Ouch. My Thumb!

[StriKING]

Man, I did a good job ripping up my thumb this week. I guess it swelled up a little too much in this extremely hot east coast weather this week and next thing I know my thumb is sticking on release, blistering and skin is ripping. :eek: Sure it's gotten increasingly calloused since I've gotten back into the game last year but this is the first I've had to deal with something this bad. Tried the "new skin" (not good for much) band-aids (made the thumb even tighter in the hole which irritated it all the more and just exacerbated the situation). It was bad and extremely painful bowling in league this Tuesday. Not sure I can bowl my Thursday night league tomorrow. Any suggestions for healing and dealing with this? (besides time off the game)

[StriKING]

Oh well. Had to skip my Thursday night league this week. Can't even get my thumb in the ball. Too painful. Hopefully, I'll be able to bowl by next Tuesday.

[WAC4504]

Try soaking it in Epson salts, you might also check on a thumb glove?, not sure what it's called but it's a glove that goes over the thumb only. When you get to where you can bowl again it would help to keep you thumb from sticking. As for the weather I can easily relate, we have it all the time and the humidity is ungodly. Good luck with the thumb.

[Strike Domination]

You might be thinking of the Thumb Saver, Bill. I haven't really heard much positive about that.

[WAC4504]

You're probably right Justin, I've only seen it used once, and he said it did help, but felt strange. As for me, I put a thumb slug in my Ultra Zone that had a tendency to stick in hot humid conditions, and that seem to have fixed it.

[jonesyman]

http://www.talkbowling.com/, their latest episode gives a good illustration on thumb taping. I've used slick protective tape like - http://www.bowlingball.com/turbo-2-n-1-grips-skin-protection-and-fitting-tape-mint-30-pc-individual-piece-pack-bowling-accessory.html

Hope this helps - Get to rolling soon!

[StriKING]

Thanks guys. Had to skip my Thursday night league last week but it seems to be healing up nicely since last Tuesday. Looking forward to getting back to bowling tomorrow night. I can't use that thumb saver sling thing, but I will definitely get some of the Turbo tape to keep in the bag. I think the mint is going to be too thick so I'll probably try the beige tape first. Hope my pro shop has the beige in stock.

[DanielMareina]

I recommend using tape that goes on the back of your thumb instead of the tape in the thumb hole. I used to tear my knuckle up a lot due to my thumb pitch being wrong and bending my thumb a little at the release point. Personally I use Storm Thunder tape, but vise and turbo grips (mentioned in an above post)both make a great product in this department too. It is easy to use, last a full night of bowling if you don't sweat a lot on the hand, and it makes my release smooth off my thumb every time. I have never torn my thumb up once since starting to use it about 6 months ago. I do drill my thumb holes a little bigger to make it fit just right, but for most people you can just take out a piece of bowlers tape and put these tapes on instead. I hope that helps so you don't have to skip another night of bowling.

[Strike Domination]

Daniel, I'm curious, do you still bend the thumb in the hole?

[JAnderson]

Knuckling/bending the thumb in the hole is typically the culprit of callouses and torn skin, but any bowler that puts enough games in will have wear and tear due to simple friction.

Like Daniel, I recommend the various tapes that are applied to the thumb. They won't cure the problem of knuckling (which has other negative impact on your game), but they'll help protect areas on the hand exposed to friction from long game blocks. Some friends also use this tape on their fingers.

[DanielMareina]

I don't still bend my knuckle. I have lost flexability in my bowling hand over the years, and my pro shop person didn't know about it. I have the hand of an 60 year old at age 26. I struggled to hold onto the ball for a long time. When I started to drill my own equipment a few years ago, I changed all my pitches to compinsate for the lack of flexability. I have away pitch in the middle finger of 11/16" and away pitch in the ring finger of 7/8" and a whopping 3/4" away in my thumb. Now I have no problems at all, and am bowling better than I ever have.