Severe finger pain

[Phonetek]

Another member had a thread about bowling pain but I didn't want to hijack his thread so forgive a similar topic. I remember way back when I would always have pain in my middle and ring finger for the first few balls and then it would go away. I figured because I was putting 16lbs on my tiny little finger tips and that's a lot. However, now that I've been out of it for a decade and coming back to it that the pain is severe. I have no pain anywhere else but at the base of my fingers the middle knuckle to the where they meet my hand but not all the way to the knuckle. Even right now they hurt like heck like I slammed it in a car door.
We did take video of the outing for my son's benefit. I looked in slow motion, I wasn't forcing the ball but I did notice a little loft compared to normal when you barely hear it hit the lane. I can't see anything even in slow motion that I was doing wrong at all besides turning my foot to the right on occasion. Could this be a fit issue with the ball? Maybe a grip issue where I may be squeezing it too hard? I know I'm getting older but I can't hardly make a fist right now. I'd upload the video but it's an hour long and 2.4 gigabytes and I don't have a video editor to take a clip out. Any ideas why I'm getting such excruciating pain like this? Oh, 16lb fingertip grip with standard white inserts.

[JasonNJ]

As I said in the other thread people just assume throwing a 15lb-16lb object should hurt but with a proper grip there really should be no pain. So the two things I would suggest is go to your pro shop guy, tell them about your pain and have your grip adjusted. Also you may want to consider dropping down in weight. You don't really lose much carry if any with a 15lb or even 14lb ball.

[Phonetek]

As I said in the other thread people just assume throwing a 15lb-16lb object should hurt but with a proper grip there really should be no pain. So the two things I would suggest is go to your pro shop guy, tell them about your pain and have your grip adjusted. Also you may want to consider dropping down in weight. You don't really lose much carry if any with a 15lb or even 14lb ball.

EEK! Lowered ball weight huh? Boy that's kind of a kick in the manhood. LOL All kidding aside. I think I will at least take the ball to the pro shop and see if it's a grip issue. I mean the ball feels really good but maybe it is wrong and I don't realize it. I hope it is as simple as that. Maybe softer inserts? I hate the thought of going to this guy by my house because he's that less than favorable PSO I posted about before. For something like this I may give him a shot since he's 5 mins from me. Next step maybe the doctor to check into arthritis. I'm at that prime age for it. Man I tell ya, I used to shoot 60-80 games a week for over two decades never had much problem besides blisters popping and needing new skin. Tonight I shoot 3 and ready for some serious pain meds, Advil isn't making a dent.

[Phonetek]

One more thing to add. It's been about 2 1/2 hours since we got home and now I noticed my two middle knuckles are significantly swollen

[RobLV1]

A couple of issues. First, very, very few bowlers still use 16 lb. balls. It's really not a kick in your manhood... just thinking that may be something that you should look into. Secondly, how old are you. What you are describing in your fingers sounds a whole lot like arthritis to me.

[boatman37]

Talking to our PSO he said he has not sold a 16lb ball in the 2 years he has been running the shop. Said hardly anyone uses them anymore.

[chip82901]

I used to use 15# equipment for as long as I can remember. Then everything started getting more and more aggressive, so I dropped down to 14# to bring my ball speed slightly up. Keep in mind, I'm one of those "dreaded 2-handers", so I already have decent ball speed. I've now throw 14# equipment for 5-6 years and haven't noticed anything in pin carry. If anything, it got a little better lol. It's not a kick in the manhood if it's going to improve your game.

[JasonNJ]

Definitely could be arthritis but that would make your grip change as well and you should be able to adjust your grip to accommodate. I remember watching an interview with Walter Ray Williams jr and he was talking that he considered quitting bowling because of the arthritis in his hand but he got his grip adjusted a few times and it made a huge difference. Also with the modern bowling balls, most people throw 15 lbs now and see no difference in carry. Usually the drop in weight is compensated by more speed and increased rev rate.

[Phonetek]

Knuckles are still a bit puffy today but the pain is much less. Guys, I hope that manhood crack I made didn't offend anyone here I was only messing around. I tend to be silly and sarcastic in some of my posts but I would never say anything to intentionally offend anyone so if I did let me apologize now if I did. If you knew me in person you'd understand. If I have to drop in weight a pound or two I'm grateful I found that out prior to dropping cash on a new ball. Funds for that are hard to come by right now so it's a good thing I didn't buy something I'd have to throw on my rack to collect dust.
I plan on going to the PSO this afternoon and check the fit. I'll update with the findings. One thing my son did remind me of but we didn't get it on video because he had to plug in the ipad we were using to record us. It was the second ball I threw I lofted it way out there past the dots. He remembered it because of two things. One it double bounced, it hit the lane then came up and hit it again. He seen me shake my hand in pain after the throw. I remember it felt loose so I probably gripped it too hard because it felt like it was slipping and put a slice of tape in the thumb and fetched my rosin bag. I didn't even remember I did that but he did. It's possible I strained my fingers just on that one shot. It's just speculation but worth mentioning. I'm quite impressed that my son is paying so close attention.

