Big Tounament, Hurt Shoulder.

[ztbowler15]

alright, to start off, I am 16 years old. During the summer there was this big tournament and you could win free bowling for a year, and i won. BUT, it has definetly taken its toll on me. i think bowling might even be an addiction. i usually bowl over 30 games on a normal week, sometimes getting up to 50. i throw 15 pounds, and just recently I got put on some really dry lanes, and with a 450+ rev rate i had to throw it fast. once the lanes got to burned up, i had to start lofting (on about game 13), after the 15th game i stopped. then when i came back to bowl again a few days after, i felt something in my shoulder. and wanting to bowl so bad, i just ignored it (mistake). So, during the weekend i go to bowl my saturday morning youth league, and it doest hurt, but i couldnt seem to hit any mark, and shot a 529 on the last week that counted towards my average, it went down to 190, Anyway the next week after i had gotten two new balls, and was throwing them. then all of the sudden my shoulder was hurting so bad i couldnt even bowl! So i stopped and gave it a few days thinking that it was just sore, and went back to bowl again (another mistake). then I gave it a Whole week without bowling, and tried again, same thing happened. Then i was thinking "dang this might be serious i better get it checked out!" so i went to the doctors office. she said that it is nothing skeletal, that was a weight lifted off of my back. she just said i had bursitus in the shoulder, and that i should give it about 2 weeks rest and it should be fine, she gave me a perscription and sent me on my way. as of April 21 it will have been 14 days, and i can still feel a sort of stiffness in my shoulder. so i am not going to bowl. to the main point. there is a BIG state tournament coming up on May 20, 2012. should i just wait all the way till like a week before and then practice? or should i slowly start getting back into it in a couple days, and limit my self to 9 games a week until then? i Had to go through two sets of qualifying to make this tournament, and qualified 19th for scratch, and i need to bowl this tournament.

Any comments on what I SHOULD NOT DO, and what i should do would be helpful, thanks

Regards, Zack.

[bowl1820]

I got put on some really dry lanes, and with a 450+ rev rate i had to throw it fast. once the lanes got to burned up, i had to start lofting

Just wondering did you consider instead of throwing faster and lofting farther. Backing off on the revs? Maybe breaking your wrist back and taking some off the ball? Or using a less aggressive ball?

Throwing harder, faster and lofting are double edged swords. A lot of the time when bowlers try throwing, harder, faster etc. to over come dry lanes. They wind up making the ball hook just that much harder, because it makes them lift that much harder on the ball.

[billf]

Zach, this is just my opinion based on personal experience and by no way sound medical advice.
Wait to bowl til the first week of May. The first session only bowl three games with at least ten minutes rest between games. DO NOT go 100%. If possible, don't even turn the scoreboard on. All that matters is getting the muscles working. Train, not over-train. Take a full 48 hours off before repeating. Repeat this cycle two more times. That would be nine total games in week one but only at about 75%.
Week two; session one bowl one game as above, one at normal strength and back down on the third game. Wait 48 hours to bowl again. If there is still no soreness for session two then bowl one game as above and the next two at normal strength.
Week three; bowl Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three games each at normal strength...then not again until your tournament on Sunday.
This is a schedule similar to other sports when returning from a layoff and should work well for you. I fully understand your addiction (I bowled 20 games last night after work) however your injury is related to over-use and given the importance of this tournament you have to balance enough practice with enough rest. Further injury would only make things worse so try hard not to over due it.
When we a practice session there usually aren't many people with us on the lanes. That quickens the pace and without proper stretching before AND after can quickly lead to nagging injuries.
Keep us updated on your progress and I wish you success in the tournament:cool:

[ztbowler15]

thanks for the advice bill! i went down yesterday evening and bowled 1 game with about 1/3 the backswing i normally have and it felt pretty good. there was no pain. today it is just a little sore, thats just because i havent bowled for 3 1/2 weeks. so i think tomorow im going to go down and throw one more game, because i want to get those muscles built back up. and i was told by MANY people to not rush it. thats why i am only bowling one game each time i bowl, next week i might step it up to 2 games on tuesday and thursday, and i am going to start changing up my approach. i had some people look at close up videos of me and they said it looks like a catching the ball way to hard at the bottom of my swing. so i am going to fix that. i push the ball out half way between my 1st and 2nd step as of now. but i want to be pushing it out on about the 3rd step so i dont have to pull the ball up so high on my backswing. I will probably start making those changes sometime next week, so ill keep you updated and i might take a couple videos of the changes in my approach.

[billf]

I would like to see before and after videos :) So far all I've seen are your ball review videos
The 48 hours between was based on science that shows exercise with weights (ball) creates micro-tears in the muscle. It takes 48 hours on average for these tear to heal. One game every other day should be fine though. I've played many sports with numerous injuries and it really does end up taking longer to heal so keep fighting the urge to go all out.

