Injuries... how have they changed your life with firearms?

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I had my feeling hurt once, does that count ?

Ok moar serious now; My outspoken nature caused me to get hit in the head a bit in my younger days. A detached retina in my right (dominant) eye has caused me to re-learn how to shoot. I also learned to choose my words carefully.
 
I took a fall and did this to my heel.
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I shoot mostly revolvers now, as picking up spent brass is more of a chore.

Doc did a good job of putting me back together, but arthritis in the ankle joints has me on NSAIDs for the rest of my life.

Small price to pay.
 
I know that while in the ER after The Incident, they spend what seemed an inordinate amount of time inspecting and X-raying my heels, and asking how they felt.
My feet were gashed and painful, but the real pain was in my pelvis and I could not understand the interest in my feet. I later learned that the heel is a bad place to injure, as you have found.
 
Broken neck in my younger days, got real lucky, no paralysis, badly ruined rotator cuff 20 years ago. ruptured disc l-4 l-5 13 years ago and now my eyes are getting weaker. But I still go to work, ride motorcycles and shoot when i get the chance, so all in all i'm not doing too bad, although this getting old crap is not for sissies, ha. The meds will keep you going as long as you can control the dependancy aspect and not use more just cause you have them and are feeling bad. Migranes and bachache are a way of life now.
 
body damage

Since 2010
Left knee total knee replacement ,Right knee total knee replacement
right ankle broken in 3 places, ruptured right achellies tendon,6 other torn tendons and ligaments.6 screws and 2 plates . And add a skull fracture to that list.

I don't run anywhere anymore. i don't fight anymore either . if it come's to it ,I just shoot.

Arthritis has started in and at age 54 I'm on disability. i like everyone else still like to shoot when i can . just a little slower now :)
 
I have been using inversion for the back for almost 15 years now, it usually helps, sometimes it will give immediate relief, "crack all the disks" as soon as you flip over. I got a cheap inversion machine for 100 bucks and it works just as well as the more expensive ones. It's just reversing gravity, hanging upside down allows all the bones and disks to snap back into position. I have tried braces, tens units, heat, "you name it", and this worked the best for me. I walked into a sports authority and tried their inversion machine to see if it worked, and after I removed the thing that they had on it to prevent people from using it, I flipped over, and found it worked right away.
Try one If someone you know has one, or do what I did. Sometimes they snap back and some times they don't. But anything that helps is worth a shot. The first time Iused it I felt a half dozen disks pop.
I would not try it if you have leg or foot problems.
 
WOW ..............I am one lucky dude, 72 in three more days and no injuries since Charlotte broke my heart in the tenth grade. It did mend though and the current wife has lasted 49 years.
 
I got two of my fingers caught in a machine at work, cutting off the tips. The middle finger didn't lost much length, but the pad is a mass of scar tissue. The index, (read: trigger) finger, though, I lost pretty much the whole first joint.

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Since I was left eye dominant to begin with, and could already shoot handguns with either hand, I decided to make the switch to shooting everything lefty. It took about a month of determined practice before shouldering a long gun on that side began to feel natural, but it does, now.

Six months down the road, I've swapped most of my biased long guns for left handed models. At my best, before the switch, I had won the State Championship in SASS, and was pretty sure of placing in the top 3 at most local matches. Now, I'm starting to creep back into the Top Ten, but I'm still 3-4 seconds per stage off the pace of the leaders.
 
Shooting guns gave me hyperacusis and tinnitus. I can't shoot guns anymore. Ear plugs didn't stop it.
 
A broken arrow in the U.S.A.F. at 19 left me with very bad neropathty. The pain can be very bad sometimes! At night it feels like fire! I have meds to control the pain but have had to learn to just fight thru it at times. Not as easy as it sounds, but sometimes that's all you can do! I try to shoot as much as possible & keep on going! That has kept me shooting so far, but getting old ain't helping! Just keep going! That's the most important thing to do! Sorry not more help but that's it. Good luck!
 
I've been shot through my left hand (thank God it wasn't my right, although I don't recommend getting shot at all) and it required surgical reconstruction. I thought I was going to be hindered when firing long guns because of it, however I have most movement back in my index finger and the scar tissue doesn't bother me too much and can handle a standard long gun and a long gun with a front grip just fine.

I'm a gritty grunt, and would have managed someway anyhow.
 
Left shoulder surgery made for a slow down, then right shoulder surgery five years later another slowdown. All that healed just fine with therapy. Today the thing slowing me down is simply getting older. The visual acuity isn't what it once was and bending into shooting positions doesn't quite work as well as it once did. Shooting a match isn't a weekend activity anymore.

Today I just head to the range for pure enjoyment and enjoy it I do. I don't worry about the groups as much as I once did. Who cares because it's all about the enjoyment and relaxation. Truth be known, I believe all my guns shoot better than me. Today it's about teaching the grandchildren and enjoying their youth.