Robv1 - I'm 46 years old, prime age for arthritis

[Phonetek]

UPDATE: I went to the local PSO, although I don't care for the guy he did help me out and I agree 100% with his findings which are as follows. My span on my middle finger is 1/4 inch too close. Ring finger span is 5/16 too far. Both are pitched for lift I can't remember if he said forward or reverse and he said way too much. In addition the finger inserts are completely worn out making them far too big. Thumb hole has perfect fit and perfect forward pitch and also pitched toward the palm. It's drilled exactly right for a clean release. I still think he's arrogant but I do agree with what he said. Now the bad news, $58 to plug, redrill the two holes and replace inserts. He's still out of his mind with that price so he will not be doing it.
I feel a lot better that it's not a medical. It explains a lot of what was happening last night. I had more loft than usual. I did that because I was trying to grip the ball way too hard and since it's drilled for lift which isn't needed for a reactive ball. Plus the lanes were freshly oiled and I had to try that much harder to get it to move.

[boatman37]

My PSO charges $60 for plug/redrill and $10 for inserts so not far off what you were quoted. All 3 holes with inserts is $70. Not sure what it would be if it were only the 2 finger holes but probably at least $50-60

[Phonetek]

I called my guy who I always used to go to just to see what he'd charge me. Thirty bucks. I'm not sure if that's "my price" or what he'd normally charge. Either way that's more like it. I'll be dropping my ball off by the weekend.

[JasonNJ]

I called my guy who I always used to go to just to see what he'd charge me. Thirty bucks. I'm not sure if that's "my price" or what he'd normally charge. Either way that's more like it. I'll be dropping my ball off by the weekend.

Cool, hopefully the new grip will make a huge difference. Also don't be shy to go back to the PSO until the grip is just right. Let us know how you make out this weekend.

[Phonetek]

Cool, hopefully the new grip will make a huge difference. Also don't be shy to go back to the PSO until the grip is just right. Let us know how you make out this weekend.

Oh I will, I'm dropping it off Saturday but I won't likely pick it up until later next week but I'll let you know. I know other than the pitch being done improperly that the ball was drilled properly to fit my hand many years ago. Since that was an early reactive ball I doubt the PSO knew then about not drilling reactive balls for lift because that's how balls were drilled then. I know my hand has changed since, I weigh at least 40lbs less than I did back then so it's obvious. I'm curious to see how much more back end the ball will have when it fits again. Last night it was moving like an old Black Knight polyester ball, not like the reactive resin ball it is. Basically with that grip I might as well have kept my ring finger out because that's how it was moving. I'm very excited now. I still think I might as well go get a physical, It's been about a year so I'm due. I'll have her take a look at my hands too to see if there are any signs of arthritis. It can't hurt so I'd rather err on the side of caution.

[Phonetek]

Hey another thing my PSO said was what a few of you mentioned earlier in this post. He asked me the weight and I told him 16lb. He said exactly what you guys said about 15's. He doesn't even stock 16's anymore because the 15's are designed to hit as if they were 16's if not better. I gotta say guys, this is a real genuine surprise to me. He said everyone switched because one it's easier on the body and two you can get a better rev rate. This is really intriguing to me hearing this, I never would have thought. So not only did I hear it from you guys but my PSO as well and I trust anything and any advise he gives me. He's never done me wrong and I know he won't in the future. He did say he'd fix my 16lb ball if I want him to but he'd hook me up with a used 15lb reactive ball for the same price, drilling included. So with that offer I'd be a fool to not go that route instead and get something comparable to what I have until I can afford my upcoming arsenal. Plus I have a 15lb original black Hammer that my wife used to use that I can have redrilled for a spare ball. With her back problems she has now it's way too heavy for her. So I guess I'll be back in business for while.

[jamoke]

For what it's worth:

I started bowling again last year after a 15 year layoff. I always used power lift fingertip grips and so naturally used them in my new equipment.
It wasn't long before I experienced terrible finger joint pain after each bowling session. I have since changed the grips from power lifts to standard ovals and the after bowling pain has stopped. I was lucky to find the cure so easily.

Maybe this will help somebody...

[Phonetek]

I'm going to go with ovals. I don't remember if they were ovals or lifts when they first got put in. They are so worn down it's too difficult to tell. Since lift isn't really the name of the game anymore I see no need for anything else than ovals. Only decision I need to make now is soft or super soft?

[JasonNJ]

I will say if you can physically throw a 16lb ball exactly like you could a 15lb then just on physics alone the 16lb ball would be better. Unless your name is EJ Tackett most people can't throw them the same so the increased speed and rev rate they gain from dropping 1lb more than compensates for the weight loss.

