.

 

[Skipper]

I use a waist belt I made. I just have the shaft and coil to contend with....? It's not real heavy.

 

[GuerillaBill]

Skipper,

About a month after I got my excalibur, I had 'tennis elbow' so bad that I could barely type or drive.

See, when I first got the detector, I was like a kid in a candy store, and jumped right in, detecting for 3 or 4 hours a day, every day of the week.

All that repeated elbow and wrist activity soon took its toll. And I came down with a bad case of tennis elbow and tennis wrist.

It was so bad that I had a hard time typing, carrying groceries, and doing just normal day to day activities.

After doing research and consulting a physician I learned that while there are medicines you can take to reduce the pain, it generally takes 3 to 6 months for the elbow and wrist joints to heal itself.

So during those months, I took it easy. I still detected, but made an effort to change the way I was swinging the detector.

I learned that the joint pain wasn't so much the fault of the excalibur (which I had belt mounted), it was the way I was swinging the detector. Too fast and at the wrong angle for the wrist and elbow.

I have since learned to slow the swing way down, with no abrupt movements at either end of the swing. And not to move the wrist so much, but to move the entire arm during the swing.

This has paid off two ways.

First, because I have slowed down the swing, I'm finding a lot more interesting treasures.

And second, the tennis elbow and tennis wrist are no longer a problem.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if all the other detectorists on the beach kept swinging real fast, because it leaves more for us slow swingers.

Hope you have speedy recovery . . . there will still be treasures out there when you get back in the 'swing' of things.

Bill

 

[River Rat]

I too suffer....long hot soaks in the tub helps, the pillow thingie (has rice and herbs inside) that can be heated in the microwave or put in the freezer...I use the heat. Then I have the velcro wrap and if necessary the prescribed meds.

RR

 

[Montauk3]

My shoulder is what bothers me. But I solved the problem by switching swinging arms when I feel the shoulder acting up. Do you guys have any means of supporting the whole machine? Surgical tubing works very well.

The folks that see me at the beach must think that I have too much stuff hanging from me, but I assure you that everything hanging from my belt and elsewhere serves a purpose.

Have a good one.

I really don't want my hobby to become work.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Shoulder, elbow, wrist, knees, most
of the time.

Neck, feet, back, some of the time.

Other than the above, all is well.


all have a good un...........
SHERMANVILLE

 

[ivan salis]

hip mounting and slowing down greatly can help --- some folks rapidly "whip" their detectors like their cutting grass with a old hand type grass sling blade cutter like the chain gangs used. awful hard on the wrist and joints.

 

[erikk]

I have a really bum elbow and I water hunt with my Excal or Infinium 3-4-5 times a week. What I have learned to do is keep the arm close to the body and move your whole body side to side, You can hunt for hours this way and eliminate the pain. I am 69 next month and our hunts usually last for 6-8 hours so finding a comfortable way to hunt is pretty important. Give it a try it might help you

 

[XL-PRO PRO]

Smaller coil?Since I went to the 5.3 blackmax on my XL-PRO it seems like my 9.5 stock coil weighs a ton.I have also been considering a remote battery pack via a coil cord adjacent to my headphone cord but am unsure of the amount of interference it would create.Amazing how just a few ounces makes a great difference! DBULL

 

[Mat in MA]

[size=13pt]I see most replies were from those who use an Excal. I've got nothing against them and don't own one, but I've heard that they are heavy.

Maybe it's time to look into something lighter. I bought a DetectorPro Headhunter Wader a couple of years back and I love it. All their units are lightweight as everything is in the head sets. Controls on one side and batteries (2 9volts) on the other. I can swing for hours on land and in water with no arm fatigue.

Most people think that these units are just 'toys'. Boy are they wrong. They find the smalest jewelry are are really hot on silver and small items. Instead of finding pennies with the Wader I'm finding a bunch of dimes. I've never found as many dimes with any other detector that I've owned.

Look into them as they may be your answer. Good luck and Happy Hunting !!!

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

I see most replies were from those who use an Excal. I've got nothing against them and don't own one, but I've heard that they are heavy.

Maybe it's time to look into something lighter. I bought a DetectorPro Headhunter Wader a couple of years back and I love it. All their units are lightweight as everything is in the head sets. Controls on one side and batteries (2 9volts) on the other. I can swing for hours on land and in water with no arm fatigue.

Most people think that these units are just 'toys'. Boy are they wrong. They find the smalest jewelry are are really hot on silver and small items. Instead of finding pennies with the Wader I'm finding a bunch of dimes. I've never found as many dimes with any other detector that I've owned.

Look into them as they may be your answer. Good luck and Happy Hunting !!!

