Arm Pain

Mahumadi · #1 07-18-2009, 12:10 PM

Hey guys, Ive read many threads on arm pain, resulting from bad technique. My problem is that I dont have a teacher anymore, so I have no one to correct my technique.

I do not cock my wrist and rest it on the bass. I do anchor my thumb on the pickup, though. I play three finger and it seems that every time I play I end up having a tight forearm. This pain has been around for the past month. Granted, I lift heavy stuff at work on a daily basis, which probably aggravates it, but the bottom line is that it stems from my bass playing.

If you were to flex your forearm, the muscle directly on top in line with your middle and ring finger is where my pain is. Ive done research and cannot find any information on how this is happening. To give you a better idea, I use my shoulder to hold my arm up, like the floating thumb technique, so my arm is at a 90 degree angle, for the most part. Also, I wear my bass right on top of my stomach.

With this information, would anyone have any idea as to how I can change my technique to not put so much damn strain on my forearm muscle. Its getting to the point where I dont want to practice because I know its going to hurt. Any ideas??

G00D+~VIBES · #2 07-18-2009, 12:16 PM

You may want to try not resting your wrist/arm on the bass. Another suggestion I have would be to make sure and stretch all those tendons/ligaments very well before you start playing. A good warm-up is essential. I too was having odd pains here and there, and since I've started using a warm-up every time before I really get going digging in it has helped a TON.

Mahumadi · #3 07-18-2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G00D+~VIBES

You may want to try not resting your wrist/arm on the bass. Another suggestion I have would be to make sure and stretch all those tendons/ligaments very well before you start playing. A good warm-up is essential. I too was having odd pains here and there, and since I've started using a warm-up every time before I really get going digging in it has helped a TON.

The only part of my body that is resting on the bass is my thumb.

I have looked into stretching, but I cannot, for the life of me, find any stretches for the top of the forearm. Any ideas?

halloweenfiend · #4 07-18-2009, 12:19 PM

Interested to see some replies because I have had something similar going on with my fretting hand forearm. And I have not been able to find much about it and I play with "proper" technique as much as I can and still to no avail.

Kevinmach · #5 07-18-2009, 12:46 PM

I've personally found that I will start to get pains when I am NOT resting my forearm on the body- when it's comfortably there, I am usually ok, but for some reason I am unconsciously lifting it off the body of the bass.

In my own case, I know I have a tendency to unconsciously flex muscles when I am doing something that requires a lot of concentration or something I consider to be difficult (and it's adding no benefit to the task at hand).

And it's not just when playing the bass. For example, it's not uncommon for long distance runners to tighten their shoulders and keep them held high when they are tired or stressed at the start of a race.

Hell, I have even done it playing video games- where I was flexing my shoulder so much in one arm it was getting stiff and starting to feel like tendinitis, and I was sitting on my ass playing video games.

I find it really helps for me to practice what sports therapists sometimes refer to as "active kinetics" (which is essentially the study of muscle movements in the body). Basically, you simply take a conscious inventory of how the of your body feels at regular intervals and also your economy of motion/body positioning- to make sure you are relaxed or maintaining the proper posture. Essentially, you are training yourself to relax- and many times when I do this, I DO find myself being tight in some area that really shouldn't be under any particular strain at the moment.

Like others said, I still get the odd pains too- but if you're at all like me, just training yourself not to tense up will really help.

fearceol · #6 07-18-2009, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahumadi

I have looked into stretching, but I cannot, for the life of me, find any stretches for the top of the forearm. Any ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFh04LCGo0I

Orangeclawhamme · #7 07-19-2009, 08:19 AM

I haven't had this type of pain, but thanx for posting this link. I think it would be effective for dealing a variety of bass playing induced difficulties.

buddyro57 · #8 07-19-2009, 10:03 AM

The technique you describe (only the thumb resting, or anchored on the pickup) could be putting strain on the shoulder. Sometimes pain regsisters one place, but is actually a result of a problem elsewhere. For instance, many times with carpal tunnel, the doctor will take an MRI of the neck. You should see a chiropractor or MD, make sure and take your bass so that you can mimic exactly the actions that bring on the symptoms. And do it soon.

Mahumadi · #9 07-19-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buddyro57

The technique you describe (only the thumb resting, or anchored on the pickup) could be putting strain on the shoulder. Sometimes pain regsisters one place, but is actually a result of a problem elsewhere. For instance, many times with carpal tunnel, the doctor will take an MRI of the neck. You should see a chiropractor or MD, make sure and take your bass so that you can mimic exactly the actions that bring on the symptoms. And do it soon.

Unfortunately I dont have medical insurance, so I cant see an MD or chiropractor.. but I will keep this in mind.

Davecg2 · #10 07-19-2009, 03:07 PM

i used to have a similar problem, if you play aggressive finger style, try lightening your attack and boosting your amp, helped me a lot. My forearm would tighten up after 4 songs the way i used to play. Now that i attack a lot lighter my forearm stamina has increased a bunch. And dont worry you can still get a very aggressive sound, but let the amp to the work, its what its there for...

**lowendfriend** · #11 07-19-2009, 06:07 PM

For Fret hand....work to keep your hand straight with your arm and get that thumb underneath your fingers beneath the neck.....mine likes to wang out toward the top and that's when I get in pain trouble.

Haruni · #12 07-20-2009, 12:14 PM

Maybe you should look for some isothonic exercises. They are piano oriented, but helped me a lot with my tendinitis, now my forearm muscles are much stronger.