Shoulder pads are commonly-used pieces of protective equipment for archers. The most popular type of shoulder padding is the chest guard, which is a strap that covers the shoulder and the chest. This offers extra protection to this area while ensuring that the bowstring doesn’t get tangled in your clothes.
Shoulder pads may be more necessary for some styles of archery than others, but they are always recommended. If you’re interested in practicing this sport, read on to find out more about why archers wear shoulder pads.
Keep the Shoulder Secure After an Injury
If you’ve suffered a shoulder injury while practicing archery, it is best to avoid any further damage to it. When you’re recovering, you should always use a shoulder brace in combination with a chest guard to keep yourself protected.
If you don’t usually practice with lightweight bows, switching to them while recovering from injuries is recommended. This will help the protective equipment do its job even better because the weight on your arm will be reduced.
While wearing shoulder pads will help you return to archery after an injury, you should also do specific exercises for your shoulders and rotator cuffs. This will reduce the risk of reinjury while keeping your arm correctly conditioned for the sport.
Improve Shooting Accuracy
Using shoulder pads like chest guards will help your shooting accuracy and garner you overall better results while practicing archery. It will minimize distractions and reduce the potential ache in your arm, even if you use a heavier bow with more impact.
Chest guards can be the difference between adequate and superior accuracy, especially for dedicated archers looking to participate in competitions. This is particularly helpful to archers shooting recurve and Olympic bows, which can be harder to control.
If you’re noticing that you’re doing everything else perfectly but could still benefit from further improved accuracy, try out chest guards even if you don’t need them for other reasons. You will immediately notice the results.
Increase Protection for the Shoulder
Practicing archery increases the risk of injury, particularly related to rotator cuffs and shoulders. Using the right protective gear, like shoulder pads, will help keep these areas safe from damage.
This type of protection is recommended for archers, regardless of the type of bow they prefer to use. It becomes essential for those using recurve and Olympic bows, especially those participating in the discipline of target shooting.
These types of bows will increase the risk of injury to your shoulder because they are heavier and more complex than light bows. You should always make sure to wear the correct type of protective gear for your bow to make sure you get full coverage.
Protect Equipment
When a bow is shot, the bowstring can move backward and get tangled with the equipment you’re wearing. A chest guard or other types of shoulder pads can keep whatever you’re wearing underneath it safe.
Your bowstring may be able to tangle with your clothing even if it is form-fitting. The risk increases even further if you are wearing something on the looser side. The string interfering with your clothing can cause several issues, from potential injury to damaging what you’re wearing. It can also interfere with your shot.
You should always include a chest guard in your archery equipment. It will help keep your shoulder safe, and you will be able to wear whatever you want without worrying about how it may potentially interfere with your bow. It will also keep your bowstring safe from premature tearing.
Prevent Shoulder Strain
Archers can easily strain their shoulders while practicing the sport. This doesn’t always have to result in injury, but strain can be uncomfortable and can lead to worse problems with your shoulder.
Avoiding strain as much as possible is the best solution, and shoulder pads can significantly help with that. Wearing them will reduce the amount of weight that your arm will have to bear. This will help minimize the strain on your shoulder, no matter the type of bow or the posture you’ll have to maintain while shooting.
Comfortable Support for Posture
Posture is a critical element during archery. Having the correct alignment will influence the accuracy of your shot and ultimately have a massive impact on your score. This is especially important to archers participating in competitions, but everyone practicing the sport should pay attention to their posture to prevent injuries and achieve the best results they can.
One of the most essential parts of archery to learn is how to draw your bow correctly and shoot it with proper form. Shoulder pads will help correct your posture as you draw and as you shoot, no matter what type of bow you use.
Reduce Risk of Bruises
You can easily get bruised on the arms and in the chest area while practicing archery. Using shoulder pads or a chest guard that also protects the shoulder will keep you safe from bruising.
Read the 10 very helpful tips about preventing bow slap.
One of the biggest causes of bruising during archery is the bowstring. By using protective equipment – like a chest guard and an arm guard, you also prevent bow slap – you won’t have uncovered areas that might suffer the blow of a string after being shot.
Read here if you want to know if you should be wearing an arm guard when shooting a compound bow.
Prevent Friction
Friction from your bow can cause bruising on the skin or wear on your equipment. It can even affect the material of your bow. Shoulder pads and other shoulder protection will offer frictionless material that will not interfere with your bow.
You may use a bow that doesn’t cause as much friction because it’s in contact with your arm and other materials less, but it is advisable to use the protection at all times.
Easy to Wear
Shoulder pads are affordable, easy to use, and above all, comfortable. Chest guards, in particular, strap over your shoulder no matter what you’re wearing underneath and immediately increase your protection with no added complications.
They are easy to carry along with other archery gear, and very lightweight pieces of equipment.
Final Thoughts
There are a few reasons for archers to wear shoulder pads, and they are all related to safety and comfort. They help correct your posture, prevent injuries, and even improve your aim. No matter the type of bow, shoulder pads will help improve your archery experience.
