Worried about my plucking (right) arm

[Distant Cousin]

So the stamina in my plucking arm has pretty much disappeared. I've only noticed the past month or so, but when I play with a pick I can't play for more than five minutes or so without my bicep tightening up and aching pretty badly. Also, when I play with my fingers the same thing happens with my forearm if I play a song with a lot of straight 8s in it (simple rock stuff y'know), that's also caused my timing on straight rhythms to go completely out the window.

Argh! I'm worried my playing's going completely down the drain. I don't play through it because I'm sure if I do that and I do have some kind of injury it'll just make it worse. I tried playing a couple of songs on my acoustic bass and my forearm seized up pretty bad. Was playing for a total of 8 minutes maybe... That was about 15 minutes ago and my forearm is still a little tight, but doesn't hurt.

Not sure how worthwhile it is to mention, but four years ago I broke my wrist on my plucking arm too, and the last month or so I've started having pain in it again. I also have a bad back, neck, shoulders etc. as described here (post 8 onwards): Hand/finger exercises when I'm away from my bass?

Does anyone know what could be causing this? I don't know any warmups that seem to help with it.

[emblymouse]

You never know how all these things may be connected. One thing I do know is pain is the sign to stop doing whatever it is or risk worse. See a doctor or reputable massage therapist and don't push it. Best of luck!

[Deathblade Eric]

Definitely get it checked out - a good Doc or orthopedist ought to ask you to bring your bass so's they can see first-hand if there are any issues.

That said, I've two three questions...

1. How high do you wear your bass?
2. How do you anchor your thumb?
3. When using a pick, do you use your wrist or flex your thumb & index finger?

My reasons for asking are thus:

1. We all know that a straight wrist is the ideal for the fretting hand, I'm of the opinion that this holds true for the plucking hand as well. If you wear your bass very high, and have an aggressive attack, then you're potentially putting your wrist in an unrelaxed position.
2. If you apply a lot of pressure when anchoring your thumb, bad things happen. I did it for a while & experienced numbness and discomfort even when away from the bass. I've learned to back off now. 'Floating Thumb' ought to negate this completely.
3. Picking is all in the wrist, not in the fingers. Have a look on youtube for some recent Motorhead - Lemmy's over 60 now! That's good plectrum technique.

See a specialist though. Definately. No, really... do it. Especially given your 'previous'.

Pete.

[JimmyM]

Why I keep hammering the Carol Kaye pick method

read this thread thorougly, do exactly what it says without deviation and don't try to argue that it doesn't look cool, and i can't speak on your other issues, but your forearm and hand will never have another pain and you will be able to play with a pick all night. it literally saved my right hand.

[Distant Cousin]

Originally Posted by Deathblade Eric

Definitely get it checked out - a good Doc or orthopedist ought to ask you to bring your bass so's they can see first-hand if there are any issues.

That said, I've two three questions...

1. How high do you wear your bass?
2. How do you anchor your thumb?
3. When using a pick, do you use your wrist or flex your thumb & index finger?

My reasons for asking are thus:

1. We all know that a straight wrist is the ideal for the fretting hand, I'm of the opinion that this holds true for the plucking hand as well. If you wear your bass very high, and have an aggressive attack, then you're potentially putting your wrist in an unrelaxed position.
2. If you apply a lot of pressure when anchoring your thumb, bad things happen. I did it for a while & experienced numbness and discomfort even when away from the bass. I've learned to back off now. 'Floating Thumb' ought to negate this completely.
3. Picking is all in the wrist, not in the fingers. Have a look on youtube for some recent Motorhead - Lemmy's over 60 now! That's good plectrum technique.

See a specialist though. Definately. No, really... do it. Especially given your 'previous'.

Pete.

