Bowl for Back Safety
By Sara Butler
Bowling is a great low impact exercise and can be enjoyed by everyone! But just because it’s low impact doesn’t mean it doesn’t put your back at risk for injury. No matter if you’re an experienced player or a novice, you can benefit from this advice to keep your back safe as you try for that turkey.
Use Proper Technique
Using proper technique and mechanics for any physical activity is going to be the first place you will want to start. Bowling might involve some movements that aren’t exactly natural, maybe a little awkward, but you should have someone who does know what they’re doing show you the right way.
In general, you need to avoid bending too far forward when you’re bowling. This puts added stress on your lower spine and can throw your whole body out of alignment by throwing your weight forward. Try to resist the urge to lengthen your stride when you bowl. You want to keep it as natural as possible so you don’t rush the release of your ball before the foul line and cause muscle strain.
Don’t Do Too Much Too Fast
Bowling is fun and once you start you may want to play a lot, but you need to slow your roll! As with any other physical activity, you should really work up to bowling on a regular basis. You will need to take a day or two off between bowling outings, and you should also take breaks between frames. Otherwise, you risk a repetitive stress injury and muscle fatigue that could lead you to break your form and hurt yourself. Pace yourself, and you’ll stay safe as your game improves!
Get In Shape
If you don’t exercise at all and then suddenly take up bowling, then you lack the necessary conditioning, flexibility, and strength to bowl. When you go ahead and do it anyway, then you are opening yourself up to some potentially serious injuries such as a herniated disc. So, if you want to bowl, you need to try to get conditioned to do it, and then once you become a bowler you should do stabilization and strengthening exercises in order to stay healthy. Also, stretch before you bowl just as you would before any other physical exercise.
If you need some tips for physical conditioning, discuss it with your chiropractor the next time you’re at The Joint!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.