Repetative Strain Injuries

[CaptainCutthroat]

A G*****rist friend of mine is being checked out for tendinitis of the right tricep. I thought it would be a good thread for the forum to share what we do to avoid getting things like this and carpal tunnel syndrome given the unergonomic nature of the beast that is the instrument we play.

 

As for warming up, I usually do a simple 1,2,3,4 exercise (1st position, 1 finger each fret) up to the F# on the D string then descend from the B on the G 4,3,2,1 alternating index and middle on the Right hand. Nothing complicated, but it limbers up the fingers really good.

 

I generally find that if something I do is uncomfortable, I look at what I am doing and why it is causing strain. Improper technique is usually the culprit. I try and make sure that my left wrist is never in a sharp angle and that the position I am playing is the easiest one for the key I'm in and the tone I'm going for. I try to make large position changes with as little impact to my hand and wrist as possible. Sometimes I botch this if I'm playing fast and the little pinch I feel is great reminder not to do it that way again.

 

My right hand is usually fine. Fatigue can set in after long periods of playing really fast. Sometimes those fast, constant eighth-note jams can be real forearm burners!!

 

Posture is also probably really underestimated thing when it comes to playing. I try and keep my shoulders square and stand up straight. Although when the groove strikes, I can't resist lurching forward and rocking out either! But I try to be conscience of how I am carrying myself when I play to avoid back problems.

 

So lets hear it! What else can we all do to keep playing as long as possible.

[kenfxj]

Repetative Stain Injuries

There's just too many jokes racing through my head, most of them inappropriate. I can't choose just one.

 

I'm sorry, CC. I know what you meant.

[Edro]

A G*****rist friend of mine is being checked out for tendinitis of the right tricep.

Sorry your guitarist friend might have tendinitis. I have it in both wrists, which can make playing a challenge at times.

Some of the things I do, at least a few have been mentioned here when I asked about it:

 

Hydrate- I thought this was kind of odd when first reading about it. After comparing mobility/pain on days without drinking more water and having a few extra glasses....there is a difference.

 

Watch the wrist(s) angle- any angle is bad IME. (Using a pick helps me, that wrist is worse due to a cyst being drained a few times and tendinitis.)

 

Running some warm water on the hands helps too. If my hands are cold the fingers won't move well.

 

Strap length- Unless you have arms like an orangutan, slinging the bass low isn't going to be good for lessening injuries.

 

There's just too many jokes racing through my head, most of them inappropriate. I can't choose just one.

Glad I'm not the only one. But the thread title did get my attention and I had to check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

[moot]

Warm up, positioning and C.T. have been talked about a lot here.

I think most of us are conscious of the importance of warming up and being realistic about where our instruments are but still we are bound to repetitive motion and all that comes with it.

I will say that hydration is really important though. Drinking Gatorade and water help. I chug one or the other (even at practice) and still, because I play leaning back most of the time my calves burn after a 4 hour gig.

I did beat C.T. without surgery though and . .. oh, that reminds me. Time to take my B6!

[Joe Bloe]

I am of the opinion that C.T. is as much heredity as physical abuse. I had C.T. release surgery last fall and have been doing great since. I only had to have one hand done. The other hand does just fine with a brace at night. That way it doesn't fall asleep on me and wake me up with tingling.

 

The hand specialist I worked with says that jack hammers, hammer drills, that kind of thing, tend to cause C.T. Current studies say that typing doesn't cause it, and may actually be good therapy for preventing it. Before C.T. release surgery my fretting hand would go numb during long songs. It doesn't since the surgery.

 

Good technique, hydration and exercise are important. Playing bass is very physical. But C.T. isn't necessarily bad technique. For some of us it's just bad genes, but it is a treatable condition.

 

For those who may have missed it, I did a "blog" thread on my C.T. experience.

[Big Daddy from Motown]

I've been plauged with Tendonitis since i started (late in life) studying the upright bass.

 

I don't feel any difference when I warm up at all ,never have.

 

I have to type at work and this makes the pain much worse. However I thankful to have a job these days and have two kids in college so i'm not going to retire any time soon.

 

I have to ice my hands after playing when it gets bad.

I do all of the things people say to do and nothing seems to help.

[Eric VB]

Don't drink redpop with your fish strapped on.

 

And if you do, don't do it again and again.

 

[edit: this suddenly loses any bit of humor it may have had by the renaming of the thread title.]

[b5pilot]

Stay practiced and warm up before the show. A long while back I did a weekend after not playing or practicing for a few weeks.

I played hard and wasn't prepared for it and developed an inflamation in the knuckle of my right index finger. It took quite a while of doing stretches, slowly rotating my forearm and wrist to stretch the tendon, to work itself out. I had to play only with a pick until the pain eased up.

[Rocky McDougall]

A good friend of mine, who has been a pro Bassist for over 50 years, playing 3-4 time weekly, says he goes into the restroom and runs hot water on his hands and then does some finger streaching just before playing. I don't know, it works for him.

Rocky

[ABGBrian]

It sounds kind of 'hippie-ish' but I find just by thinking about and sending good vibrations to the place in my hand I'm feeling tension helps to alleviate the pain and get me through the show. So far, it's helped me avoid all bass-related injuries and finger lockups.

 

Also, drink WATER, WATER, WATER and NOT BEER. Always keep a bottle nearby at rehearsal or the gig and take a big gulp between every other song or so. Does wonders.

[Bob Gollihur]

There are a lot of potential conditions that can get in the way of enjoying music. I've had my own misadventures that put me out of the game for a while, and those that currently keep me from as much gigging as I'd like.

 

There are some excellent web resources. Check out the "Musician's Injuries" section in my Double Bass Links Page. These pages are specific to musicians - good stuff to know.

 

 

[RalphM]

I have to be extra careful about C.T. and related conditions. I work as a software developer by day - using both hands on the computer keyboard and right hand on the mouse - and then play bass at night. I also do free-lance computer-related work in my 'spare time' so the amount of use/abuse that my wrists, hands, fingers, etc are subjected to daily is much higher than the average person.

 

New information about ways to avoid these conditions or treat them after-the-fact are always welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jode]

Stretching, posture, good technique, and hydration as part of the regular routine.

 

Acupuncture, massage, and/or chiropractic as scheduled maintenance.

 

That's all I have to say about that.

[MvW]

I started developing pains in my right wrist and hand (also work in IT) and came across

 

http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=553

 

I took some of his advice on prevention, form, etc and I haven't had anything significant since (got checked out as well).

[CaptainCutthroat]

good thing I stopped that job using jack hammers and hammer drills then. Excavation work S**ks and then you get splashed with sewer water!