I wear my bass so it sits around my belly button, maybe a bit higher. On my 4s I anchor on the neck pickup (end of the fingerboard on my acoustic) if I'm playing the E, and rest on the E for all other strings. On my 6 I'm working on developing proper floating thumb; too much of a stretch for the higher strings otherwise!
When I use a pick it's all in the wrist, flexing my fingers feels completely unnatural so I don't do it. I'd say my pick technique is close to Lemmy's. I used to move my whole arm but realised pretty quick that's a stupid way to do it!

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Why I keep hammering the Carol Kaye pick method

read this thread thorougly, do exactly what it says without deviation and don't try to argue that it doesn't look cool, and i can't speak on your other issues, but your forearm and hand will never have another pain and you will be able to play with a pick all night. it literally saved my right hand.

Had a read of the main points a while ago and looking back over them just now, I do all except the not anchoring my hand. I rest my pinky underneath a pickup most of the time (kind of like anchoring your thumb on the pickup for fingerstyle, but upside down). That's completely subconscious really. I don't see how that would affect or cause an injury but I'm up for trying anything at this point!

[Greevus]

something I did was switch my computer mouse to my left hand and I began using Herco thumbpicks. has made a humongous difference in my right-hand picking pain. now my left hand goes numb all the time from porn.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Distant Cousin

Had a read of the main points a while ago and looking back over them just now, I do all except the not anchoring my hand. I rest my pinky underneath a pickup most of the time (kind of like anchoring your thumb on the pickup for fingerstyle, but upside down). That's completely subconscious really. I don't see how that would affect or cause an injury but I'm up for trying anything at this point!

steve swallow anchors his pinky as well, but he does everything else carol recommends. i imagine he doesn't have any pains. however, it can put your hand out of the alignment it needs to have a smooth and pain free side to side motion with the wrist. he gets away with it because he still keeps his hand parallel to the strings and just anchors the tip. me, i don't dig it because it cuts down my mobility, but it works for steve. so i'd say that's a judgment call based on whether you continue to have pains or not.

still, i'd go ahead and learn how to do it without anchoring because lack of pain is guaranteed if you do it that way, plus the mobility issue is a concern. again, it works for steve swallow, but we ain't steve swallow.

[darkstorm]

Go see a doctor. Could be a variety of things to include something missing in your diet. As most people get older, a diet change can help maintain more youthful like vigor, stamina etc. The former wrist injury could also be more prone to developeing joint problems. Sometimes an easy fix with them joint help pills you can get at grocery stores etc. Carpal tunnal is sometimes held in check via vitamin b200. Main thing is go see a doctor and find out whats going on. Then a correct next course of action can be suggested.

[Fun Size Nick]

Originally Posted by Distant Cousin

Not sure how worthwhile it is to mention, but four years ago I broke my wrist on my plucking arm too, and the last month or so I've started having pain in it again. I also have a bad back, neck, shoulders etc. as described here (post 8 onwards): Hand/finger exercises when I'm away from my bass?

Does anyone know what could be causing this? I don't know any warmups that seem to help with it.

The symptoms you describe correspond pretty well with the tendonitis that I developed thanks to a few years of IT work. From the experience of the injury, and the experience of what was successful for me in overcoming it, I can tell you that pain and tension in your neck, shoulders and back (and legs too) will absolutely affect the strength and endurance of your arms and hands. For me, what worked was increasing the flexibility & range of movement of my legs, back, shoulders, chest, neck, and arms (by stretching), and building strength in my upper back and arms by doing compound exercises (ie those that utilise multiple muscle groups), particularly pull-ups (arms apart,palms facing forward).

Things to think about for causes are - are you generally active or do you tend to sit in one spot most of the time? Being sedentary is no good for your body. I find that even if I do nothing else good for my body, a decent bike ride a few times a week will have a significant benefit for my hands and forearms, even though I'm not really exercising that part of my body in doing so! Our bodies were made to move, and complain if they don't.

You're still young and there's no reason why you should put up with this in your life. If you can find someone who specialises in injury rehabilitation, particularly overuse injuries, then that might be a good bet. Feel free to PM me if you're interested in talking more about this stuff. I've been there and I know it sucks!