Ron
 
Since everyone else is posting their problems, might as well post mine too..

I hurt my left shoulder about 32 years ago, and it's been messed up ever since. Supposedly, I have an impingement, with possible nerve entrapment. It used to hurt so bad sometimes that I couldn't even do anything but sit and groan. I went to therapy, and it got much better, until the therapists talked me into doing cold packs along with heat and ultrasound, that made it worse than ever. I have full range of motion, but any outward "swing" hurts quite a lot, and if I have something more than 5 pounds in my hand, a "swing" feels like a knife has been stuck into my armpit. In general though, my left shoulder is now my "good" one. I hurt the right shoulder in a fall 6 years ago yesterday. A stumble turned into a life changing disaster. I started to turn my left ankle as I was stepping up from a parking lot to a sidewalk to enter a carry out. I tried to save myself from a sprained left ankle and I planted my right foot, and my leg arced over and my right knee was the "hammer" that slammed itself into the sidewalk. I'm a big guy, so between my weight and the forward motion, there was a lot of force involved. It made a huge CRACK, and it went dead, there was zero pain in the knee itself. My only original pain was in my right shoulder. I had torn it all up when I put my arm out to keep my face from slamming into the sidewalk. I had torn my bicep, and a bunch of other stuff. The doctors told me that if it happened to almost anyone else, their collarbone would have broken, and it wouldn't have been so had, but more than one doctor has said I have the thickest collarbones they have ever seen, so all the force of the fall went into my shoulder and upper arm. My shoulder would pop out of the socket and "float". I could lift my arm up to about shoulder high, but lifting it higher or with even just a couple of pounds caused amazing pain. I was urged to have surgery, but with my problems listed below, I passed on it. Smart move it turned out.

My main problems are my legs and back. When I fell, I crushed a nerve in my knee, and it was almost totally dead for over 3 years. It came "back to life" at 2am on Dec 2, 2010. Even the way it woke up was odd. At first, it was a minor throbbing that got worse and worse, to the point I was about to call 911 and go to the ER. But when I stood up to go to the bathroom, the pain stopped and it was obvious my right knee was better than it had been in over 3 years. Therapy was a disaster, I hurt my left knee twice, going to the ER both times, and the second time, I totally tore off my quadriceps tendon from my left knee, along with tearing up the muscles in my thigh, just like I had done on the right. Between both knees being messed up, I have major back issues, and like everyone else on my mom's side of the family, I have arthritis in my neck and spine. Standing still without leaning on something is torture, and just doing normal stuff around the house is impossible.

But other than that, I'm doing great!!
 
Update

Had Biceps Distal Tendon Rupture......:(

Had surgery a little over a weak ago and recovery is about 3 months to start using again and 6 months for full use and range of motion. After a about 4 more weeks in restrictive brace I suspect Therapy will begin.

For now i am getting better with left hand doing everyday tasks and doing pretty good with my SR22 also...:)

It is easy to carry and shoot and reload with one hand. I have use of my fingers real good and I can use them to pull the magazine assist down and load up the magazine with left hand.

Anyway on the road to recovery.... All you between 45-55 this is number one age group for this injury to occur to.
 
morcey2,

I can sympathize with you in your injury. Back in 68', I was in the Navy, while aboard ship coming home from the Nam, I broke my RT forearm, ulna and radius, proximal 2/3's, half way between elbow and wrist. I had surgery on it, plate and screws inserted, same thing as yours, in turning the hand over, my rotation is about 30%. I was 18 at the time, now 64 and retired, but not one to give up, I still go shooting every chance I get, which is about 3 to 4 times a week. Doing some close- in drills a week ago, the instructor told me to "Straighten your arm out, don't bend it, you can't hit anything like that!" When he came over to "instruct some more", he saw the huge scars, thats when I told him, "Thats what I got while serving during the Viet Nam War, didn't you see my other target before you started this drill?" When he saw the target in question, he also saw the 3" circle totally shot out @ 10 yards with my Colt Trooper revolver, .38 Spl, he didn't say anything before he turned and walked off. Guys, don't give up, I know most of you have more serious things than I do to deal with, from here on out, you'll all be in my daily prayers!
 
My wrist was injured during an on-duty altercation with a suspect a few years ago. Surgery was not able to fully repair the injury. The surgeon, a shooter himself, indicated the wrist will "fall apart" at some point. I have not wished to tempt fate and have not shot a .44 Magnum, or my .454 Casull since...
 
have a bad wrist that none of the air force doctors or local doctors have been able to fix. during a good bird hunting season ill only be able to hunt 2 days until my wrist is so sore from racking my 870 that i have to take a few days off.

it also makes climbing a deer stand hard, along with any ladder
 
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