Arm pain when casting

Walter & Group........

I've been receiving many requests for information on various ways of handling casting advice for folks who have many different reasons for hand, wrist, arm and/or shoulder pain after doing a lot of fly casting.

The majority of these come from MCCI candidates who have put in long hours of casting practice to get ready for their exams.

Since the change in MCCI casting task requirements which will go into effect Jan 1, '09 became known, several of these messages came from candidates who started practicing to cast with the non-dominent hand.

Here is a sample of what I've been getting  :-

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Hi Gordy,

 

    While practicing for my Masters exam, I was unfortunate to irritate or inflame my rotator cuff in my non-dominant arm.

 

I wonder how many other MCCI candidates might be suffering this and this leads to a discussion topic - injury prevention. I know this topic was discussed in the past on this group, but maybe it is time to revisit given the new prefomance test requirements as candidates, in their enthusiasm, like me, might overwork their non-dominat arm. Fortunately, I was reading Lefty's new book at the time, and the chapter on injuries, was helpful, if not for this injury, but to prevent future irritations.

 

Currently I am signed up for the MCCI exam in January.

 

(I withheld the name)

 

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After announcing our next topic, I received many messages from our Group including this one from RIchard Ross:-

 

Our next topic is a timely one.   PAINFUL CASTING ARMS AFTER PROLONGED PRACTICE BY MCCI CANDIDATES.

Gordy,

 

Looking forward to this one!  I took the CCI last week and managed to give myself a rip-roaring case of tennis elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) in the process of preparing despite wearing a compression band, icing after practice and the use of non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs.  It was worth it and with a few days rest the elbow is calming down as I’d hoped. 

 

My short answer:

 

1)      Stretch the area prior to practice.

2)      Ice the area immediately after practice for at least 20 minutes.

3)      Use non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, naproxen or ibuprofen as required.

4)      Vary your practice routine giving the affected area time/days off from stressful activities.

5)      If the problem continues and becomes serious, see a doctor!!!!  A good doctor can help with orthotics, specific stretches and more powerful anti inflammatory medications.

Richard

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I prepared this list of suggestions for one candidate :-

YES .... a timely topic.  Let's embrace it.

 

 

1.) Try to go to shorter practice sessions but more of them.

 

2.) Practice with a light 3 wt. or 4 wt. outfit.

 

 

3.) You probably already have the 85' distance accomplishment.  If so, don't practice distance casts until your shoulder is better.

 

 

Make all your specialty casts WITH LESS LINE CARRIED .... going for perfection with minimal effort rather than distance.  This is good advice for candidates who have not developed a problem, too ..... GO FOR PERFECTION WITH EACH TASK BEFORE ADDING DISTANCE ! 

 

Remember that examiners are most impressed with casting tasks performed when they appear almost effortless.  (I remember well a word of advice given to me by Bill Gammel during my MCCI exam as I was about to make my distance cast:  "I'll be a lot more impressed with a perfect looking 86 foot cast than I will with a hundred foot cast done poorly."

 

 

4.) Everything you do in casting should be perfected with an eye to doing it with much less effort.

 

 

5.) Stop practice-casting with your dominant arm as soon as the pain re-starts.  Trying to bite the bullet and working through the pain will only make it worse.

 

 

6.) In order to avoid losing valuable practice time while preparing for the exam, switch to teaching yourself to cast more efficiently with your other arm .... not just the required straight line overhead cast & roll cast .... but even mends, hooks, curves, change of direction casts, snap casts, using your opposite hand to make casts over your other shoulder, wind casts, etc.  While you are resting your painful primary arm, a certain amount of expertise learned this way will "bleed over" into the other side of your brain.  This helps maintain good casting control when you go back to practice with your primary hand ...... so it is not lost effort.

 

Even practicing chosen sizes and forms of loops at various distances and at varying speeds (slow as possible to as fast as you can without damaging your loop) with the opposite arm will help.

 

      Tiny tight loops,  Medium size loops, Controlled wide loops such that the fly leg is straight and the rod leg low, Wide loops made with the fly leg high (to kite in a back wind) while the rod leg is straight, various methods of making tails, One size loop on the back cast, and another on the forward cast.....etc., etc.

