How to Deal with Hand Pain After a Bowling Game?

Your entire body takes part when you bowl. But which body part is the most involved when you deliver your ball? Your hands, that’s right. Your hands do a lot of things when you bowl. From picking up the ball to swinging it on different stages, your dominant hand goes through a lot.

Hence, hand pain after bowling is a lot more common than other physical pain caused by this sport. Have you been dealing with one these days? Then you have come to the right place. You shouldn’t ignore any pan. So it is important to take a look at this. So read on folks!

Why is your hand paining after bowling?

When you bowl, you handle and throw a 15-16 pound bowling ball with different spinning techniques. As fun as it sounds, you actually put yourself at a high risk of hand pain ad injuries. You see, when the bowling ball is still in your hand, you apply unbalanced forces on your hand and wrist. This is what causes the problem. If your hand hurts after bowling, it doesn’t always mean you threw the ball wrong. It can be because of repetitive hand movements. Bowling too often or too rapidly can intensify the pain in your hand and wrist. So if your hand is paining after bowling, don’t worry, all you need is some rest and some tender loving care.

How to get rid off the hand pain?

Is the pain in your hand getting serious? Is the Ibuprofen not helping anymore? Then, there’s a high chance you have injured it to a degree that will require medical attention. What to do in that case? Of course, go see a doctor and follow the given instructions. Just make sure your pain is properly identified. Only after that, you will receive the treatment you need.

If the deed is already done and you are looking for ways to reduce your hand pain, here are some of the remedies that might help you.

1. You know what they say, “Time heals all wounds”. Give yourself some time off from bowling. If the pain goes away, you are good. Once the pain goes away you can get back to bowling and see if that pain returns in your hand.

2. One of the best ways to get rid of hand soreness is moist heat therapy. This will improve your hand mobility, reduce stiffness, and make the soreness go away. Moist heat therapy also makes your hand movements easy and free of pain. Moist heat is proven to be better for the deep tissue in terms of penetration. If long-term bowling has caused you chronic hand pain or stiffness, use this therapy and see the pain disappear. If you have other body pain besides your hand, you can just take nice hot baths, and that will relieve your pain.

3. You can use topical pain ointment and that’s another way to get rid of pain that is not too severe. If you ever encounter strains, tendonitis, muscle aches, acute hand pain, etc. due to bowling, a topical pain relief ointment can help you temporarily.

4. Now what if you face swelling and irritation in your hand? Icing can also help you in that case. When you ice the injured or painful area of your hand, you reduce the blood flow there. The cold temperature from ice lowers the speed of the molecules in the affected area’s tissues. That’s how cold temperatures can also be helpful for hand pain. 

How to prevent your hand from hurting when bowling?

There are a lot of ways you can prevent hand pain from happening in the first place. Here’s how—

Rule number 1— Don’t do anything you’re not supposed to do. Based on your bowling style, try not to emphasize any of your moves when you bowl. Also, maintain angles at all costs. When your angling is off, not only you will mess up your shot, but also you will hurt your hand. Trust me you don’t want that.

The second best way to prevent hand injuries and pain from happening in the first place is wearing protection. Start with a wrist brace. If you have already experienced wrist pain, you know how bad it can be. So if you are likely to hurt your wrist, wear a wrist brace. To save yourself from finger injuries and pain, wear protective finger tapes. If the drilled holes in your bowling ball are not perfect, don’t forget to get inserts for a snug fit. You just can’t overlook these matters. So, please, invest in these bowling gear for your own good.

If you are overusing your shoulder, then it’s time you stopped it because that can cause shoulder pain. The pain can move all the way to the arm and forearm. To reduce this pain, stop forcing the ball to the front at the backswing. Just let the gravity do its trick and let the bowling fall to the downswing and then to the front swing with a smooth follow-through.

Inactivity of your hand is another reason you are having pain in your hands. So, do some basic hand exercises whenever possible. Use gym gear if needed, or if you have some available. The hand exercises will keep your hand muscles active and prevent you from further hand pain.

Conclusion

Staying safe should be your number one priority when you bowl. Next comes good bowling techniques and decent scores. It’s true that you have to be focused on delivering the ball down the lane, but you also have to be conscious of your safety. Trust me, you don’t wanna be a sufferer of hand pain. That sucks big time. So roll down the ball with proper protection and practice hand exercises. No fooling around, alright? Good luck and catch you later, my friends!