Bowling - how long after?

Guest · Oct 20, 2016

So - after OHS, those of you who bowl, how long did you wait until bowling again?

It's been five weeks since the surgery for me. I think it's a bit early yet, but I have seen numbers like four months after - that seems a bit excessive.

epstns · Oct 20, 2016

I would talk to your doctor, and also listen to your body. I don't bowl, but I imagine that tossing about a 16-pound plastic ball would have the same effect on your sternum as calmly lifting a greater weight. You're not just holding it, you're tossing it and trying to give it momentum.

Also, I remember trying to do push-ups after surgery. I waited about 6 months and tried. Mistake. It hurt. My upper body just wasn't up to that yet. I wasn't fully comfortable doing push-ups for about a year after surgery. YMMV, so whatever you decide, start out gently and see how you feel.

Terr · Oct 20, 2016

(I wrote the OP - for some reason it showed as guest)

From what little I have seen posted on the subject on the internetz, the pain/discomfort, if it comes, it usually comes *after* bowling, not during... I am just looking for people that did it to get some idea at what point in time I should/can try it.

almost_hectic · Oct 20, 2016

4 months does not sound excessive at all to me from my experience. Thinking that might be more like a minimum amount of time. Like Steve it took me a long time before I could do push ups, about a year. Tried a number of times and regretted painfully for the following few days. It was not muscle pain like that from exercise, it was bone pain from my sternum. Bowling repeatedly swings your body and your upper body resisted twisting, that sounds like a lot of strain to me.

Terr · Oct 20, 2016

I don't know if it's comparable to pushups, though. At this point (5 weeks after) I couldn't even think of a pushup, but I took out my ball and swung it around a couple of times and it was... ok. Not very comfortable but ok.