Playing bass while 40-something (aches and pains)

[NOLABASS]

Hmmm, lets try that again. I'm a neuromuscular therapist here in New Orleans, and have worked a lot with musicians as well as a lot of carpal tunnel pain. I'm also a bass player at 42 years old. The protocal for your hand pain would be, first get the inflamation down, then stretch and get it open, then strengthen it, then go for endurance. Sounds like you have several things goin on at the same time. Tendenitis, thorasic entrapment, bla bla bla. You would do well to get it diagnosed. Your double strap could be trapping the nerve path at your colar bone. I think most doctors would say stop the offending action....which would be your long sets and hard playing. If you won't do that, then get the inflamation under control with Rx or ice, or whatever your willing to do with a bit of consistancy. Whatever you do, don't keep ignoring it and "trying stuff". Numbness is a sign of neural entrapment and could get serious if left unchecked. I am not a doctor or qualified to diagnose, find someone who is, Doctor, Chiropractor. A well trained massage therapist might work wonders with the soft tissue issues. Look for an ,NMT after their name.

[rickbass]

NOLA - Your post has so much good info!

I don't mean to hijack this thread by any means, but my request for info from someone as knowledgable as you could be valuable to others who are "the old guard" such as I.

Have you, or, any bassists reported that their fretting fingers "lock-up" on them while playing???

I can still take the young bassists to school when it comes to fretting-finger independence in my market. But sometimes my third and fourth fretting fingers lock-up on me.

It would be illuminating to hear if you think it's a matter of diet/practice/age or a combination of all three. I know my electrolytes (sp?) are hardly "exemplary." I have no "mommy" to fix regular meals for me, I play on the road all the time, and "dinner" for me is just a delivered pizza after a show.

On the other hand, when I was younger, my fretting hand hardly knew my ring finger and pinky even existed.

If you have any advice or insights, I would me most appreciative. It's rare when a day goes by when I don't hit my wide-spaced Skyline fretboard.

[Boplicity]

The anti-arthritics Vioxx and Celebrex were mentioned above. I used Celebrex for nearly a year because of all my aches and pains...hip, lower back, wrists, ankle. Oh, I'm 59.

The Celebrex helped the pains quite a bit but took a toll on my esophagus. I had heart burn nearly constantly. So then I was prescribed Protonix to take care of that side effect. Here's the kicker, both medications cost nearly a thousand dollars annually each!!! Luckily I have a good prescription drug plan, but if you don't, look out.

I hope you can work out whatever is causing your aches. You did the smart thing to ask. Everyone seems to have some good ideas to offer.

[Boplicity]

Originally posted by rickbass
NOLA -


Have you, or, any bassists reported that their fretting fingers "lock-up" on them while playing???

Yup, the pinky finger of my left hand would lock up especially during long rehearsals or if I had rehearsed several times during the week or was spending a lot of time practicing at home. The knuckle got pretty painful too.

[rickbass]

Originally posted by Boplicity
Yup, the pinky finger of my left hand would lock up especially during long rehearsals or if I had rehearsed several times during the week or was spending a lot of time practicing at home....

Jason O. - Well, at least it wasn't just something I, alone, experienced. Thanks....(misery loves company).
Had sort of the same thing except the knuckle pain when holiday season rolled around last year --- often 3 gigs a week during the season, 1 day off, and the rest was rehearsal time...........And here the season comes again.

I thought maybe it some sort of electrolyte deficiency.

[NOLABASS]

Hey Folks, some of you were mentioning their fingers locking up. First of all I am not a doctor, so don't read this as a diagnosis. Get it looked at by a professional. But here is some stuff out of my referance books that might help. This is from Sports Injury Management. It is talking about a condition called Trigger Finger. "More commonly occures in the middle or ring finger, but may occur in the thumb and other fingers. Repeated trauma....read: playing a lot....and imflamation results in a thickening of the tendon sheath as it passes over the proximal phalanx.....read: tendon sheaths at the knuckle get thick.....A nodule can form and grow within the thinkened sheath and prevent the tendon from sliding." So, when the finger is bent, it becomes locked in place because the tendon gets stuck. Should be easy to find info on it. The book states "cortisone injections, ultra sound, massage, anti-inflammatory meds, and decreasing the offending action may relieve the obstruction." If not....surgery. Do something now while it's possible. Keep your hands and fingers healthy folks. peace~NOLABASS

[NOLABASS]

Oh, and by the way, a very cheap and easy way to help all that inflamation you dedicated bass players are generating is to ice your hands after every practice and gig. Water and ice in a small cooler or sink deep enough to submerge your whole hand into will do nicely. Nobody, and I mean nobody likes to ice their hands. But it is a real effective way to keep that dirty old inflamation under control. NEVER ice your hands till their numb. When I ice mine, I plunge my hands in and start singing to distract myself, after about two to three minutes it will be quite painful, then the pain will start to drop off. When it gets less uncomfortable, I pull them out. takes a few minutes, tops. Iceing till your numb completley is dangerous. If thats too hardcore for you, then put ice cubes and rubbing alcohol (50/50) in a zip lock and hold it in your hand, and between your fingers. Plunging is faster and mo better..

[snoopyjc]

A long overdue update...

I finally did get a new bass - an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 5. The action is much lower on this bass, so it's easier to play!!

The second thing I did was get a new band!!!!
http://www.simplegroovenj.com/

In this band, I'm allowed to turn up my stage volume (we have no sound man), so I don't find myself playing as agressively, and also we play 3 shorter sets instead of 2 long ones.

All of these changes have led to all of my aches and pains going away!!

The only thing left that hurts is my upper back from carrying all of my new gear (I now have to manage the subwoofers) up and down my cellar stairs (I'm very tall and the ceiling down there isn't)!! My hands and arms no longer hurt me, and now I'm able to play Sedated and the Blitzkreig Bop back-to-back, followed by Slither!! I did manage to find subs that are just over 50#, so it's not too bad, though - I can't "load in" on the same day as I pack my gear into my car, but after a night (or morning's) sleep, it's OK. http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/p...nal/sub15.html

Also, I use 2 x 2x10 cabinets instead of 1 4x10 cabinet which is another back-saving!!! (Dr. Bass over Acme Sub).

ROCK ON, and thanks for all of the help and advice.

One thing I would seriously recommend is the Comfort Keyboard System if you are on the computer a lot - it lets me type with both hands in a neutral position. I have one at home and another one in my office (fortunately, my work paid for them).
http://www.comfortkeyboard.com/keyboards_comfort.html

--joe

[Dbassmon]

Ain't it grand getting old? The last piece of advice is get a roadie. Your back will be fine, you will be in bed 2 hours earlier and you will be able to do this into your 90's, God willing. Be an interesting poll to find out what percentage of TBers are aging baby boomers. I suspect quite a few.Glad to hear you like you new axe and your new band. I think both things should be changed every now and then whether you need to or not. Harrr Peace!