During a recent trip to the bowling alley, I noticed what I believe to be a bowling team practicing. Some of the team members had sleeves and some didn’t. So I did a bit of research on bowling sleeves and their benefits.
So what are the benefits of bowling arm sleeves? Bowling arm sleeves are compression arm sleeves and their main purpose is to help muscles to recover from strenuous activity. They also offer muscle support, feel relief, and recovery. Arm warmth and skin protection, as well as support for kinesiology tape and of course style.
While most bowlers will choose a bowling arm sleeve based on the design, there is more to it than that. Many sleeves have extra elbow protection and stabilization. Knowing your needs is as important as the design when choosing a blowing arm sleeve.
The 6 best bowling arm sleeves
There are not specific compression sleeves for bowling. Since bowling is a sport and the large majority of people wear compression arm sleeves play some sort of sport, it’s only natural that bowling falls in there. So below are 6 of the best compression arm sleeves as so rated by the users of Amazon.com.
B-Driven Sports Pro-Fit Athletic Sports Arm Sleeve $13.99
This is the bowling sleeve that I bought. This company has 40+ designs and they’re all great. I personally liked this look the best so it’s what I choose. Since I currently don’t bowl in a league or have any previous injuries, I don’t really “need” a compression arm sleeve. I simply bought it for the look.
Copper Compression Recovery Elbow Sleeve $19.49
These are HIGHLY rated on Amazon.
CompressionZ Compression Arm Sleeves for Men & Women UV Protection $19.99
Kunto Fitness Elbow Brace Compression Support Sleeve $19.97
I feel these are more for people who also need extra support for their elbows.
UV Sun Protection Arm Sleeves for Men & Women – $8.45
These are the most affordable option on this list. So if you aren’t even sure you really want some bowling arm sleeves, then i’d give these a shot first.
Bucwild Sports Compression Arm Sleeve – $13.99
Benefits of bowling arm sleeves
While bowling arm sleeves do offer many benefits and are great for people overall, not everyone will notice the benefits. With that being said I still think they’re cool. But if you care more about what the actual benefits are I’ve listed them below.
Muscle support: Bowling arm sleeves are compression arm sleeves that bowlers wear. One benefit of bowling arm sleeves is the muscle support they offer.
Muscle relief: Arms get tired. So when youre bowling and constantly throwing your bowling ball ball wearing a bowling arm sleeve will help relieve your arm of stress.
Muscle recovery: Bowling arm sleeves will also help your muscles recover after a few games or a practice session. Its a good idea to leave it on for awhile after you’ve played so that your muscles can recover.
Arm warmth: Not many bowlers play with long sleeve shirts when bowling due to the restrictive nature of them. So most tend to opt for short sleeve shirts. Wearing a bowling arm sleeve will help keep your arms warm but not restrict your movement.
Muscle feel: Just like people who wear tights under shorts or ladies who wear leggings even if they don’t work out. Why do they do it? Beacuse they like the way the compression makes their muscles feel. Everyone wants to feel strong, and compression apperal makes you feel strong and your body tight.
Skin protection: I myself suffer from skin dermititis, which is what I consider a fancy way of saying exzima. My skin is very sensitive, and just about every and anything will cause me to break out. However my skin issues are all on my face, specifically my cheeks. So bowling arm sleeves, while they do offer skin protection, they dont help my skin issues unfortunitually. But for many other people they do.
Tape support: Very serious bowlers who wear kinesiology tape on their arms may choose to also wear bowling arm sleeves to keep the tape in place, or so nobody can see the tape. The compression helps the tape stay in place even when the bowler sweats.
Style: There are so many different styles of bowling arm sleeves. You could even design your own sleeve for you or your bowling team. I’m sure as long as the style you choose isn’t inappropriate or offensive you should be able to wear it.
Wiping off sweat: We all sweat, and wiping off sweat with your bear arm after the first time stinks. Your body doesn’t absorb moisture like a piece of fabric. If you’re a heavy sweater than wearing a bowling arm sleeve will help
Why do bowlers wear bowling arm sleeves?
I personally think bowling arm sleeves look cool. I don’t personally need one, but I bought one anyway because I wanted to look cool while bowling. My experience with them was a bit disappointing. I’m not sure if I got the wrong size or if it was because I’m not used to wearing compression sleeves, but I didn’t like it.
I let my nephews try it and they loved it. They not only thought they looked cool while wearing it, but they also said it didn’t bowler them. I ended up giving it to the youngest because he plays basketball as well.
I think I might buy another one slightly bigger and try it again because it did warm up my arm, I just think when I flexed my muscle is when it became uncomfortable.
who wears bowling arm sleeves? Mostly bowlers with muscle problems, or someone with skin problems that they don’t want anyone to see. Or it could just be someone who likes the way they look, like me.
what is the point of bowling arm sleeves? The point of bowling arm sleeves is to help people who love to bowl but suffer from muscle fatigue, soreness or many other ailments relief from pain and discomfort.
when should you wear a bowling arm sleeve? If you feel cold or your arm getting tired, that would be a good time to put on the bowling sleeve. I just put it on because I wanted to see what it felt like and if it would make me look as cool as I thought it would.
Another time you should wear a bowling sleeve is if you know you have problems with your elbow and you know it would help.
where can you buy bowling arm sleeves? You should be able to buy bowling arm sleeves at your local pro shop, but since most tend to be small they may not have them in stock. If you ask them to order you some I’m sure they wouldn’t have a problem with it, they may also get a few to stock in their store.
I ordered mine from Amazon.com. I didn’t want to wait a week for it, and since I have prime I got it in two days. Well actually in about a day in a half since I ordered it at like 3 am. there are also a few other bowling websites where you can order them.
how should you care for a bowling arm sleeve? To properly care for your bowling arm sleeve it’s best to follow the directions on the packaging when you buy it. Wash it as instructed by the directions to prevent early signs of wear and tear.
You should store the sleeve in your bowling bag so you have access to it while bowling. Especially if it’s something you need to be able to bowl. It would be useless if you left it in your car or in your office at work or at home. If it’s in your car it might not be that bad, but if you didn’t drive to the bowling alley then it would be.
Related Questions
what does a bowling wrist brace do? Wearing a wrist brace while bowling will support the wrist and keep it from bending or falling before the release of the bowling ball. Basically, it limits the movement of your wrist either to prevent or ease an injury.
why do bowlers wear tape on their arms? Kinesiology tape is new to the sporting world and what it does is provide stimulation to different sensory nerves. It is used to amplify touch sensitivity, help with pain reduction, and can relieve swelling and pressure.
