My bass made me sick!

[MattyH]

Hey all. So I had a pretty terrible experience this weekend! First, a background story:

A few years ago, my dad had pinched a nerve in his back, that resulted in him being physically sick for a few days. End of back story.

This weekend, I did my usual thing. Drove into the city to play a hotel party, then a wedding in New Jersey Sunday morning. I brought my 62 Jazz, but it needs a new shielding job. So I was getting some interference, and decided to go with my custom Fenderbird bass. I had to order a custom strap, because this thing is so heavy. I've never had a problem with it before, until Saturday night.

I kept my 62 in its case, and put it in the storage closet. We played for about an hour, rocked the house, took a break so the heads could make speeches, then went back on. 2 hours of dance music. During the first song, I must have shifted wrong, and had a tremendous pain shooting from my shoulder down into my back, and up into my head. The weight of my bass was pummeling my shoulder, making it worse with every note I played. I couldn't switch basses. Not enough time. By the end of the set, I felt sick to my stomach. Massive head and shoulder aches, stomach aches, and nausea. We pack up, load down the elevators, and head next door to get our cars out of the garage. The bright lights, pouring rain, and loud noises, caused me to run out into the middle of 56th street, and vomit violently.

We head back uptown to our keyboard players apartment. 4 hours of sleep later, we have an early wake up to get to our early wedding job in Jersey on Sunday. It was like waking up with the worst hangover ever. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to play. A few trips to the bathroom, 2 Aleve's, and a 20 minute drive later, I started to feel better. Got some ginger ale and chicken in my stomach, and I rallied back and had a great performance. Feeling good now.

Worst night of my life. I'm thinking about having my Thunderbird body rebuilt with lighter wood. It might not be as tonefull, but I love the look and the pickups, so somethings gotta give. Anyone else have horror stories with this type of situation?

[Rick Auricchio]

I suspect you had something else wrong with you, not just the weight of the bass.

[Medford Bassman]

sounds like flu...

seriously though, maybe you're right, time to use something lighter. I've been using a MIA Deluxe P-bass for awhile simply because it sounds nice and it it LIGHT!

There some real good ones out there.

[CapnSev]

Yeah, I'd go to the doctor before I started hacking away at my bass.

[stepswork4me]

I got heat stroke while playing an out doors summer "festival" type gig. I was violently ill. It sucked. We ROCKED the place!

[MattyH]

Haha, its not the flu, and I feel fine now. Actually, I feel great. I felt great all that day, and all of a sudden it hit me. And it hit me when I noticed my bass was really sitting hard on my shoulder. If I was still sick, I'd go to the doctor, but I'm not. And I'm not hacking away at my bass haha. I have an expert luthier that built the body for me from scratch. He still has the templates, and could build me a new one in a jiffy.

The reason I think is was my bass, was because it had happened to my dad. While playing, he moved wrong, and the muscle / nerve / whatever pain got so bad he was physically sick for about the same amount of time I was.

And "stepswork4me", it didn't help me that it was also VERY hot in the room. We were in the penthouse on the 42nd floor overlooking Central Park. Very nice, but with the rain and wind, and the giant glass windows, it was very drafty. So they PUMPED the heat. Fuel to my fire.

Medford Bassman - Yea I would have switched to my MIA Reissue 62 Jazz, but it was on the other side of the hotel in a storage room. It's super light. I used it Sunday, and had no problems. I have many lightweight basses, but the tone of the Fenderbird is so nice. I didn't expect to pinch a nerve! Haha

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by MattyH

... it hit me when I noticed my bass was really sitting hard on my shoulder.

In extreme cases, pinched nerves can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, changes in heart rate, breathing difficulty, and other serious symptoms. Remember, the nerves in your body control and coordinate the function of every cell, tissue and organ. Abnormal pressure on a nerve can cause malfunction wherever that nerve goes. Glazer Chiropractic :: pinched nerve

I think you gave yourself the Vulcan Death Grip and survived.


Being proactive, I suggest possibly getting a new, more padded/supportive strap for the Fenderbird to reduce the chances of the problem recurring.

Here are a few links you might want to check out:
1 Comfortable strap
2
3
4

Another possibility is to have the back of the bass routed as much as possible to reduce the weight.

Btw, I checked out your band's promo vid and it was done very well. Great sounding band. Nice to have everyone in the band doing vocals(including the drummer). Tonight's Entertainment - Long Island's Favorite Cover Band!

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

In extreme cases, pinched nerves can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, changes in heart rate, breathing difficulty, and other serious symptoms. Remember, the nerves in your body control and coordinate the function of every cell, tissue and organ. Abnormal pressure on a nerve can cause malfunction wherever that nerve goes. Glazer Chiropractic :: pinched nerve

I think you gave yourself the Vulcan Death Grip and survived.


Being proactive, I suggest possibly getting a new, more padded/supportive strap for the Fenderbird to reduce the chances of the problem recurring.

Here are a few links you might want to check out:
1 Comfortable strap
2
3
4

Another possibility is to have the back of the bass routed as much as possible to reduce the weight.

Btw, I checked out your band's promo vid and it was done very well. Great sounding band. Nice to have everyone in the band doing vocals(including the drummer). Tonight's Entertainment - Long Island's Favorite Cover Band!

haha +1000 on the death grip!

I have a Neotech 4 incher. It's super comfortable, and reduces the weight big time. I think this was just a one time wrong shift in weight at the wrong time type deal. Routing is a good idea also. I'll look into it. The definition and symptoms you enclosed is a perfect match to what I had. Thanks for that. And also, thanks for the feedback! Our drummer is actually our lead singer.

