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Author Topic: blood blister under nail  (Read 3119 times)

JohnN

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blood blister under nail
« on: April 15, 2021, 11:21:57 AM »
For the last 15 years or so I have developed under the nail of my ring finger what I would describe as a blood blister. I believe this is due to a lack of flexibility in the last joint. Am 68 now. Over the years I have changed the pitch of that finger a couple of times. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and if you found a solution. We couldn't bowl for about 5 weeks earlier in the year and it disappeared. Was wondering if putting a fake nail over it might take the pressure off ? Tape the finger ? I use power lift inserts. Thanks in advance. 

 

Speeddemon

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2021, 11:39:24 AM »
http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index.php?title=Jayhawk_Fitting_Tips

According to this it could be possible to long span or to small finger inserts or to much foreward pitch.  You could try to take out your insert(s) and either replace them with a bigger size this will make the span a little shorter  or turn the old ones around. (they have some added foreward pitch in one of the directions of the inserts.)
Hope this is of some  help  :)

TWOHAND834

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2021, 12:46:28 PM »
For the last 15 years or so I have developed under the nail of my ring finger what I would describe as a blood blister. I believe this is due to a lack of flexibility in the last joint. Am 68 now. Over the years I have changed the pitch of that finger a couple of times. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and if you found a solution. We couldn't bowl for about 5 weeks earlier in the year and it disappeared. Was wondering if putting a fake nail over it might take the pressure off ? Tape the finger ? I use power lift inserts. Thanks in advance. 

I too use Vise power ovals and they in fact do add 1/8 forward pitch.  As we get older we are going to lose flexibility.  For some of us, the older we get, the more often we are going to adjust pitches to account for that loss in flexibility.  My suggestion is if you want to continue using the power ovals, have that hole plugged and add some reverse to relieve some pressure off that finger. 
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Pinbuster

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2021, 05:32:49 PM »
My experience this is caused by the nail being forced against the back of the finger hole.

This can be caused by too much forward pitch in the fingers or more commonly too long of a span.

Others have said this next solution.

If you are using the power lift side of grips you could just turn the grips around and use the oval side. This would have double effects as it reduces your span slightly and eliminates the 1/8 to 1/4 forward found in lift ovals.

My experience has been that your span is too long and should be shortened. You should be able to fully insert your thumb and then lay (don't stretch) your hand/fingers over your finger holes. Your first knuckle should be 1/4 to 1/2 the way over the gripping edge of the hole for a relaxed span.

Not seeing your span I can not be sure your span is too long but it is a common problem.

Another sign of a long span is what I would call burnt finger tips.


bradl

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2021, 07:53:32 PM »
My experience this is caused by the nail being forced against the back of the finger hole.

This can be caused by too much forward pitch in the fingers or more commonly too long of a span.

Others have said this next solution.

If you are using the power lift side of grips you could just turn the grips around and use the oval side. This would have double effects as it reduces your span slightly and eliminates the 1/8 to 1/4 forward found in lift ovals.

My experience has been that your span is too long and should be shortened. You should be able to fully insert your thumb and then lay (don't stretch) your hand/fingers over your finger holes. Your first knuckle should be 1/4 to 1/2 the way over the gripping edge of the hole for a relaxed span.

Not seeing your span I can not be sure your span is too long but it is a common problem.

Another sign of a long span is what I would call burnt finger tips.

Interesting.. I'm wondering if this happening to me as well. But let's say that the span is the problem. Wouldn't shortening the span cause the bowler to squeeze the ball due to the gap that would then exist between the bowler's palm and the ball?

BL.

Pinbuster

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2021, 11:16:09 PM »
   .

Interesting.. I'm wondering if this happening to me as well. But let's say that the span is the problem. Wouldn't shortening the span cause the bowler to squeeze the ball due to the gap that would then exist between the bowler's palm and the ball?

BL.

[/quote]

With the proper pitches in the thumb and the thumb hole being the correct shape and size you don't need to squeeze the ball even with a relaxed span.

Any gripping of the ball should be with the underside of the thumb and finger pads towards each other in the center of the grip. I have always felt that finger hole size doesn't matter much as any gripping pressure should be with the pads at the front of the hole. That is mostly a comfort and confidence fit for the bowler.

If the finger holes are too big it could effect the amount of turn on the ball.

The proshop I worked at drilled for several PBA bowlers in the late 1980's thru 2003. At that time almost all PBA tournaments required you to bowl 40+ games a week, week after week. While there were a few exceptions almost all the touring pro's used relaxed  fingertip fits. Otherwise they would destroy their hands.

There were a few notable exceptions, David Ozio being one, who had very flexable hands  and could used a stretched span.

There were no two handed bowlers at that time. Obviously span doesn't matter but I don't know what pitches would do in their fingers.

Aloarjr810

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2021, 09:48:52 PM »
For the last 15 years or so I have developed under the nail of my ring finger what I would describe as a blood blister. I believe this is due to a lack of flexibility in the last joint. Am 68 now. Over the years I have changed the pitch of that finger a couple of times. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and if you found a solution. We couldn't bowl for about 5 weeks earlier in the year and it disappeared. Was wondering if putting a fake nail over it might take the pressure off ? Tape the finger ? I use power lift inserts. Thanks in advance.

The first thing to try is getting rid of the Powerlifts. Powerlifts increase your span slightly and add forward pitch.

If the proshop measured your span and adjusted your pitches for your flexibility right in the first place, using powerlifts would change all of that and cause problems with fit (which you appear to be having).

Unless of course they compensated for using powerlift grips, But if they did that there is no reason to use them in the first place. Because you wind up with what you would of had originally without them.

So pull out the powerlifts and replace them with some ovals and see how you do.

A fake nail that would most likely do nothing. It could even make it worse, if the nail is hitting  the back of the hole. It's still going to apply pressure to the nail bed and maybe even more because you made the nail thicker.

If the pressure is coming from the finger pad side the fake nail does nothing.

 Using tape would be pointless also.

« Last Edit: April 17, 2021, 09:50:23 PM by Aloarjr810 »
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bradl

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Re: blood blister under nail
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2021, 12:14:18 AM »
   .

Interesting.. I'm wondering if this happening to me as well. But let's say that the span is the problem. Wouldn't shortening the span cause the bowler to squeeze the ball due to the gap that would then exist between the bowler's palm and the ball?

BL.


With the proper pitches in the thumb and the thumb hole being the correct shape and size you don't need to squeeze the ball even with a relaxed span.

Any gripping of the ball should be with the underside of the thumb and finger pads towards each other in the center of the grip. I have always felt that finger hole size doesn't matter much as any gripping pressure should be with the pads at the front of the hole. That is mostly a comfort and confidence fit for the bowler.

If the finger holes are too big it could effect the amount of turn on the ball.

The proshop I worked at drilled for several PBA bowlers in the late 1980's thru 2003. At that time almost all PBA tournaments required you to bowl 40+ games a week, week after week. While there were a few exceptions almost all the touring pro's used relaxed  fingertip fits. Otherwise they would destroy their hands.

There were a few notable exceptions, David Ozio being one, who had very flexable hands  and could used a stretched span.

There were no two handed bowlers at that time. Obviously span doesn't matter but I don't know what pitches would do in their fingers.
[/quote]

Thanks for this. I had a word with a local PSO who also had a look at my gear, and he basically agreed with you. Pitches are the problem I'm having, and not the span. Thankfully I'm getting refitted relative to the current spans I have in my last two balls, so hopefully they will be right going forward. I'll be finding out next week.

BL.