Overcoming Nagging Injuries in Bowling

You spent most of Saturday cleaning the house, including prolonged kneeling while scrubbing the bathtub. Then you were really inspired and decided to move 16 boxes into your attic and basement storage area. After a hard day’s work, you reward yourself by heading to the lanes on Sunday to bowl. It’s been over two weeks since you bowled in league, and you’ve got some rust to shake off coming back from what is now 19 days without throwing a ball. The bowling center is surprisingly not busy, so you make hay and bowl six games. After all, in just two days, league resumes.

Later that evening, your left knee is stiff, swollen, and downright hurts! It’s even worse the next day. On Tuesday, you put a compressive sleeve on your left knee and roll three games on league night. After shooting a series that was 80 pins under your average, your teammates ask you, “Is everything okay?! You didn’t look like yourself out there tonight.” You reply, “Yeah, I’m alright. I may have tweaked my knee. I dunno. I’ll be okay.”

Let’s pause here:

• Is “alright” enough?
• Maybe this is more than a minor tweak. What should you do to help yourself?
• “I’ll be okay.” Again, is “okay” enough?

In the above story, that was me: physical therapist, bowling enthusiast, and passionate advocate for bowlers of all levels. I’m sharing here to raise awareness of bowling as a sport, as well as to provide injury prevention tips to keep you in the game.

Injury potential exists in all sports, so what is it about bowling that enhances your chances of dealing with one? The sport of bowling places high demands on the human body, more so than you may be aware. It is a repetitive, high-stress motion, involving an asymmetric load held unilaterally (on one side of the body), imparting constant ...