 

 

7.) Practice casting errors with your "other" arm, too.  This should include at least 3 different ways of making tailing loops, CREEP done so it will be very obvious to your examiner, big ineffective loops the way a beginner might do it, demos of poor application of power, etc.

 

 

8.) While doing the "other arm casting", practice hauls .... you will be using your primary arm for line control.... but it probably won't hurt your shoulder.

 

 

9.)  If all this fails to help sufficiently, you may wish to consider casting styles different from your own default style.

 

 

10.)  Taking a page from Lefty:  When you do get back to distance casting, remember his sage advice to use no more power on your final delivery cast than you did on your prior forward false cast.  Instead, use a quicker more powerful HAUL.  His advice includes the idea that by doing this your primary arm executes the mechanics of the cast, while your line hand BECOMES THE ACCELERATOR.

 

 

11.)  As we all get older, these problems are more likely to appear .... including all sorts of repetitive action injuries some temporary and some permanent.  Both Lefty and I have not been excepted (we're not spring chickens!) .... this led to many discussions between the two of us on this subject.  As a result of this and of his gaining the advice of another orthopaedic surgeon as well, he has included a valuable chapter in his new book:  CASTING with LEFTY KREH, Chapter 3, Casting and the Body, pp. 58-73. Part of this chapter was written by orthopaedist Dr. George W. Yu.

 

 

12.)  We who strive hard to be better casters and better teachers are prone to overdo it.  This is particularly true when the "heat is on" in preparing for a Masters exam.  That's when even more simple though distressing problems can occur such as muscle fatigue and temporary tendonitis.  When that happens, our casts suffer because we can no longer perform with perfect control when the pain occurs. 

 

 THIS IS ONLY ONE OF MANY REASONS I RECOMMEND THAT EACH CANDIDATE TAKE WHATEVER TIME IS NECESSARY TO BECOME PREPARED FOR THE TEST.

 

Hopefully, others in our Group will offer additional advice for us all, once I post our letters.

 

Best,

 

Gordy

 

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My followup letter :-

 

 

The advice I gave you in the last letter was for a painful shoulder on the DOMINANT side.

 

When the shoulder or arm problem is on the non-dominant side, the same advice really holds true as one practices to become proficient with the "other" arm.

 

Tendonitis and rotator cuff problems are more likely to occur as we start performing tasks for the first time.  This means that we must be careful to cast with minimum effort and with short practice periods when starting to learn to cast with the non-dominant arm.

 

I'd add one more thing.

 

When I was practicing for my MCCI exam, I did basic exercises each morning with each arm.  This included elbow flexion exercises and triceps exercises (extending the elbow and shoulder repeatedly).  I did it because a knew that if I didn't I might suffer some muscle and joint problems.  I also knew that good strength was one factor which helped lead to good control  and that CONTROL is the magic word to describe good casting.

 

I always start my ongoing practice routines with loops made slowly with only 30' of line as a "warm-up".  I don't go to distance casting until I've done less stressful casts.

 

I started my exercise program with no resistance .... always stopping at the point of starting to fatigue.  After about 2 wks., I did them with a one lb. weight in each hand.  I used that until it became, "too easy".  I would often repeat these as "warm-up" exercises before going out for a long practice casting session.

 

Then I went to using a 3 lb. lead ball in hand.  I never had to increase that. (I'm sure some large well muscled guys could do it with a 5 lb. wt. without incurring joint and muscle problems, but I couldn't.)

 

In the casting literature, you will find references to an advised exercise program for casters in JOAN WULFF'S FLY-CASTING ACCURACY, pp. 89-93.  In A FLY FISHER'S LIFE, Charles Ritz ,p.35 describes preparation exercises using a "hock" wine bottle.

 

Think of it this way:   You are in training for an athletic event.  No coach would think of putting his athletes into a tough game without preparing them well in advance with a repetitive exercise program.

 

Candidates for the new MCCI exam should take careful notice of this as they may be starting to practice casting with the "other" hand for the first time.

 

Gordy