[djp1080]

Everything comes down to how things feel I suppose. I tend to like the softest finger grips. From what I've found out it seems the black and the clear Vise style grips are the softest. So I bought the clear ones. The standard grips our PSO used was with lifts. I ordered the grips O/PO which is ovals and power ovals. The power ovals aren't as exaggerated as the power lifts. One of my balls seemed to feel a little strange and had the PSO put the power oval up on the ring finger and it feels a bit better.
Most times I have them put in with ovals up my preferred way. Bought a batch of 10 of each size. Not expensive on-line. Got them from Gebhardt's.

[Phonetek]

I will say if you can physically throw a 16lb ball exactly like you could a 15lb then just on physics alone the 16lb ball would be better. Unless your name is EJ Tackett most people can't throw them the same so the increased speed and rev rate they gain from dropping 1lb more than compensates for the weight loss.

One thing I certainly don't need a speed increase, I don't know the mph because where I bowl doesn't record that but I get comments all the time from people on how hard I throw. I'm tall and very skinny so people don't expect it I guess. It's something I don't try to do it just is what it is and the way it's always been. To me it doesn't seem like I'm throwing that hard. I have long legs and that's where the speed comes from not my arm. Not knowing the mph I know I'm on the higher end of the spectrum. If the 15 ends up going faster I'm going to need the extra revs to keep it from deflecting but were only talking 1 pound so I can't think it would be that bad. I did have a 14 for a while I'd mess around with and THAT did deflect and it was very obvious with my leaves.


Everything comes down to how things feel I suppose. I tend to like the softest finger grips. From what I've found out it seems the black and the clear Vise style grips are the softest. So I bought the clear ones. The standard grips our PSO used was with lifts. I ordered the grips O/PO which is ovals and power ovals. The power ovals aren't as exaggerated as the power lifts. One of my balls seemed to feel a little strange and had the PSO put the power oval up on the ring finger and it feels a bit better.
Most times I have them put in with ovals up my preferred way. Bought a batch of 10 of each size. Not expensive on-line. Got them from Gebhardt's.

I've always used the white lifts except for the last ball which was my first and only reactive ball. I'm assuming they are ovals but given how worn they are they may have been lifts but there is no way to tell. The PSO couldn't even tell. I'm only guessing though since it's reactive resin they shouldn't have been lifts. The only non-white ones I tried were the blue Steve Cook's vise grips when they came out. I was 14yrs old and bowling in a televised tournament and they flew out of the ball in the 2nd frame. I bought the ball right before the match so I don't know if he didn't use enough glue, the wrong glue or it just didn't dry but it was embarrassing. For what it's worth, they felt great but I never used them again. Now that my hands are beat to death and have 32 more years on them than they did then comfort is much more paramount at this time. I see some online called 10th Frame super soft whites but I'm a little leery because they are $1. I'd probably have to change them way more often. The clear Vise seem they would be better but it would be more difficult to see the ball roll. I guess I could sacrifice seeing the roll for comfort. I never thought all this would be so difficult LOL

[Phonetek]

UPDATE: So I went to the doc for a checkup and had him look at my hand. They did an x-ray and as it turns out it's not arthritis. What it is, is a detachment of a bone in the middle of my hand on my pinky finger. So it's actually a fracture. Plus there some soft tissue damage to the right of it more toward the center of my hand. I have to go to a specialist for corrective surgery. Who would have thought? On the upside, when this is fixed it will be 100% and will be able to bowl. Funny thing is I have bowled since this post but I packed some tape in the thumb to secure my grip and changed the inserts and it didn't hurt afterward. Odd that I've been walking around bowling and I changed the bearing assembly on our Tahoe the other day loosening bolts that were 170 ft lbs and I didn't even know it. The pain hasn't went away since I bowled before this post but it hasn't been horrible. I seen the x-ray's and you can see it plain as day. Now to be clear this was NOT caused by bowling! The only time my hand got injured was over a year ago when this buffoon where I worked slammed into with the bottom of an extension ladder taking it off a truck. I never went to have it looked at, like any other boo-boo I sucked it up and moved on. Funny how things go isn't it?

[boatman37]

well glad you found out what it was. sometimes figuring it out is worse than dealing with it

[Phonetek]

well glad you found out what it was. sometimes figuring it out is worse than dealing with it

UPDATE: Went to the specialist today. Well the findings were interesting but were still not done. From what he seen on the x-ray he confirmed that the bones in the pinky are in fact detached from my hand. It's a small gap. The bigger concern is the density of that bone. It's far less than my others. He says it's as brittle as a pencil. He's someone baffled at this point of why it's like that. He thinks there is something in the soft tissue causing pressure on it causing the density issue. He also found a small sprain in my wrist. He says it's minor and gave me a steroid injection for it. It will take a long time to heal but he's not worried about it. Next step is an MRI so he can fully see what's going on. In the meantime I did ask the magic question. "Can I bowl?" The fact that I tuck my pinky is a good thing because if I didn't do that then the answer would be no. Since I do I have his approval to bowl all I want. Also, reducing to a 15lb ball would be helpful.
So in the interim I just have to wait to get the MRI done and see him again. I'll update at that time. BTW, absolutely not a single ounce of arthritis so that's a great thing. Not bad for 46