week 1 good. week 2 very sore

[boatman37]

So after a 15 year break decided to jump back in 2 weeks ago. The first week back used house shoes and a teammates 15lb ball. Bowled decent, no issues. Last week used house shoes again and a 16lb ball I got from another bowler. Had trouble with my shoes sticking all night and many times had to do the one foot hop at the line to keep from falling. The one time I tweaked my knee and it was sore the rest of the night (not really pain, just noticeable). Also had trouble with the ball the 2nd game after it dried up and was fighting it and somehow 'yanked' my elbow. Same elbow that I injured 15 years ago that forced me to quit.

So ordered a new pair of shoes that should be here today so hopefully that solves that. Not really sure what I am looking for here but after week 2 my knee hurts, elbow hurts, shoulder sore. Ugh. I was fine after week 1. Would the shoes cause all of that?

[chip82901]

So after a 15 year break decided to jump back in 2 weeks ago. The first week back used house shoes and a teammates 15lb ball. Bowled decent, no issues. Last week used house shoes again and a 16lb ball I got from another bowler. Had trouble with my shoes sticking all night and many times had to do the one foot hop at the line to keep from falling. The one time I tweaked my knee and it was sore the rest of the night (not really pain, just noticeable). Also had trouble with the ball the 2nd game after it dried up and was fighting it and somehow 'yanked' my elbow. Same elbow that I injured 15 years ago that forced me to quit.

So ordered a new pair of shoes that should be here today so hopefully that solves that. Not really sure what I am looking for here but after week 2 my knee hurts, elbow hurts, shoulder sore. Ugh. I was fine after week 1. Would the shoes cause all of that?

If you can't get into any timing with sticking or anything in your approach, then yes, shoes can cause that. I know that when I go to other houses and I can't find the right sole/heel combo to use and I go with "close enough", I indeed hurt the following day, usually in my knee and hip areas. I've had people that use house shoes and house balls ask me how to raise their average before, and the first thing I tell them is to get a pair of shoes. Doesn't have to be top of the line, but get your own. It leads to consistency, and consistency leads to higher scores.

[J Anderson]

So after a 15 year break decided to jump back in 2 weeks ago. The first week back used house shoes and a teammates 15lb ball. Bowled decent, no issues. Last week used house shoes again and a 16lb ball I got from another bowler. Had trouble with my shoes sticking all night and many times had to do the one foot hop at the line to keep from falling. The one time I tweaked my knee and it was sore the rest of the night (not really pain, just noticeable). Also had trouble with the ball the 2nd game after it dried up and was fighting it and somehow 'yanked' my elbow. Same elbow that I injured 15 years ago that forced me to quit.

So ordered a new pair of shoes that should be here today so hopefully that solves that. Not really sure what I am looking for here but after week 2 my knee hurts, elbow hurts, shoulder sore. Ugh. I was fine after week 1. Would the shoes cause all of that?

First of all, bowling is an athletic endeavor, even if most of us don’t look very athletic. Muscles that are warmed up and loose are less likely to get hurt.

Shoes that fit right and slide right should keep your knee from getting tweaked again.

Elbow and shoulder pain were probably not caused by the house shoes. It may be that 16 pounds is too heavy. It might be that the fit that seems “close enough”, isn’t, but although I think that would show up as finger or wrist pain. The last possibility is that in trying to deal with the changing lane conditions you did something wrong with your swing.

As someone else posted here recently, “bowling should not hurt.”

[Amyers]

Some stiffness could be expected but not pain. The shoes may help with the knee pain I agree as the others posted here probably had to do with the 16 lbs ball weight and not being fitted for you. If you intend to do this regularly buy an inexpensive ball that is drilled to fit you.

[boatman37]

Thanks. The knee is 'soreness', I definitely strained or kinked it or something. The elbow was probably from me trying to get the ball too far outside. My wrist and forearm are a little sore but I am chalking that up to using muscles I haven't used in awhile. Shoulder is just being itself. It's always sore after anything physical.

Shoes should be here today. I'm a lefty so had to order them. The shoes I used the first week weren't too bad. The ones last week were sticking bad. I kept going to the powder box to try to get some slide and even thought about switching shoes at the counter but was too lazy...lol. Hopefully the new shoes help.

[boatman37]

Yeah, this ball was mainly to get something I could use until I get one. Definitely plan to get my own drilled for me. I do understand the importance of that. I had 3 or 4 guys offer me their old bowling balls but I declined all but the one because it was a lefty and fit 'good enough' to use for now. The ball has a small crack near the thumbhole anyway so isn't a permanent solution. Problem is I needed ball (probably 2), shoes, and bag so trying to pick the stuff up a little at a time. Shoes are out of the way. Hoping to get a bag this weekend so next is the ball.

[Eddy]

After 15 years off, you're going to feel some aches and pains. I just came back after 20 years off, and let me tell you, I hurt just about every part of my body that can be hurt from bowling. My shoulder, knee, hamstring, finger joints, back, and so on. Take about 7 Ibuprofen a day for a bit, and I can almost guarantee you will feel much better when you're less inflamed. Those pills are the reason I am still bowling 6 months later after coming back from such a long layoff.

