Has your arm ever went numb while playing?

[HollowBassman]

For the last two weeks, everytime that I play bass for more than about a half hour, my left arm goes numb from my shoulder to my elbow. I've never heard of this happening before and was wondering if anyone has experienced this.

[Valerus]

That doesn't sound too good dude.

[jomahu]

it might be the strap and where it's resting on your shoulder. that used to happen to me when i played with my bass too low.
also, my bass is HEAVY. so that adds to it.

readjust!

[meev992]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

For the last two weeks, everytime that I play bass for more than about a half hour, my left arm goes numb from my shoulder to my elbow.

Discontinue playing for now. Take your bass with you and go see your doctor. Better safe than sorry.

[funkalicious101]

When I play accoustic guitar I rest my arm in maybe the stupidest postion, and it makes my hand go numb, and rather cold after a few minutes. Maybe its something like that.

[Bob Magnusson]

Hello Hollow Bassman,
I have experienced this sensation at different times during my 41 years of bass playing. The arm and or hand feel like you slept on it all night.
Doctors told me this was a pinched nerve. Not in the arm or hand but usually in the neck area. Mine has always gone away. I had some success with chiropractic help and massage. You also might try acupuncture or acupressure for relief. I think it's one of the hazards of standing or sitting in the unnatural position we play our instrument in (one arm up and one down.)
I hope you feel better. Bob Magnusson

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by Bob Magnusson

Hello Hollow Bassman,
I have experienced this sensation at different times during my 41 years of bass playing. The arm and or hand feel like you slept on it all night.
Doctors told me this was a pinched nerve. Not in the arm or hand but usually in the neck area. Mine has always gone away. I had some success with chiropractic help and massage. You also might try acupuncture or acupressure for relief. I think it's one of the hazards of standing or sitting in the unnatural position we play our instrument in (one arm up and one down.)
I hope you feel better. Bob Magnusson

I think I might try the massage idea. It's always good to find an excuse to get a massage.



Thanks everyone.

[meev992]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

I think I might try the massage idea. It's always good to find an excuse to get a massage.



Thanks everyone.

from the Mrs., or the special-massage lady ?

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by meev992

from the Mrs., or the special-massage lady ?

Well, I don't currently have a Mrs., but I was just thinking that it might be cheaper to go pick up a temporary one instead of going to a masseuse.

[meev992]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

Well, I don't currently have a Mrs., but I was just thinking that it might be cheaper to go pick up a temporary one instead of going to a masseuse.

Would it be a masseuse with three breasts?

*points to your sig

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by meev992

Would it be a masseuse with three breasts?

*points to your sig

That would definately be worth paying for!

[meev992]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

That would definately be worth paying for!

[gottawalk]

Originally Posted by Bob Magnusson

Hello Hollow Bassman,
I have experienced this sensation at different times during my 41 years of bass playing. The arm and or hand feel like you slept on it all night.
Doctors told me this was a pinched nerve. Not in the arm or hand but usually in the neck area. Mine has always gone away. I had some success with chiropractic help and massage. You also might try acupuncture or acupressure for relief. I think it's one of the hazards of standing or sitting in the unnatural position we play our instrument in (one arm up and one down.)
I hope you feel better. Bob Magnusson

Absolutely go and get some professional to look at the situation. I've had similar problems, and eventually it ended up being a herniated disc, which pinched a nerve in my neck that caused numbness in the left arm and hand and also loss of some of the strength. Had to have a neck operation; took bone out of my hip and fused two levels together in the neck. (Not quite as bad as it sounds...), but you definitely want to avoid that by seeing a therapist or the acupuncture or acupressure, which helped me in the past, too. Also look into neck and shoulder exercises that strengthen the muscles and keep your neck and back aligned properly and you'll be a lot better off!

Good luck!

[meev992]

Originally Posted by gottawalk

Absolutely go and get some professional to look at the situation. I've had similar problems, and eventually it ended up being a herniated disc, which pinched a nerve in my neck that caused numbness in the left arm and hand and also loss of some of the strength.

That's what it's called! That just reminded me of a musicians blog that was passed to me recently. A guitarist took pain killers to continue touring, and didn't tell anyone about his arm. Eventually, he woke up one morning to find that he could not move his left arm in a way that would allow him to play. He had the exact "herniated disc" problem.

To the OP, definitely get it checked out soon.

[nortonrider]

Dude, The pinched nerve thing SUCKS! I know , I have it going on right now.
Numb arm and thumb, I cant raise my arm over my head, muscle atrophy.
I am going in for surgery on the 29th ( 10 days). They are going to fuse 3 sections in my neck.

The procedure: They cut your neck open in the front, move your swallower, talkbox, etc. out of the way to access the spine.

Then they spread apart the bones in your spine and scrape all of the disc material out from between the vertabre.

Then they cram some shims made out of bone from a dead guy (cadaver) into the voids they made.

Then they screw it all together with metal plates and screws.

6 weeks in a full time neck brace then 6 weeks of rehab. Thre restrictions include: no driving and no lifting of over 5lbs. I'm gonna have to figure out what to do to be able to continue playing my bass.
I aint looking forward to it. Check the pic, this is what is going to happen to me:

[tplyons]

What arm? Your left?

How wide is your strap?

How high do you strap your bass?

Recommended Read: Bassists Guide to Injury Management, Prevention, and Better Health by Dr. Randall Kertz... http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=553

[gottawalk]

Originally Posted by nortonrider

Dude, The pinched nerve thing SUCKS! I know , I have it going on right now.
Numb arm and thumb, I cant raise my arm over my head, muscle atrophy.
I am going in for surgery on the 29th ( 10 days). They are going to fuse 3 sections in my neck.

The procedure: They cut your neck open in the front, move your swallower, talkbox, etc. out of the way to access the spine.

Then they spread apart the bones in your spine and scrape all of the disc material out from between the vertabre.

Then they cram some shims made out of bone from a dead guy (cadaver) into the voids they made.

Then they screw it all together with metal plates and screws.

6 weeks in a full time neck brace then 6 weeks of rehab. Thre restrictions include: no driving and no lifting of over 5lbs. I'm gonna have to figure out what to do to be able to continue playing my bass.
I aint looking forward to it. Check the pic, this is what is going to happen to me:

Dude, you got it right except for the fact that you can opt for your own bone instead of the "dead guy"'s. Hurts like hell, though for a while. The hip hurt worse than the neck did! I could have left that night after a morning operation except that I couldn't move my leg because of the pain in my right hip! Also, they can't guarantee that you may have a reaction to the cadaver bone, although I'm told that's quite unlikely these days... like I said;

Good luck! I hope that's not your problem. Could just be a pinched nerve somewhere else and therapy will take care of it. They usually will do a lot of therapy first before going the extreme of surgery.

P.S. Norton; looks like you've got one pair more screws than I do; mine was "6 screws; no waiting"! Two levels fused. (They found spurs on the level above the herniation and decided to take care of it all at once.)

[HollowBassman]

I'm not sure whether you're asking me or nortonrider, but if you're asking me...

Originally Posted by tplyons

What arm? Your left?

Yes, my left.

How wide is your strap?

31/4" leather strap.

How high do you strap your bass?

Recommended Read: Bassists Guide to Injury Management, Prevention, and Better Health by Dr. Randall Kertz... http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=553

I'll definately check that out, thanks.

[meev992]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

Sir, I do believe that you have contraband

lol j/k

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by meev992

Sir, I do believe that you have contraband

lol j/k