micoach
Active Member
4 ways bowlers can prevent shoulder injuries
Overuse injuries of the shoulder is a big problem for bowlers, especially those of the faster variety. How can you avoid this?
In the UK, the ECB have done what they can by restricting the amount of overs young bowlers are allowed to bowl in practice and live games. But what if you are over 18?
There are some simple things you can do to prevent shoulder issues.
Have you got anything to add here? Liz?
Overuse injuries of the shoulder is a big problem for bowlers, especially those of the faster variety. How can you avoid this?
In the UK, the ECB have done what they can by restricting the amount of overs young bowlers are allowed to bowl in practice and live games. But what if you are over 18?
There are some simple things you can do to prevent shoulder issues.
- Less pushing, more pulling. If you regularly push stuff in life or in the gym more than you pull stuff you are causing an imbalance in your shoulder. That is a recipe for injury. Pulling exercises like inverted rows strengthen the muscles around the scapular (the big bone in your shoulder). If you workout make sure you do double the amount of pulling exercises compared to pushing and cut out the bench press altogether. Replace it with rotational press ups as they strengthen your chest and stabilise your shoulder in one movement. If you don’t workout, start.
- Put the guns away. It’s bad news if you like doing the biceps. Large guns can cause issues in the shoulder too. The bicep muscle connects to the shoulder and when it gets too big it pulls on the shoulder directly and can hurt you. That means you need to cut out the curls. Those big biceps might look great in your best shirt on Saturday night but come game time you could be out.
- Stabilise your knee and core. Our muscles are all linked together in a chain. An unstable knee or core can lead to issues in the shoulder through this chain effect. Train knees for stability with exercises like squats, single leg squats, and straight leg deadlifts. Train core stability and cut out any exercises that cause you to rotate the trunk rather than the upper back.
- Mobilise you ankles, hips and upper back (t-spine). Mike Boyle recommends these joints (not the shoulder, which needs to be stable not mobile) are all as mobile as they can be. A good range of motion at all these joints allows for a good action which stops your shoulder having to get into positions that might cause injury. It might seem odd that your ankle can affect your shoulder, but the body will always try and compensate for poor mobility somewhere further up the chain. If the compensation happens in the knee, lower back or shoulder you are in trouble. Take a look at Boyle’s joint by joint training article for tips on how to get these joints mobile and remember your warm up.
Have you got anything to add here? Liz?