Knee bend issue. Help?!?

[Evilash71]

Ok guys and gals, need some advice on this one. I tend to slide very little and sometimes just post my shot and dont slide at all. Most of it stems from knee bending issues on my slide leg. I have had some ligament injuries in my ankles from sports as a youngster and i find that if i do really deep knee bends after four game sets my ankles are killing me, not to mention that during the fourth game the ankle is a bit weak and my bend starts to "straighten" out to compensate for the loss of strength.

Now my wife who is tall (5' 10") and has long legs has the same issue but due to her height.
so what do you all do to get your knee to flex more and get that sliding foot out there and keep your balance. There has to be some tall bowlers out there who have managed to adapt to this. Wondering if you have any tips. By the way i am 5'11" so not too tall but still the weak ankle and game fatigue wears out my sliding foot knee bends.

[kev3inp]

I suppose you've tried Ace bandages or compression ankle supports. I sometimes use them on both the ankles and the knees, and I'm sure to pack them for our bowling trip to NC this summer. Another thing that seems to work for me is glucosamine and chondroitin, but it takes a few weeks before you notice a difference. If I'm having a really tough time that day before bowling I'll take a couple of Aleve. Hope that helps.

[ltrain21578]

you can try and and do squats on the off season, dont go crazy at first start out light and work your way up. As far as the ankle you sit high up on the bed or a chair and take paint can handle and put it on top of your foot. this was used to get rid of shine splints but it will help strenthing the ankle. OR you can always go with a brace.

[Graaille]

Another thing is that you don't necessarily have to do a deep knee bend. Both coaches Fred Borden and John Jowdy lean toward a 45 degree knee bend is the most anyone would need to bend. I'm 5'10 myself and I find that if I do a more deep knee bend than 45 degrees, I wind up having to adjust shoulders to keep from driving the ball into the floor.

What's helped me is to (at home) get into my finish position with no ball in hand, and just go from a straight leg position slowly to my 45 degree knee bend -- and then back up. (one legged squats if you will) I figured that if I bowled a 3 game league night, the most I would be bowling would be 63 shots, so I've been working up to that number of one legged squats - one about every 30 seconds. Doing this 3x a week independantly of the days that I bowl has helped me strengthen my lower half. Granted, it's not the same as a slide/plant on the lanes, but any additional strength you gain will lessen the damage/pain that comes on bowling day itself. Just remember that aspirin/alleve/tylonol/Scotch is your friend (hey - whatever works), and stretching and warmups/cooldowns can go a long way to improving your joint/muscle health.

And just as an aside, I still suck at sliding (12-18 inches at most)- but I have fixed heel shoes - haven't sprung for some w/interchangable heels yet.

[mrbill]

I've had simular problems with my sliding foot. I had back surgry and nerv damage in my left sliding leg.
Saying that, what I did was .

1. stretch
2. Lunges
3. Toe raises
4. Buy a SHOE SLIDER (even slide every time)
my avg went up 15 pins 6 game since I got the shoe slider, I love it.:D

I hope this helps you

[Evilash71]

thanks i will try the 45 degree bending. That seems to be a lot less strain. To top it off i broke my fourth toe on my slide foot Friday night and of course nothing you can really do about those so do i not bowl, of course not. I went bowling yesterday and it was even more difficult due to not being able to lead with the toes as well. Too much pressure. So basically i bowled just planting my foot. Bowled a 172, 165, 180 on a pretty broken down pattern. Not great i know but with a broken toe, no slide to speak of, pain, and shot lanes i thought it was ok! Not a good couple of weeks for the sliding foot i tell ya.