One more complete idiot weighing in . . .
I have had leg pain for a few years, and I have always taken an Advil before bowling. I bowl virtually every day. About eight weeks ago, I blew out my knee while practicing. I didn't do anything different on that particular shot - in fact it was a great shot, but my knee decided it had had enough, and completely gave out. I managed to catch myself with my right leg, so I didn't go down, but it was close. If I had, I would have needed to be picked up, because there was no way I would have been able to get up by myself.
I was barely able to walk for a day or two, and forget about bowling. On the advice of other idiots at the bowling center, I picked up a knee brace that day, similar to those mentioned by other idiots in this thread. I took non-idiot nextbowler's advice and called my doctor. I wanted to get in to see the doc right away, and when I couldn't, I was prepared to go the emergency room or some other immediate care facility. My doctor's nurse advised me that I could probably get by with the R.I.C.E. treatment (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) plus lots of ibuprofen with food, until I could get in to see the doc.
By the time I did see the doc, a little over a week later, my knee was getting better, although I was still not bowling. He advised me that there was still some fluid, so therefore some inflammation, so I should continue to not bowl. He told me that since I was such an avid bowler, he would refer me to an orthopedic sports medecine guy. He also prescribed Celebrex, since the ibuprofen was killing my stomach, even with food. By the time I saw the ortho guy, my knee was in pretty good shape. He didn't find anything specific - he suspected a possible torn meniscus (sp?), but I didn't have an MRI (I had x-rays, which were fine), so he couldn't tell for sure. He said it would be OK for me to bowl. I was out for four weeks.
The Celebrex has worked very well. My legs feel better than they have in a long time. I asked both doctors about the knee brace, and they said that I could wear it when I bowl if it made me feel better.
One more thing. . . My internist and I talked at length, since I had a complete physical (I was overdue, so I killed two birds with one stone). One of the things we discussed was my Etonic Stabilite Dress bowling shoes. I had gotten them a little over a year earlier. They never allowed me to slide as much as I had been used to, but one of my coaches suggested that I didn't need to be Marshall Holman, and a little less slide would not necessarily be a bad thing. Anyway, my doc told me that he thought that the shoes were probably causing some stress on the knee, although he stopped short of recommending that I get different shoes that would allow more slide. After reading a thread on the PBA message board about synthetic approaches and leg pain, I put two and two together and decided that stopping short with the Etonics was putting too much stress on my knee. I ordered a pair of Dexter SSTV LX's, along with a number 7 heel (red) and a number 10 sole (grey).
So, I'm now wearing the knee brace when I bowl and sliding like crazy in the new shoes. I need to call the doc to see if I should continue the Celebrex.
Sorry for the length of the post. I hope this helps, but take it for what it is - advice from a complete idiot.
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RW (THB)
