Sorry to hear you're out of action Swinglow, you should add another S to your name as a constant reminder
Hope you're back in the game soon brother
Downtime sucks.
I used to get bad carpal tunnel and still do if I hunt for 3-4 days straight. Get the odd back spasms if I'm over doing it too.
What I found helped me to reduce injury was drinking plenty of water.
Drinking coffee just doesn't do it.
Found from my hiking and climbing days that if I didn't or couldn't drink allot of water during the day I'd pay for it big time the next day.
When I'm hunting now I take a 2L bottle of water with me with the aim of finishing it before I leave the beach on a 5-8 hour hunt. I've just got into the habit of drinking water before I'm feeling thirsty. The way I look at it, feeling thirsty is like the oil light coming on in your car, not good.
2L works for me and my style of hunting but others might get by on less. Better to make a few more pit stops than blowing a motor.
Hope this helps.