I've probably used every wrist brace made at one point or another. Now I'm bowling without one. I've been brace-free since December '06.
I broke both arms at the same time at age 12. That followed a severe right wrist injury when I was 4. When I first started bowling competitively around 17, I had to get a brace or it just wasn't going to work for me.
Whether that turned into a crutch or not, I don't know, but I do know from age 17 to 33 I was a brace aficionado. I finally ditched it after running into Mike Machuga at a pro-am in Birmingham a couple of years ago. He told me how most of the pros despised the braces and the people who wore them. I had no idea there was such animosity.
I'd always wanted a snappy release like his, and I knew I wasn't going to get it with a brace (it does limit your wrist snap considerably). So I started a training regimen and started taking lessons. I ditched the brace and was bowling fine for about three weeks, and then I noticed a twinge in my wrist one night while I was bowling in a PBA league.
I didn't think much about it that night; I went home, went to bed, and got up the next morning with a wrist on fire.
Over the next few months I was on and off of bowling in general, and was in and out of a brace. I finally gave up and decided to just go to the brace at the start of fall league in 2006, but then I got transferred with my job.
I moved back to Alabama from Tennessee and forgot to pack a brace with me. I was going to be here about three months before the moving company could get my stuff down here. So I bought a brace (a Storm Strongarm, the only thing I could find) and struggled with it. Finally one night, I was tired of shooting 160s, so I ditched the brace one last time.
I quit having pain, but my average fell as low as 156 the week before Christmas. By the end of the year, I had it back up to 187. I've been pain-free ever since and I hope it continues. I'm looking to average 195-200 this year on a THC shot that's not really a full-blown "cheater" shot (I've bowled on cheater shots, I know them when I see them, and we don't have one).
Some of the things I learned:
* Without the brace, I had more wrist snap. With it, less strain on my wrist (can't figure out why Deadbait says there is more strain on the wrist -- there isn't).
* With the brace, though, more strain on the fingers. (Steel Fingers is a good product to reduce finger strain)
* With the brace, I can throw with more speed, impart more forward roll and do a better job on dry lanes.
* Without the brace, I'm much more versatile, much more consistent, can make small adjustments more easily and I've got better form.
Braces have their place. They don't necessarily make you a better bowler. One thing I disagree with Machuga on is that they're a great advantage. Well, maybe. Only if you know how to use one. It's a tool, and people misuse tools frequently. But it definitely helps the weak-wristed bowl with the strong-wristed.
If you're going to go from brace to no brace, budget two years and check your ego at the door. But I bet 90% of the people who make the commitment can do it. I did, despite my previous injuries.
Jess
