I haven’t suffered any swimbait related injuries but I’m not surprised to hear about elbow and shoulder issues. Based upon conversations with friends, it appears that most of our recent sport related joint pain has been the result of less than ideal conditioning and/or overuse. Chalk it up to the joys of not being 30 anymore. Your favorite doctor/physical therapist should be more than happy to recommend some specific exercises to strengthen/stabilize your shoulder.

In addition, you may want to check out a book titled “Fit To Fish: How to Tackle Angling Injuries” by Stephen Hisey and Keith Berend (Frank Amato Publications) which addresses fishing related shoulder, elbow, wrist, lower back, knee and ankle pain. The book provides descriptions, symptoms and treatments for the various conditions. You can view the table of contents for the book at Amazon.com.

Tim