[size=13pt]INTERESTING

 

[therover]

I have an Excal and have to hip mount it because it is so heavy...even on the straight shaft.. Due to the way it is designed, it's a pain ( both in my elbow and shoulder, and in my A-- !) Great detector but heavy. Good thing you have to swing it slow because if it was a fast swing detector, it would have been sold by now.

I now use by BHID300 on the Anderson shaft, with the control box mounted at the farthest end ( not under my arm as much). This puts the center of gravity right at the handle, and it's perfectly balanced. I still cannot swing it all day, so I bring my back up...the HH Wader.

Listen to Mat in MA. Its a great, detector and he is correct...it hit's dimes like no other ( I have an Excal, BHID300, DFX, X5, CZ6a) all used at the beach, and have never had more dimes found than when I use the Wader. Don't know why. Also, Mat is correct in that is is very hot on silver. I have found more silver rings and chains with the Wader than the other detectors....and it can find gold too.

The only downside with the Wader is that it is not a depth demon, but it makes up with it's light weight and ease of use. And the discrimination is excellent. With the 8 inch coil, it can sniff out coins and good targets between nails and iron with ease. Set the discrim at 2, and small iron and nails break up and give a scratchy sound, while the good targets sound off great.

It works great in the wet/salt sand, and hunts some of the worst iron laden beaches without any problems.

If you have arm problems and still want to detect and give your arm a rest, my suggestion is to get a Detector Pro Wader or Diver. You cannot go wrong with them.

Also....I do not dive, so I have never had issues with the headset leaking. I have hunted in the pouring rain without any problems, but those who dive may have issues with them since I have read some have leaked.

JC

 

[Skipper]

Thank you all for your expertease and comments. I will still use my excal however will alter my style in accordance to some of the replies and advice posted here. Thank you. I think that when I get to the water, I am so anxious to get to finding, I swing a little faster and harder without regard to my pain. Drugs, however helpful, lead me to believe that I am still doing some damage to my elbow and shoulder. So, I will slow down, be more patient, and turn my body more with the swing of the shaft motion. Furthermore I will try some creative techniques, such as diving just off shore, just away from the "No Boat Zone" buoy. (Been wanting to try that). The Golden Oldie site is great for such matters of reading a beach, tides, etc... Any more experiences and advice from you all is greatly appreciated.

I will be taking it easy for now in hopes the Doctors may solve some of my issues. Maybe , and I hope the Doctors decide, I'll get a cortisone shot directly to the problem areas. Not sure how that goes but I think it may be worth the shot. Have any of you experience with the shot I'm referring to? Please post in reply if so.

Thanks again,

Skipper

 

[Marty-Graw]

i use the excal also and after a couple weeks my elbow hurts too lol......i dont think its the weight thats the problem but the "drag" in the water.....gotta find a more comfortable swing

 

[ivan salis]

those shots burn like hades and are at best a temp fix --(often the shot gives good short term relief but at a price) its bad long term for the joints --- try taking some "joint helper" --- theres several brands out there of it it can help in some cases but takes awhile to kick in fully * (several weeks)

 

[Sandman]

I've had the Cortisone shot for my knees and it is not something I want to do again since it is only short acting. Seems like a shot of Jack Daniels or two works better. The best help is mainly total rest for the affected joints.

I thought a long time ago that the worst thing that bothered my water hunting was the drag of the coil and shaft in the water. I quickly hip mounted the controls or hung them from my neck. I keep the shaft short as I can to lessen drag and run the cord straight up the shaft on one side to cut the water better too. Back when I used a 1280 with the box mounted on the handle, I learned just how much the box made a drag in the water too. I once tried out a flat streamlined shaft that cut the water like a knife, but it also got pushed around by the waves. It would work well in freshwater though.

Heck, if all this was easy, would we still do it?

Have a good'un,
Sandman

 

[Lash]

I have tendonitis in both elbows (forearms) from my work, which is very physical.

My doctor told me there is good news and there is bad news. Good news is it will heal in about three years. Bad news is it will heal in about three years. It has been almost three years and the condition is better, but working every day aggravates it.

Bandit arm (velcro bands with two hard plastic sections) bands help a lot; I wear them all the time. (www.banditusa.com)

Be careful with that Naprosen and Ibuprofin! I took too much for too long and it burned out my stomach! I can't even drink "Simply Smooth" coffee anymore.

I can swing a detector for brief periods with the Bandits, switching arms often.

 

[phantomfinder]

I got a bungee cord or two to take the weight off my joints

 

[davest]

sometimes I just smoke a little of that joint stuff and I forget all about the aches