Determining the best ankle braces for bowling becomes a critical priority in your life when you have a problem with your ankles or feet. One of my toughest challenges was after I sprained an ankle last year.
I took a brief rest to let the ankle heal some, and when I returned I found I needed some extra support to bowl. It was nearly a year before I was mostly pain free, and not noticing the soreness any longer. That is why I wanted to share my story with you and what types of ankle braces for bowling helped me.
After bowling for years, the slide foot goes unnoticed until we injure it. As soon as weight is placed upon the injury, pain quickly reminds us how much we need a healthy foot. When an injury is present, it becomes much more difficult. The level of injury and how much pain you feel determines how long you should rest before trying to bowl.
Healing Time and Ankle Braces For Bowling
If you severely sprain your ankle, you may have to take weeks or even a month or more to rest and allow the sprain to heal.If you aggressively tear tendons, it may even require surgery. The amount of surgery and the repair will greatly increase your healing time.
I suffered a rolled ankle while going down only one step. I did not expect to land awkwardly on my foot, and yet I did. If you can imagine turning your foot so that you are on the side of your foot, you have some idea what I did. And it was my slide foot.
Why Did it Happen
I cant’ even tell you why it happened? I am not sure. Maybe tried to turn while stepping down at the same time, or maybe I was just not paying attention. Even afterwards it didn’t seem like a big deal, it hurt, but not too bad….at first. That night the swelling increased. The next day, it was apparent I could not walk on the foot and ankle without pain.
I was sure I had broken a bone in my foot, it was quite painful. Looking at my foot, it was badly discolored and bruised. I felt I needed a few x-rays, just to be sure. They proved it was just a nasty sprain. RICE was recommended. Rest, Ice, Elevation, and Compression. For pain relief ibuprofen, and later physical therapy. I was relieved to hear that surgery was not required.
After a short period of rest (2 weeks), and some therapy, I carefully tried out some practice games. I quickly found out, I definitely needed more support to bowl. So, my search began to find a foot support.
I needed something I could wear and still get my bowling shoe on. This eliminated any of the foot boots that are simply like putting the foot in a cast. That would be ok for while I was at home, but, it did not allow me to continue with normal activities outside the home.
I also wanted to use the foot as much as possible, to keep from losing as much range of motion as possible. I had already given myself plenty of time to heal the initial damage.
Helpful Ankle Braces
I had been wrapping the foot with an elastic ace bandage, which gave me support and the compression felt pretty good. That was fine when I didn’t need to wear shoes. but it was too bulky to wear inside my shoe.
I decided upon a Plantar Fasciitis Compression Sock that gave some support and wasn’t too bulky.
I also wrapped the ankle bone and heel in the elastic ace bandage to help brace my ankle. And the great part was, I could still get my shoe on, just by loosening the laces.
Elastic Support Bandages
The problem was that the wrapping and unwrapping of the elastic bandage became a chore, and I knew I had to find a better way.
It is a plus that you can adjust the compression simply by re-wrapping tighter or loosen the wrapping as desired. In fact there are other styles of breathable elastic wraps that are available. They can be used to support ankles and other areas of the body as well.
Advantages to Elastic Support Bandages
- Very Adjustable for comfort level
- Adaptable for use on knees, elbows, wrists and hands as well
- Reusable
- Speed up recovery time
Disadvantages
- May not stay secured
- Support is limited
Ankle Wraps for Bowling
Some ankle wraps are like compression socks and only provide limited support but keep in the heat and help healing. While this is good for a slight strain, it is not enough when you have a nasty sprain. A more severe sprain will require support for your body weight. Be sure you follow your doctor’s advice before you walk on the ankle too soon.
Added Support Braces
For everyday activities, you need something that will fit inside your shoes. It needs to be thin, and adjustable for comfort. I personally liked the adjustable Ankle Support Brace. it will allow you to wear a compression sock underneath if you desire to do so.
Another reason I liked the Ankle Support Brace is because it only involved my heel and ankle. It was thin enough to wear in my shoe and provided the support I needed. All that I needed to do was loosen the lace ties on my shoe. Perfect!
I felt this, combined with the compression sock just might be enough support to allow me to bowl. And it worked great!
The adjustable ankle wrap is something you might also consider if you have a sore ankle.
Be sure you follow the advice of your Doctor. I hope this helps you as well.
My Attempt to Resume Bowling
When I made my attempt to resume bowling, my first games in practice went surprisingly well. My discomfort was manageable, but my ankle felt weak, so keeping my balance was difficult. The period of time that I had rested the ankle, now required some recovery to get back to it’s normal state before the injury.
The next day, I felt sore but not too bad. Keeping support on the ankle helped tremendously. But I can tell you, it is not the same bowling on an injured foot compared to a healthy one.
I found out that the stability is just not as good while the ankle heals. So, that is how I continued to bowl for about four more weeks. I could gingerly place weight on the ankle, but couldn’t generate the leverage in the ball I normally did. My average was down probably ten pins or more, but I was able to bowl.
Healing Takes Time
It took about a month for me to feel comfortable enough to bowl without an ankle brace. It is true that a sprain takes longer to heal than a broken bone.I have had both.
I would not wish a sprained ankle on anyone. But, it happens! If it happens to you, then you have a choice to make. Continue to bowl somehow, or stop bowling till it heals. If you are like me, you can’t just sit around and wait for something to heal.
It is nice to know you have some options available if you decide to bowl while healing up. I hope you found this article helpful and I have saved you some time searching for braces. If so, then I have achieved what I had hoped for, and that is to help others.
Thank you for reading, and please leave any questions or comments below.
Chas
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