QuestionI have had my thumb hole changed a few times due to constant thumb pain when i bowl. It first started with the bruising at the base of my thumb nail, but after getting a reverse pitch drill for my thumb, the bruising went away. However, i've been noticing a bit of sensitivity at the bending joint of my thumb. I'm trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. The pain is very bothersome and it seemed like the joint is starting to bulge out a bit with a soft callus.
fyi-i'm double jointed.
I have also noticed that at my starting position, after pushing my ball out for a swing, as the ball descends, i can feel the ball yanking on my thumb. It's not a comfortable feeling, so I'm not sure if that's normal. don't know if i'm gripping the ball during my swing or if the thumb hole is too big.
Thanks for your help.
Answer
www.TrueBowlerAdjustme
Hello Mon, I am sure you agree that no one in their right minds are going to bowl for a long time if they are in pain. Especially, with thumb pain! I would not be surprised if the first person that perfected two finger bowling had thumb problems and just said to heck with it, and took the thumb out altogether.
I am going to throw one thing at you from my new bowling book, "True Bowler Adjustments." I have written my book in a passive voice so you can pick and choose what you think may work for your game. Most books are written in an active voice to tell you to "do this" or "do that." Bowling isn't done that way for the most part.
Above everything, a proper fit is the most important thing, combined with a good release!
Generally in bowling there is a good for bad relationship sometimes. Meaning, you do one thing and it affects something else until you find that nice balance. "This is True bowling!"
You fixed the thumb nail being hurt, then encountered a callous at the base of your thumb. When you went into reverse pitch somewhat, it "opened your hand" so to speak. This extension sometimes causes a bowler to squeeze the ball more.
"Beveling" or shaving down the area where the callous comes in contact with the ball, often will alleviate the "rub." In my book I note that it doesn't change the span, only the "feel" of the ball until there is "no pressure" when you squeeze the ball. It should be done a little bit at a time until "you" are okay with it.
Ball drillers are generally accurate and consistent when measuring your hand for a good fit. However, once the hand goes into the ball, things don't settle down for several games until "you" sometimes develop an issue. This is where establishing a good relationship with your ball driller comes into play, so that every ball there after is custom fitted to you!
In summary Mon, bowling has a lot of yin and yang type situations that happen. Basically, you can conquer one thing and something else may suffer. Our job as bowlers is to be vigilant and keep researching a "fix" until our game is taken care of and we can bowl pain free. I suggest you visit your pro shop and see if he or she can do some "beveling" for you. Just a little to free up the "rub" on the callous so it can heal.
I have several other bowlers who have posted questions about thumb pain here on ALLEXPERTS.COM. Please review responses I have written for them. Often, the stories can be very similar. You can also get an idea of what you may experience in the future. Always, understand a change here, (Yin) may cause a slight change somewhere else.(Yang) (Smile)
-Gary
Las Vegas, NV.
www.TrueBowlerAdjustments.com (It's a great book!)
