So while bowling in a tournament a few weeks ago I pulled my bicep muscle. Threw the ball and felt a sharp pain run through the bicep. Finished the game and tapped out as it hurt way too much to continue.

When I threw the next ball the pain really came when I "hit up" with the finger on the ball. So am I muscling the ball too much? I have bowled for 10 years with no pain such as this.

I did just make a pitch change. Went to more forward pitch and have had a issue hanging up at times so I am using a lot of powder on my thumb to get a good release. With this change I really have not thrown the ball better. Getting a better release and hitting my spot more consistently. But did I maybe go too far with the pitch and that cause the issue or was all this just a freak overworking accident?

just trying to figure out what may have caused this as I really want to avoid it in the future.

thanks for any suggestions.

I dont have a recent video. I am taking a few weeks off before I even attempt to bowl again.

Go see a doctor, I've known two bowlers that completely tore their bicep away from the bone.  --  JohnP

A few ideas:

When you changed your thumb pitch to more forward did you shorten your span also? That is usually necessary to help you get out of the ball cleanly.  How much depends on what you can get away with individually, so it might take one or two tries to "nail it" for your hand, release, etc.

Last May when I had shoulder reconstruction surgery part of it was to repair a torn bicep so, yes, you should get it looked at.  The doctor re-attached my bicep to the upper portion of my humerus bone by drilling into it and attaching there instead of in the shoulder joint.  Surprisingly, that was the easy part of the surgery.  The rotator cuff repair was a much more difficult healing and subsequent rehab.  Had I done the bicep tenodesis (repair) a year or two earlier I may have never torn the rotator cuff and had a much easier recovery and rehab.

Unfortunately the doctor will probably want an MRI to tell just how much damage has been done, and depending on your insurance, you may need to fork out some bucks to help pay for it.  In the meantime I'd suggest icing the area for a good 15 minutes 2-3 times a day to help with the internal swelling that inevitably be there.  There are no side effects to ice therapy like some of the anti-inflammatory drugs can have.  Good luck as you heal.

A teammate of mine ruptured the bicep tendon it sounds a lot like your pain.

He went to a top orthopedic surgeon that is what they found. he had surgery and was out for 6 months from bowling  I think could have come back sooner but he was worried that he would hurt it a again

Get it check out before you make it worse   

LSF-
When I tore my bicep, my regular family doc said there wasn't anything wrong either. Problem was after a few weeks, and just like you, I could do most everything but something still wasn't right. It took a Sports Med doc to throw me in an MRI to see if anything was torn or ruptured. Unfortunately you cannot rely on a doc telling you what he/she thinks without getting a pic of what is going on inside your arm. You need an MRI before you do more damage.

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