Thumb hole too big!

[Juice]

The main reasons for a swelling thumb (not counting previous injuries) is wrong thumb pitch, gripping with the thumb, and a thumb hole that is too large (which makes the bowler grip... see #2). Generally speaking, you should never put tape in the front of the thumb hole. Among other reasons, if you use more than two to three pieces of tape, it changes your span.

After correcting pitches and thumb sizes (some require oval milling), my customers actually go down two or three thumb sizes because the thumb stopped swelling. I've even got two guys that went down four to five sizes because the callous they developed after years of bowling with the wrong fit diminished.

[ecub]

I had issues of thumb swelling due to diet, depending on what I ate or drank prior to bowling, I can expect it to swell.

[ghoul31]

I've broke my thumb three times.

How did you break you thumb three times?

[billf]

At work with a dead blow hammer. I use my left hand for most things but prefer to bowl with my right. Swing hammer, miss target, smash thumb. The last time a piece of bone went out the tip and on the floor. Split it open real good. Same way the second time without the bone fragment exiting. First time was in a Philipino prison where the guards broke my knuckles for me.

[GeorgiaStroker]

At work with a dead blow hammer. I use my left hand for most things but prefer to bowl with my right. Swing hammer, miss target, smash thumb. The last time a piece of bone went out the tip and on the floor. Split it open real good. Same way the second time without the bone fragment exiting. First time was in a Philipino prison where the guards broke my knuckles for me.

I swear Bill, they need to make a movie about your life. Who would you like to play you on the big screen?

[billf]

They don't have any movie stars ugly enough to play me.

[ShortChanged]

I too use bowlers tape when the thumb is a little big. I would rather more space rather than a tight fit, and you can always make it smaller in a minute, but you can't make it bigger in the same time!

As far as swelling fingers, anytime I feel that my fingers are swelling, in between frames I hold my hand up, to draw the blood away from the fingers, and it helps to keep my fingers from swelling. Try it!

[richardsymms]

Does anyone have my problem? My thumb starts out so big I can hardly get it into the thumb hole then it begins to shrink and by the middle of the first game I have added tape twice to my thumb. Sometimes even more later.

[billf]

I have that on a daily basis. Then there comes a time, around game 20 that is starts to swell again. It's why I use interchangeable thumb inserts and have quite the variety of sizes. In the long run it's cheaper than tape.