Finger Pain

Question
Dear Warren:

I'm a 34 yo female who recently purchased a 12 lb ball, had it drilled, and have been bowling approximately 6-8 games 2x a week for three weeks.  I have been experiencing soreness in my middle through pinky fingers. This week I rested it for a week and can still feel the discomfort.

It feels like either a tendoitis or arthritic pain. It's reminscient of pain after I fractured the same fingers on the hand about 12 years ago.  Wondering if you think that the ball has been drilled incorrectly or if I'm just experiencing overusage as I didn't build up my hand strength gradually.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Regards,
Jean

Answer
Jean,
Did the store you bought the ball from know about the fractured fingers? Did they check for flexibility of your hand and fingers?

Not sure what a tendoitis or arthritic pain feels like or what could cause it. But I'd suggest that fractured fingers would create a potential for problems.

Your sessions may indeed be stressing your hand and arm. Is there grip pressure needed to control the ball?

A 12 pound ball may be perfectly fine if it's the appropriate weight and the fit allows minimal to NO GRIP pressure. I'd need more details to determine what might be influencing your pain. What you describe sounds like a lot of things. Before I try to diagnose pain over the net, you may want to check with your doctor. Your previous misfortune could have resulted in problems aggravated by your recent bowling outings.

Taking a break after possibly overdoing didn't work. You may want to try a less vigorous session and see if you still have discomfort. But before you re-engage, get clearance from your doctor. Thanks for your question. Good luck and I hope when you get clearance from the doc you let me know more.