I was a gym rat when I started back up and was in fantastic shape, but it did not prepare me for bowling specific movements.

Give it some time and don't over do anything, and you should eventually get to where you want. Unless you injure your elbow again. But I wish you the best, and all the luck in the world.

[boatman37]

Thanks and yeah, definitely sore. Still sore even after a week. Bowl again tomorrow night but have new shoes now so that should help the knees at least

[Phonetek]

Bowling is a lot more strenuous on the body than one would think. Your throwing a 15-16 lb ball using 3 fingers bending, twisting and stretching multiple parts of your body around 60-70 times in a 3 game series. Throw in a few decades of age beyond teen years and BAM there you go, a recipe for pain. Some of your pain is coming from doing things wrong, some resulting from inadequate equipment. I hate to say it, you'll still get pain when you do everything right even with proper fitting equipment. Good news is, the more you do it the less it will be once your body gets used to it. No pain no gain I guess. Once you get all your equipment taken care of, doing some stretching exercises prior to bowling would help. Until then, Advil is your friend, just not too much or it will trash your stomach.

[J Anderson]

Bowling is a lot more strenuous on the body than one would think. Your throwing a 15-16 lb ball using 3 fingers bending, twisting and stretching multiple parts of your body around 60-70 times in a 3 game series. Throw in a few decades of age beyond teen years and BAM there you go, a recipe for pain. Some of your pain is coming from doing things wrong, some resulting from inadequate equipment. I hate to say it, you'll still get pain when you do everything right even with proper fitting equipment. Good news is, the more you do it the less it will be once your body gets used to it. No pain no gain I guess. Once you get all your equipment taken care of, doing some stretching exercises prior to bowling would help. Until then, Advil is your friend, just not too much or it will trash your stomach.

I think we need to distinguish between real pain and just being sore. Sharp pain is your body's way of saying, "Hey Stupid, cut that out!" Chronic pain is it saying "something's wrong, take me to the doctor." Most of the time if you do something physical that you are not used to, you will be sore for a day or two afterwards. If you're still sore more than a week later something might be wrong.

With equipment that fits properly and using good technique, bowling should not hurt. Will you feel a bit sore after bowling 5 or 6 games? Probably. Should you be in pain? Absolutely not.

[Phonetek]

I think we need to distinguish between real pain and just being sore. Sharp pain is your body's way of saying, "Hey Stupid, cut that out!" Chronic pain is it saying "something's wrong, take me to the doctor." Most of the time if you do something physical that you are not used to, you will be sore for a day or two afterwards. If you're still sore more than a week later something might be wrong.

With equipment that fits properly and using good technique, bowling should not hurt. Will you feel a bit sore after bowling 5 or 6 games? Probably. Should you be in pain? Absolutely not.

I'm sorry I meant after 15 years of not doing it. If coming back after that long of not doing it and say being 40+ you are gonna feel something not so pleasant. Not being used to all the actions used throwing a 15-16 lb ball and bowling 3 games muscles you didn't know you had are going to be screaming at you afterward. I know I was a little shocked the next morning and a few days after by way I felt after 10yrs. My body tends to forget to tell my mind "Hey, you're 46 you idiot not 20 anymore" I'm not even in bad shape, actually better than average for my age according to my doctor. Getting out of bed the next day was not fun. My equipment still fits perfectly and my technique isn't herky jerky or un-natural. My fingers are another story, I use a lot of lift throwing the ball. They generally make their presence known the first 4 to 6 balls then goes away but that's happened as long as I can remember. My hands have been beat to death in my 46 years though.

I wasn't meaning sharp debilitating pains like you pulled a groin muscle, dislocated something or knocked a disc or two out of alignment. If you feel pain like that then you're either doing something seriously wrong or something is physically wrong. Then it's time to stop and figure it out before doing it anymore. The pain I was talking about was purely muscular. After 40+ it could be both muscular and arthritic as well. I still recommend a stretching regiment before hand, it can only help. Either that or I highly recommend to bowl nothing but 300 games, it knocks that pesky ball throwing count down to almost half hence cutting down on pain. Simple huh? ;)

[boatman37]

I definitely 'tweaked' my knee. Not to the point of needing a doctor but I twisted it or something. Feels much better today but still notice it. That was from the house shoes sticking. I already have a bad shoulder and elbow so no surprise there that I am sore. They get sore after carrying my 4 year old granddaughter around. Not much I can do about that. We will see how tonight goes and I will post a follow up.

[Phonetek]

Ouch, yeah a tweaked knee is not muscle aches that's an injury. You gotta be very careful so as to not injure it further, knees are touchy and don't get better with age my friend. I hope you do well tonight and wish you nothing but the best.

[boatman37]

Not sure what happened to my first thread. Typed it up and it disappeared. Anyway, scores were horrible but shoes were a definite help and the knee was good. Shoulder and elbow good so far too

[Phonetek]

That's great that you were able to bowl comfortably tonight. I was concerned you were gonna blow out your knee. If you can continue to be comfortable without that soreness then your scores will reflect it.