
Originally Posted by
since9
I have mild osteoarthritis, mainly in joints I've injured, but also in under-used joints, as well.
For years I played the bongos. Zero problems. Then, after a two-year hiatus from 2017 to this Spring, I picked it back up again. My knuckles and hands hurt quite a bit, so I quit again for two months, then eased back into it exponentially, first just one tap on each hand a day, the next day two taps, then four, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc. When I play, I average 480 bpm, so it took me about 9 days to break a minute. By two weeks I was playing more than half an hour straight, which is enough to run me through my usual favorites.
If you have access to somewhere you can shoot where you don't have to pay for range time, consider doing the same thing.
Here's just such a schedule, with two days of rest for cartilage healing and repair between firings:
First, rest 6 weeks without shooting or any other significant stress. This is how long it takes cartilage to heal from repetitive stress.
Then, warm up with a good walk, some arm-burners, squats, and other normal exercises before you shoot. It's important your joints are primed to take the stress.
DayShotsCumulative
111
2rest
3rest
423
5rest
6rest
747
8rest
9rest
10815
11rest
12rest
131631
14rest
15rest
163263
17rest
18rest
1964127
20rest
21rest
22128255
In three weeks, you'll have gone through 250 rounds of ammunition, with 128 on your last day.
From then on, I'd limit things to shooting once a week to maintain the strength of the cartilage, but no more than a box of 50 rounds.
If you find yourself not having shot for a while, work your way back up from the bottom.
These are the same types of consistency of use, limits on maximum use, and intervals prescribed by professionals in the field of arthritis.
Good luck!