bowling elbow

[gabagoo]

I have diagnosed myself with bowlers elbow. I have had tennis elbow before from golfing but this tendonitous is on the inner side of the elbow whichhas no effect on my golf game thank goodness. Being in a legue and bowling once a week I cant think of a way for it to heal itself. Any suggestions of what can be done to minimilize the pain?

[J Anderson]

First: I get some relief from wearing an elastic elbow brace while bowling. These are relatively cheap and available at any drug store.
Second: good form helps. I usually know immediately if I'm "chicken winging" it because my elbow will get a twinge of pain. The brace seems to help remind me to keep the elbow straight.
Third: Ice should help reduce the inflammation afterward. I admit that I haven't tried this, but I don't usually feel like finding a deep basin to fill with ice cubes and water at 11:30 p.m.

[theluigi]

A couple weeks ago I saw a guy bowling who had the biggest crank I've ever seen. His elbow came so far out I thought he was going to hit the guys in the lane next to him. I was amazed at his revs, but after only 2 games, he started to rub his elbow after every shot and I knew it was because of all of that strain. I'm not saying you crank it like that, but John has a point with saying that good form will not only make you a better bowler, but let you bowl longer and stronger.

[The Mayor]

One of the forearm supports would definitely be good to wear. It puts pressure on that tendon and gives it more support. Also, you may want to have the fit of your ball checked. Having too long or too short of a span, too big of a thumb hole, can cause you to squeeze. This puts unnecessary strain on parts of your arm that shouldn't be there.

[gabagoo]

thanks guys I shall take your advice and see what I can do

[btaylor]

gabagoo,

New here so just saw this post.

I am just recovering from "golfers elbow." I did lots of study on the Internet and luckily my neighbor is a PT. Here is what I did in a nutshell to fix this thing.

1. First... lots of ice several times a day. You need the ice to keep the inflammation down. Only do about 20 min per session.
2. Next get a light bar bell (I go to the gym) in the 8-10 lb range and start doing wrist curls with the wrist up and then the wrist down. Do about 10 each per set but don't over do it! Start with short sets and work up and don't hurry it. This is a tear in the tendon so it takes time to heal. Don't try to push heavier weights, stay to the 10lb. It's number of reps and not weight.
3. Start popping the ibuprophin. Do 800mg 3x / day. 800 is about a prescription strength. It will take a coupe weeks to build up in your body. This will help you tolerate the exercise and any bowling you are doing.
4. Cut back on the bowling practice and stick with league.
5. I had to modify my release as to not torque my wrist and just roll with as little turn or push with the wrist.
It took about 4 months to get back to a fully function state (now). Be patient and don't be lax on the ice (especially) and exercise.

Good luck.

Bob