Quote from charlest:
You probably have tendonitis of one of the joints of the ring finger.
(At worst, you could have caused tendonitis in the tendons inside your wrist: carpal tunnel syndrome, which can potentially be very serious.)
Depending on how you "overdid it", that would determine what the best solution is.
If it was from too many games, then you need to wear some special support for the fingers, when you practice excessively.
That said, if it was from excessive lofting because you tried to put too much pressure on lifting the ball, then you need a coach to teach you how to do it right, because what you did is probably not good from the viewpoint of bowling and from the viewpoint of your personal health.
One device that I have found to help relieve physical stress on the finger joints is SteelFingers. Here is their web site:
http://steelfingers.com/. It made a big difference when I had tendonitis in my ring finger. I no longer use it, but I always carry a pair in my bag.
The second "device" is rest. The only 2 things to cure tendonitis is an operation and never stressing the joint again.
+1 here.
After you heal remember that we don't want to "make" the ball do anything. Instead, just to relax and "let" the ball hook and play what the lanes are giving you on that particular day.
Everyone has become so obsessed with trying to "create revs and hook" that they are losing any ability to repeat shots whatsoever. Focus on correct body mechanics to avoid future injury and to score YOUR way.
It doesn't matter whether you get to the break point by going left to right or straight up the boards. Trust me, nearly everyone is using the same area (within 2-3 boards) for their break point. It's the last 10-15 feet of lane that
really matter. The deeper you get (eventually) you start leaving more corner pins because the ball simply cannot transition that far and retain energy that long for the vast majority of bowlers.
