When a group of friends get together they usually want to do something fun and one thing that many people enjoy doing together is bowling.  Bowling can be either a team sport or an individual test of a knocking down ten objects, or “pins”, by throwing a heavy ball weighing between 8 to 14 pounds one or two times down a 42 inch-wide wooden “alley” for a distance of 60 feet, while all the time wearing a special pair of  multi-color shoes.  Being a leisure type of sport, bowling creates a great time for intermingling and talking while at the same time experiencing the challenge of a non-contact sport.  

The act of bowling creates muscle tone and balance, increases hand/eye coordination, uses both gross and fine motor skills, and gives a person a great excuse to eat cheese-covered nachos, chili-cheese fries, and soda.  For many years the act of bowling was only for two-legged people wearing funny looking rented shoes, but times-are-a’ changing and people in wheelchairs are now also able to ‘hit the lanes’ and bowl, with an added benefit of not having to wear the unfashionable shoes.

Rehabmart offers some leisure-time bowling items that can assist people in wheelchairs to roll-a-game, get some exercise, and eat a chili-dog with a side-order of onion rings.  

The Bowling Ramp offers wheelchair users and people with impaired balance or lower extremity weakness an opportunity to enjoy bowling.  The bowling ramp is positioned at the beginning of the bowling land, and aimed at the pin(s) the bowler intends to knock down.  Once the bowling ramp is aimed and lined-up to get strike or spare, the bowler will then give the ball a slight push and the ball will roll down the ramp and propel its way down the alley.  The bowling ramp is made with high-strength aluminum alloy and a clear anodized finish, and can be easily assembled without the use of tools.  

The Adaptive Bowling Ramp is similar to the Bowling Ramp with the exception of a control system attached to the tubular bowling ramp.  The control system is activated with a capability switch, releasing the ball from the top of the ramp, allowing the ball to roll down the ramp and race down the alley to smash into the pins.  Besides being able to be used in a real bowling alley, the adaptive bowling ramp also comes with a rubber bowling ball that can be used for indoor play at home or in a facility.

Another way to get a bowling ball down the lane is with theBowling Ball Pusher.   The pusher can be used from either a wheelchair or from a standing position.  How this is used is the bowler places the four-pronged steel and aluminum guide on the alley floor, places the ball within the prongs, aims where he or she would like the ball to go and then pushes the ball down the alley toward the pins.  The Pusher features plastic caps to be put on the prongs to keep the floor surface and bowling ball protected.  When using the Bowling Ball Pusher, the user can experience a more “hands-on” feel of bowling while also enjoying some of the physical benefits of bowling.

For a home or facility placed bowling game with a voice, try the Talking Bowling Pins. Included with this Sensory Motor Development Toy is a soft, 10 inch rubber ball and 14 inch-high talking pins.  When one or all the pins are knocked over they will announce with a personal recorded message saying the pins were bowled over.  The user can record and re-record special messages as often as he or she would like.  Personally, I think recording the pins screaming when they are knocked over would be a fun idea!

Bowling is fun and can be fun for the whole family.  Being able to beat a brother or sister in a friendly competition game of bowling allows bragging rights for the whole day while also creating an atmosphere of companionship during a fun and healthy sporting activity. 

Bill Stock
Executive Editor,
Content & Social Media Services
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO