One of the problems of getting to be an Old Phart is that one often gets some arthritis. When the arthritis is in ones bowling hand and it hurts to bowl, then we begin to search for relief. I have gotten to that point and my ring finger is the main culprit. Thumb and big finger seem to be OK so far.

I am laying off bowling for the summer, taking Glucosamine and Tumeric. Less pain lately, don't know if it is because of either of the above or the laying off of bowling. Talked to regular doctor about it, she recommended a hand specialist if the supplements do not help in a couple of months.

Any ideas out there? Certainly others may have had or still have the same or similar problems. I hate to give up bowling after all these years!

Too bad Sawbones passed on, he might have had a remedy!

Your suggestions would be appreciated!

Dicnic     

conventional grip.  If you want to bowl with as little pain as possible you will have to sacrifice some performance.

Used to take Glucosamine for years. Read an article about it in Consumers Reports, saying there were zero valid studies done confirming its helping with any pain from any cause. I stopped taking it (I have arthritis and bone and tendon problems) and the stopping did nothing. I'd suggest it's a waste of time and money.

Turmeric and other herbs, like cinnamon, are noted and confirmed herbal anti-inflammatories, but you have to be careful of overdosing on them. Too much is bad; do some online researching.

I take ibuprofen (aka Advil, Motrin, but much cheaper) on an irregular basis due to necrotic hip pain, which started in 1988. For a while I took it regularly. I feared some liver or kidney damage; so I reduced my dosage and only take it now when needed. It does work.

Braces for your hand/arm/wrist, like Steel Fingers, will also help tremendously.
http://steelfingers.com/  I had severe tendonitis in my bowling hand, ring finger, 2nd knuckle, at one point in time. I did 3 things:
1. reduced the span of the ring finger by 1/8";
2. Used Steel fingers for about 6 months; I now keep a pair in my bowling bag, all the time, just in case of emergency;
3. I took a dose of ibuprofen (aka Advil, Motrin) 1 hour before bowling and 1 hour after bowling.

I kept the dropped ring finger span; stopped taking the ibuprofen for that pain, which no longer occurs.

Get steel fingers and take alieve that's what I do and it has helped quite a bit. don't think I could continue bowling without these 2 things

Get steel fingers and take alieve that's what I do and it has helped quite a bit. don't think I could continue bowling without these 2 things

Take Aleve or take Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) BUT do not take both at the same time. Leave 48 hours to clean out your system if you switch medication. They conflict with one another.

You really should consider talking to a pro shop operator you trust to discuss. Poor fit or physical changes over time lead to the need to revisit fit. It could be a change in span as some have mentioned. Pitch changes can also help tremendously. I had wrist surgery and worked on refit to reduce as much grip pressure as possible. Fingers pitches reverse or "away" do relieve that kind of stress along with a more relaxed span. Of course you may need to change thumb pitches as well to compensate and allow you to still clear the ball.
Good luck but take it seriously and don't let it linger as to avoid potential long term injury.

You could always Try the Griips Glove. I used one for most of a season back in 2010..you really don't feel the fingers at all with that...ultimately what I didn't like about it overrode what I did like about it, but it is worth a try.

Brad