Right Shoulder Injury

TroyK · #1 06-30-2005, 12:53 AM

I'm a jazz player. I've been working a little more than usual lately and it's common for my right shoulder to be a bit sore at the end of a long gig.

I had a small crash on my Vespa last week, maybe 15mph, slid down on my right side and braced myself with my right arm extended. My shoulder was a little sore. I went to bed and woke up at 3:30am in horrible pain and no mobility.

XRays negative. Due to an unrelated medical condition, I can't take anti-inflamatories. I have taken some muscle relaxants, seen my doctor and am getting some PT and improving. No one seems to think there is a torn rotator cuff.

Coming back to the bass feels like it's going to be tough, though. Someone suggested tonight that because I play bass, I'm likely to have developed more strength on one side of the shoulder than the other through repetitive pizz'ing and therefore destabilized it and somewhat pre-disposed myself to this.

Interesting idea. I searched a little and didn't see anyone else complain specifically of shoulder problems. I'll certainly talk to my doctor and physical therapist about it, but does anyone know anything or have any similar experience with pizz-side shoulder problems?

It kind of makes sense that post recovery I should probably focus on evenly developing my arm, rather than relying on thousands of quarter notes to be my main form of resistance training.

Thoughts? Knowledge?

Troy

hdiddy · #2 06-30-2005, 02:22 AM

Sorry to hear about your predicament. Do you know if you sprained your shoulder or what not? Would be good to know. Are you icing it at all?

I don't know about therapy for recovery, but you should go to your local homeopathic remedy store and get yourself some Arnica Montana. It's a natural herbal remedy that comes in a small tablet form for muscle bruising and the like. Just pop one or two little pills under your tongue and let it dissolve. Try not to touch the pills with your bare hands. I heard something about your hand oils reducing the potency. Since it's homeopathic, you shouldn't have any allergic reactions to it. I would probably look up your anti-inflammatory condition and if there are any reactions to Arnica anyway, but I think it's def worth checking out.

TroyK · #3 06-30-2005, 01:32 PM

Just an update, I saw my doctor this morning for a follow up and he didn't really buy into the over-developed on one side theory based on his exam. He said it makes sense and looked for it, but didn't see it. He thinks I have a small tear from my accident, which is going to keep me from playing for a little while, but he thinks will heal on it's own.

Because I have a cool doctor who knows me well, he's offered to shoot me with cortizone on gig days if I need it and he knows and trusts me enough to give me the drugs of my choice.

I'm resisting both for the moment, but will take him up on it if it seems like the right thing to do later. Which is why he trusts me with the offer.

I have used Arnica gel before and may try it in this case, but my injury is a little deep to get to it. I'm unclear if injesting it is safe for my other condition and it's not something I can take chances with. I may investigate further, thanks for the tip.

I do think that when I fully recover, I need to start some kind of specific conditioning for the phisiology of being a jazz bassist. Posture, strength, flexibility in shoulders, arms and hands. If anyone has recommendations, please pass them along. If there is a past thread that I've missed, I apologize and would eat crow and take the redirection to it. I didn't find anything specifically about shoulder injuries.

Troy