[ztbowler15]

i bowled another game today with no issues, i raised up my backswing a little bit and was coming throung the ball with no pop at the bottom, and it worked out good! it is really hard to fight the urge to bowl more. On Saturday i will bowl another game right handed and do a little bit of expirimenting, then next week ill shoot some videos to see if theres anything i can do to make my swing more smooth.

[billf]

Glad to hear it's going well. Maybe try two games a day next week? But not everyday

[billf]

Zach, how's the rehab coming?

[ztbowler15]

hey bill, turns out it was worse than i anticipated. i couldnt bowl that tournament, and i also couldnt bowl the youth allstar tournament on june 1st. i havent been bowling for almost 2 months (since my last post). And i have been going to physical therapy for about a month. all that bowling i was doing was not good for my shoulder. the physical therapist told me to STOP bowling for at least two months. And i have been so caught up with school and everything that i havent even been thinking about going bowling. on friday i packed up my gear and went to the bowling alley. it felt like i was home again! i bowled my first game lefty to get warmed up a little. Then i threw a righty shot, it was a little weird because all of the muscles in my arm are not as strong as they used to be. in that game i threw every other frame right handed so i didnt work it too hard just getting back into it. then the game after that i bowled the whole game right handed. i got a 172. not bad for 2 months out. but anyway i didnt feel any pain what so ever. i am going to talk to my physical therapist today and see how much i should bowl. i want to do 1 game every 2 days. so overall i feel like its going pretty good. i have a big tournament coming up in august so hopefully im prepared for that!

[TheSheibs]

My suggestion is that, after reading all the posts, is that you should do a number of things. !: Follow anything your therapist tells you to do. If they tell you to do a specific stretch before or after bowling, do them. They told you to do them for a reason. 2: Don't think you need to throw the ball as hard as before. It would be best to use proper form, a nice smoothly thrown ball, than to have a high speed. You don't have to throw the ball fast or hard to get the ball to curve into the pocket. Especially with today's cores that make it easier for the ball to curve. 3: Your probably not to happy with this one, BUT don't participate in any tournaments or extremely competitive leagues until you are 100%. Sometimes being in any competition causes a person to repeat what caused the injury in the first place. Once your 100%, do any tournaments or leagues you want. I had a knee injury years back while in the Coast Guard and never allowed it to heal all the way before going back to full duty status. My knee still hurts sometimes after bowling or even if I kneel and put weight on my knee in a certain way. It is better to take the time to make a full recovery than to try to push getting back into something.

Also when you increased your ball speed and threw harder. You proved my point I was trying to make in another thread on here.

[ztbowler15]

thanks for the advice! you can check out a video of mine if you want! its under roto grip bowling videos in the forums.

[JaMau24]

When I first started bowling again in December, things went sour QUICK with my arm. It wasn't the normal soreness from getting back into the sport (which I had too). I would bowl so much, and my shoulder, wrist, and elbow would all be KILLING me. I'm talking a sharp pain in my shoulder and elbow. I had to alter the way I threw it, and how fast I threw it. After I threw the ball, about 5 seconds later my elbow and shoulder would just throb in intense pain for about 20 seconds before going back to just regular bad pain. It was to the point the I wasn't even having any fun at all bowling. Guess what I kept doing though? Bowling. I never gave it any time to heal or feel better. I couldn't even move my arm the right way in my everyday life.

I remember I had to stop for 4 days during Christmas break and after that. I was A-OK. I have no clue how it got fixed so quickly. Maybe I was throwing it different or it somehow just healed in that short amount of time. Ever since then, I've never had any problems with any part of my arm and I bowl even more than I did then.

So I guess what I did was kept bowling and never took any time off which I wouldn't recommend.

Anyway, hope it all works out for you and you do well at your tournament. Good luck!

[billf]

Also when you increased your ball speed and threw harder. You proved my point I was trying to make in another thread on here.

Just because Zach said the lanes were dry so he started to loft and throw it faster you ASSUME then that he was throwing as hard as he could with bad form? That's what you said in the other thread, throwing as hard as possible with bad form. The probability of his form being poor is good but that's an awful big assumption to make to prove a point you were trying to make on another thread.

[TheSheibs]

That may be. However it does prove that regardless of form, it is possible to have an injury due to throwing the ball harder/faster. Besides we do not know if his form was affected by the changes he made in the ball speed. It is possible, therefore it is possible to have an injury that is connected to throwing the ball harder or at a higher rate of speed than an individual should be. So it still proves my point. I am sorry to hear about the injury but it is the result of causing strain to a part of the body that it was not meant to endure.

