I'm halfway through a 12 week recovery/therapy from another rotator cuff repair.  My BEST friend is ice.  After every therapy session, and many times in between, I've got ice strapped around the shoulder.  It's the only anti-inflammatory I know of without side-effects. I've had my bowling shoulder reconstructed (bicep & rotator cuff), and now my left side repaired, as well as an ACL (knee) tear, among other breaks, strains, etc.  Every time ice has been my friend.

As we use muscles there is some internal swelling that takes place, and ice helps take care of that.  It also has a numbing/soothing effect for me.  I watch athletes, particularly NBA players, that, as soon as they're done for the game, both knees have ice packs on them.  It's preventative maintenance.

Having said that, as we age (especially) we need to stretch and warm up our muscles prior to bowling.  Too many guys develop tendonitis and other injuries simply because they didn't warm up.  Warm muscles are way less likely to get injured than cold ones.  Take it from a 59 year old man with 70 year old joints...

Recovery is a personal thing in my view.  Stretching exercises had the opposite effect on me. I had more muscle pulls doing stretching exercises. My pre-league/tournament routine consists solely of rolling balls during shadow practice. I have been doing this for over 25 years. I lift weights 3 times, a week, but making sure to take a complete day off between workouts. On rest days, I relax, in order to give my body a rest and an opportunity to heal itself. Two years ago, I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot.
I did all of the exercises for it that my doc had recommended. It only got worse. so, I abandoned that remedy---rested my foot for a good 4 weeks. That did the trick.
The last thing I want to do if I pull a hamstring or a muscle is to try to cure it by whacking it with a hammer.

If a recovery session is needed after bowling 6 games what is necessary is more movement of body and less denting of couch.

I read an article on the process the University Of Alabama football program is using. It pretty much stated that warming up before physical activity was crucial, but in a lot of cases stretching could actually cause injuries. So they have their players warm-up but only on a case by case basis do they stretch out muscle groups before practice and/or games.

They have stretching sessions that are completely separate from physical practice.

The other one I found interesting, after a practice session or game, they have players sit in a tub of ice water. The article was of the opinion that cold helps more than anything after intensive workouts.

It goes into static stretching is best after exercise and dynamic stretching is better before exercise.

You want to get the heart rate a little elevated and blood flowing before where afterwards is more of a cooldown.

Quote from: itsallaboutme on August 30, 2021, 01:42:26 PM

If a recovery session is needed after bowling 6 games what is necessary is more movement of body and less denting of couch.

I totally agree, but as I said before, after each game there was a 30 minute break to get the scores tallied, then an hour between the 3rd and 4th game, so everyone was already starting to get stiff after that to begin with.

That said, then when you're in an area that is surrounded by 3 wildfires that have burned more than 750 sq. miles, the sun looking like rotting burnt orange pumpkin from the smoke, and air quality so bad that it makes the smoke from a steam or diesel engine look like fresh air, you're kind of limited on what things to do to get the body moving. Then add on that all the time for body movement is spent on caring for someone who is still recovering from a pulmonary embolism... well.. that's where I am.

Seriously though, with the Dickie and Caldor fires over here, and then the Tamarack fires having started up again, we're getting limited on where to go and what to do in the NorCal area. That's why I am asking on how to cool down while not getting the stiffness from the muscles.

BL.

Excuses, excuses....   


Besides, I have been getting plenty of exercise just wiping the ash off my car every day....And I park in a garage!


It does cut down on people bitching about having to wear a mask though.