How to keep those spares & strikes coming!

Sports injuries occur due to accidents or overuse of a muscle or ligament. Each specific sport has areas of caution; knowing what they are is always a good plan. Bowlers are often particularly exposed to wrist, back, shoulder, hip and knee injuries. Each of these areas has one thing in common: they are comprised of muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments. And each of these 4 components must function in unison for the area to remain pain free.

Although bowling is not a rough sport, or even a contact sport for that matter, players who bowl face their share of painful injuries. Repetetive motion and the act of throwing a 16 pound ball down an alley many times places tremendous stress on your muscles and joints. The bowling action involves repetitive twisting, extension and rotation of the trunk at the same time as absorption of large ground reaction forces over a short period of time.

Overuse injuries are also common. Those who bowl multiple times per week, and rapidly paced bowlers are most likely to suffer overuse injuries in the joints of those regions. It is almost inevitable that if you put a bowler through several consecutive competitive matches, he will pick up injuries sooner or later.

The following factors are some of the important physiological and physical attributes of a successful bowler: exceptional hand/eye co-ordination and balance, good flexibility, strength and aerobic fitness and low body fat. A weakness in any of those areas will affect your score, and not in a good way! A good musculoskeletal system maximizes bowling power and control, and minimizes injury risk. A good level of endurance keep you healthy, reduces fatigue and aids recovery.

There are three principles of training that should be followed:

The first is the principle of specificity. This means that improvements in strength (and other aspects of fitness too) are specific to the area that is trained. It is therefore important to target the areas that you want to improve. This may mean training the leg muscles for improving balance, the torso area to improve stability, and the upper body region for strength, power and accuracy.

The second principle is progressive overload. Improvements in strength are gained as the body adapts to the higher demands (the overload) placed on it during strength training. If you always exercise at the same level, the body will adapt to this new level and you will stop improving. To ensure that you are constantly improving, you need to progressively increase you training (either increase the time spent exercising or the intensity) as you adapt.

The third is the principal of flexibility and fluidity. Consistent coordination of the various areas of the body depend on this. The smooth operation of the muscles, tendons, joint and ligaments is essential to a balanced effort. If one area is sore, tired or worn, it places additional stress on the others due to normal compensation.

When additional training includes repetitive motion, it actually can become counter productive. As we all grow to realize, we can’t do the things we did in our youth forever. It may be time to reach for the bottle. However, if you find yourself reaching for the Ibuprofin or Alleve, there are serious health consequences and side effects that can include liver and stomach damage (and even worse)! Consider an all natural, non-NSAID anti-inflammatory. The special properties of CM8 have recently come to light as the most effective for joint health. CM8 is exclusively found in Flexcin, found in natural health stores nationwide and online at www.flexcin.com. It just might keep you on the lanes when Father Time interferes with training.