[Rune Bivrin]

I've had that happen to me, but not when playing bass. It's usually a quick snap of the neck or down in the lower back that just suddenly inflicts a world of hurt. And I can see how the pain can make you sick; anyone with migraine can attest to pain having that effect.

It was probably not the weight per se that caused the issue, but the weight in combination with movement that did you in.

[buzzbass]

sounds like you had your 1st muscle tension induced migraine

[totallyfrozen]

Originally Posted by MattyH

...Anyone else have horror stories with this type of situation?

Yes, but not from holding a bass. If back pain has made you sick to your stomach, I suspect you have a pinched nerve in your middle back (between the shoulder blade area). If you look at a diagram of the nervous system and see the nerves coming out of your spine in that area, you'll see that some of them go to the abdomen.

I had a bad back ache in my middle back with nausea for a few days. I went to a chiropractor and told him what bothered me. He adjusted my middle back (not easy to do since it's held in place by our ribs), and my stomach ache disappeared.

[bolophonic]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

I think you gave yourself the Vulcan Death Grip and survived.

A new classic has emerged.

[KillerNeuron]

I dint recommend a chiro if you are having
Nerve impingement. Herniated and bulged discs are so very often to blame and "rearranging" your vertebrae can do some really serious damage in such cases... I've seen many many people get screwed up by a chiropractor that they were referred to by terribly misguided physicians and PAs, nurse practitioners etc.

As mentioned earlier, thoracic and/or cervical disc involvement could very well be to blame for your constitutional symptoms. If you have another episode like this I would suggest getting a c-spine and t-spine MRI to rule out nerve root impingement via herniated discs.

Take it from a bass player that balances 3 herniated discs and progressive degenerative disc disease... At the tender age if 23. (thank you US Army!)

[ironrat]

Originally Posted by MattyH

Haha, its not the flu, and I feel fine now. Actually, I feel great. I felt great all that day, and all of a sudden it hit me. And it hit me when I noticed my bass was really sitting hard on my shoulder. If I was still sick, I'd go to the doctor, but I'm not. And I'm not hacking away at my bass haha. I have an expert luthier that built the body for me from scratch. He still has the templates, and could build me a new one in a jiffy.

The reason I think is was my bass, was because it had happened to my dad. While playing, he moved wrong, and the muscle / nerve / whatever pain got so bad he was physically sick for about the same amount of time I was.

And "stepswork4me", it didn't help me that it was also VERY hot in the room. We were in the penthouse on the 42nd floor overlooking Central Park. Very nice, but with the rain and wind, and the giant glass windows, it was very drafty. So they PUMPED the heat. Fuel to my fire.

Medford Bassman - Yea I would have switched to my MIA Reissue 62 Jazz, but it was on the other side of the hotel in a storage room. It's super light. I used it Sunday, and had no problems. I have many lightweight basses, but the tone of the Fenderbird is so nice. I didn't expect to pinch a nerve! Haha

something you ate?

[Blisterfinger]

It seems odd that holding a bass could make you ill but it's not entirely impossible.Earlier this year I got into the routine of practicing for 4/5 hours a day, non-stop. Needless to say it took its toll. After week one, I started getting cramps in my shoulders as a result of poor posture while practicing, so I began to sit straight and stretched well before, during and after practicing. After week two, the cramps were still as bad but had spread to my chest and I drew breath with difficulty immediately after practice. I stopped the routine shortly after, but not only because of the cramps. After standing up after practicing I would often have felt severely light-headed and groggy, even ill. I'm surprised I never fainted afterwards.
Sorting your diet I discovered, is also incredibly important when it comes to keeping your playing skills keen. I had an incredibly messy diet, eating only when serious hunger called and eating whatever was handy. Think this could somehow have contributed to your feeling sick?

[duff beer]

Everyone is missing the obvious...if your bass is too heavy, your muscles are too weak. Hit the gym and build some muscle.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by duff beer

Everyone is missing the obvious...if your bass is too heavy, your muscles are too weak. Hit the gym and build some muscle.

Even with lots of musculs, when a nerve gets pinched enough, you'll do down.

[The Lurker]

Get a big, wide, well-padded strap. Also watch your posture and stance-- you may be spending a lot of time in a position that contributes to fatigue and pain.

I used to have my microphone set up like Lemmy's, sort of overhead. It wasn't an aesthetic thing-- I wanted a mic I was less likely to hit with my headstock-- but after a while with that, having to keep my head tilted back got painful.

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by The Lurker

Get a big, wide, well-padded strap. Also watch your posture and stance-- you may be spending a lot of time in a position that contributes to fatigue and pain.

I used to have my microphone set up like Lemmy's, sort of overhead. It wasn't an aesthetic thing-- I wanted a mic I was less likely to hit with my headstock-- but after a while with that, having to keep my head tilted back got painful.

Haha yea I'm familiar with that mic placement. But I've been playing gigs 3-5 times a week in professional settings for over 2 years now and I've never had this problem. Thats why I'm thinking it was a bad snap of my back shoulder arm whatever. Because Sunday I felt fine. And yea, I have a 4 inch Neotech. Super padded. This must have been a bad move I made. Regardless, the bass is still about 15 pounds. So If I cant route it out nicely, then I'll just have a new lighter body built.

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by duff beer

Everyone is missing the obvious...if your bass is too heavy, your muscles are too weak. Hit the gym and build some muscle.

Haha, I am a pretty slender guy. I gotta tear up the bowflex! And maybe pound some Duff Beer!