After an intense spell...

[Lightspeed]

Hi, I'm a pace bowler and have an action that puts a lot of pressure on my back. Right now I'm in the off season and during practices I bowl about 7-9 overs at full pace.

What stretches or other things should I do after bowling? At the moment I do little stretches but my back is almost always sore the next day. I'm working on making my back stronger in the gym with deadlifts and pull ups. Any post practice advice?

Thanks.

 

[Uppercut]

Hi, I'm a pace bowler and have an action that puts a lot of pressure on my back. Right now I'm in the off season and during practices I bowl about 7-9 overs at full pace.

What stretches or other things should I do after bowling? At the moment I do little stretches but my back is almost always sore the next day. I'm working on making my back stronger in the gym with deadlifts and pull ups. Any post practice advice?

Thanks.

Check your action, if you're coming in face-on, turning side-on then turning back to face-on every delivery, your back will do that. See Ian Bishop for details.

 

[Goughy]

Dont be afraid to add pilates into your workouts. It strengthen and stretches core muscles and the back.

As for post practice, a gentle jog followed by stretches and then lots of ice.

 

[micoach]

It's great you are strengthing your back. I would also work on strengthing the stability muscles that hold your spine into place.

Oddly, push ups are a great exercise for this as they make the stomach work hard to keep your back straight (if yo udo them properly). Here is a great article on push ups. If you can get one, try doing them by holding a BOSU ball upside down and pressing up. Much harder and much more activation.

Another difficult but underused core exercise is ab rollouts. You might have seem those ab wheels advertised on TV? well doing with the right technique can really get the core working hard to stabilse your back.

Planks are a good option too.

Also I would look at the mobility in your hips and ankles as often a lack of range of motion can cause you to compensate and put more strain on your back. Use active mobility rather than static stretching here.

Finally, alway always always activate your glutes before training and gym sessions. You can do this with cook hip lifts seen here, glute bridges and stability ball curls.

Take care with any exercises as if you do them incorrectly you can cause your back worse problems, but do them right and you will notice less pain in your back.

 

[Lightspeed]

Thanks for the advice guys. Most of it I already knew but it's good to have my info reaffirmed. I think light jog, stretches, ice, and a warm bath are the best options.

 

[micoach]

activate that glute too!