[billf]

How many fast pitch softball pitchers have shoulder injuries? Almost none and that's because the underhand motion puts very little stress on the shoulder. If proper form is used a person could throw as hard as they want and wouldn't damage the shoulder. With Zach's long limbs and quick pace I can see how and why he could get out of time and end up muscling the ball. That's where the injuries come from.

[martin]

hope u get well soon zach and do well in your tourney..

[peterfa]

Unfortunately, everyone is assuming that it is bowling that hurt the shoulder. Perhaps it's something else that created the injury and bowling is just inflaming it.

I had an incident 20 years ago, wherein I was pitching tryouts to little leaguers. Without realizing it, I had pitched to over 80 boys. (approximately 10 pitches per = 800 pitches). Never felt a thing.

Recently, my shoulder started to hurt while bowling. The more I bowled, the more it hurt. Went to my family doctor and got the diagnosis (inflammed muscles, rest it). It continued to hurt when I bowled. Went to an Orthopedic specialist, had an MRI, which showed bone growth in the rotator cuff. Had arthroscopic surgery and the pain is gone. P.S. No tendon or muscle tears were present.

[TheSheibs]

How many fast pitch softball pitchers have shoulder injuries? Almost none and that's because the underhand motion puts very little stress on the shoulder. If proper form is used a person could throw as hard as they want and wouldn't damage the shoulder. With Zach's long limbs and quick pace I can see how and why he could get out of time and end up muscling the ball. That's where the injuries come from.

It's actually more common than you think. Look at how a fast-pitch softball pitchers arm rotates. If you try that motion, a complete circle, your shoulder actually can "pop" making that motion. With bowling a person only brings their arm back to a stopping point and then brings it forward. Go ahead and try to keep your arm locked straight and make a full circle. Most of us will find we can't do it due to lack of flexibility. With bowling, you don't have to be that flexible to throw the all. Also if you experience a little soreness, that could be your body telling you to take a break or that something is wrong.

[TheSheibs]

Unfortunately, everyone is assuming that it is bowling that hurt the shoulder. Perhaps it's something else that created the injury and bowling is just inflaming it.

I had an incident 20 years ago, wherein I was pitching tryouts to little leaguers. Without realizing it, I had pitched to over 80 boys. (approximately 10 pitches per = 800 pitches). Never felt a thing.

Recently, my shoulder started to hurt while bowling. The more I bowled, the more it hurt. Went to my family doctor and got the diagnosis (inflammed muscles, rest it). It continued to hurt when I bowled. Went to an Orthopedic specialist, had an MRI, which showed bone growth in the rotator cuff. Had arthroscopic surgery and the pain is gone. P.S. No tendon or muscle tears were present.

That is a hi possibility. I experienced a knee injury which came out while I was mountain biking. It is important that when we feel a soreness or pain that we monitor it and see a doctor. With all the OTC meds, we tend to just take a pill and forget about it till it gets to the point that it hurts to much or something else happens to make it worse. If you experience pain, soreness, tenderness, etc. You need to see a doctor. It is better to find out that it is nothing serious than self medicate and make it worse. With my knee I was told it was a bruise behind my knee cap. I ask if I could have an MRI or something done to make sure. I had both X-rays and an MRI done which confirmed that it was a bruise and no damage was done to any ligaments or tendons. Bottom line, it is better to have a doctor check you out before a minor injury becomes a surgery required injury.

[ztbowler15]

thats to everyone for your input. I am now getting back into the sport after 2 months of no bowling and physical therapy. so far so good. no pain in the shoulder, but i have noticed some shrinkage of my thumb from not bowling for a while, but nothing a feew pieces of tape cant fix. its going to take a while to get used to bowling again, and get my average back up. but i think i learned my lesson about bowling too much... ill keep you guys updated on my progress, and i have a tournament coming up on august 7th so ill let all of you know how that goes.

[GeorgiaStroker]

Glad to hear you're feeling better Zack. Good luck on your comeback and in the tournament.

[billf]

Good luck, welcome back and don't push too much

[Tampabaybob]

Zack...... You need to go to a sports doctor. I had one of my junior bowlers hurt her shoulder one week during the first game. She came back crying and we pulled her off of the lanes to stop her and iced it down. Her Mom had her lay off for a couple of weeks and when she came back she lasted about 4 frames. Fast forward a few months... she went to a sports doctor (happens to be the team doctor for the Lightning Hockey team here in Tampa) and they did an MRI. She underwent surgery in January and has been recuperating since. She tore a ligament in her shoulder and they had to go in and fix it. Doctor says she should be good to go for the winter league but we definitely want her to try it with a light ball first in September. It's nothing to fool with. If you're still having pain get to a sports doctor ASAP. They are much more familiar with those type of injures than a regular GP. Good Luck.........Bob