I have a nice J but it’s getting too heavy for me to play a 3-4 hour gig. So I bought a Hofner Club. It’s light as a feather! Most of my gigs are acoustic now anyway, so it works for me. Beatle basses are light, but I’m not a fan. The Club has the same electronics and sound, but guitar body.
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Back problems...
- Thread starter Lance Bunyon
- Start date
+1000! Medication and/or surgery as a last resort. And if it hurts, stop, or do something that doesn't hurt.
Of course, see your doc first.
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Figure out with a doctors help what’s going on with your spine.
I have the same issue, doesn't take me long sitting on a stool before I am in pain I try standing for a little bit then back to the stool. There several good back exercises that strengthen your core muscles. Chiropractor can help to. I'm fortunate because my daughter in law is chiropractor
These are great stretches for back problems, which I’ve had for 4 years now as a 35 year old. 6’5” tall with a long torso, slender frame, a sales gig where I’m in the car all the time, recipe for disaster.
Chiropractoric work has been shown over and over again to not work, and did nothing for me.
Yoga and flexibility has been helpful. The back, hamstrings and piriformis are all so interconnected that when one is weak the others compensate in a bad way and throw things out of whack.
Also helpful for me was a posture brace. Got a decent one for $40 on Amazon and that helps realign your spine and forces your muscles into a workout they aren’t used to if you have bad posture.
62 & L5 S1 fusion about ten years ago. Urge you to elevate one foot approximately 6-8". Whatever is available, phone book, singers head,etc. By elevating one foot it removes the pressure from lower back
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Certainly worth speaking with your doctor. But if using a stool for a short time will help you reset and let the back relax a bit, why not?
I am very sorry to hear about your pain. I'm 60 y.o. and dealing with similar issues. The stool can help, but I recommend seeing a good physical therapist and getting to work on your core muscles. I would be wary of yoga, and I say that as someone who has practiced it on my own for years -- it's easy to overdo. A chiropractor can help, too, with some issues. But seek help -- toughing it out won't work, and drugs that dull the pain won't be good in the long run. We have to do what we can for ourselves, with the help and guidance of those who have expertise.
When you say your back muscles are tightening, does you body shift... basically are your shoulders no longer square with your hips. That was the case with me, and I later found out it was a sign of problems with nerves in my back and the muscles were compensating.
About 20 years back, I was diagnosed for 9 months as having a pulled muscle and the extent of my treatment consisted of physical therapy and high doses of what we in the military referred to as Vitamin M(Motrin)... which if taken in high doses, for long periods of time can lead to ulcers (Thanks uncle Sam)), Had a nurse practitioner that wasn't assigned my case not bent the rules and talked to me, looked at my med files, and scheduled me for an MRI that revealed a blown disc, I'd probably have been wheel chair bound in a year and have to live out my life in pain (as per the Surgeon that did my surgery).
Back injuries and back pain are nothing to take lightly, nor is the surgery. There's some exceptional advice from a lot of guys that have lived through this... Speaking from experience... gutting out the pain is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
BTW... those exercises are legit, but it's a good idea to ensure that you haven't got a serious injury prior to relying on them as the fix.
About 20 years back, I was diagnosed for 9 months as having a pulled muscle and the extent of my treatment consisted of physical therapy and high doses of what we in the military referred to as Vitamin M(Motrin)... which if taken in high doses, for long periods of time can lead to ulcers (Thanks uncle Sam)), Had a nurse practitioner that wasn't assigned my case not bent the rules and talked to me, looked at my med files, and scheduled me for an MRI that revealed a blown disc, I'd probably have been wheel chair bound in a year and have to live out my life in pain (as per the Surgeon that did my surgery).
Back injuries and back pain are nothing to take lightly, nor is the surgery. There's some exceptional advice from a lot of guys that have lived through this... Speaking from experience... gutting out the pain is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
BTW... those exercises are legit, but it's a good idea to ensure that you haven't got a serious injury prior to relying on them as the fix.
Kitchen gel mats are great for avoiding back pain when washing dishes, and playing on stage. Costco has a couple that don’t look like you stole them from the wife’s kitchen for $30. Then again, who’s washing dishes from 9pm-2am? Just remember to place it back in place by morning
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Sorry you are going through that !! Today and hereafter I’m starting to phase my playing out as it’s just too painful. I recently got a Mikro hoping I could still play that, at first I could but it’s probably not gonna happen. In 72 at 22 a spinal cord injury made sure that everything I do would be hard won. Arthritis started rearing it’s ugly head at 29. while sciatic damaged the rest in my 30’s. Haven’t given up entirely but real close.
I’m a surgical technologist so I work on my feet most of the time and if it’s busy I can be on my feet for my entire ten hour shift. Google “surgical anti fatigue mats.” It might be exactly what you need. We have a variety at work but they buy the really nice ones specifically for the doctors and because I work night shift and we go down to a skeleton crew everyone on my team uses the nice ones because they are available. Seems like a silly thing, and you’ll feel a little wobbly on them at first but man they make a difference when standing for multiple hours at a time. Price range goes from like $50-$500 depending on what you’re willing to spend. There’s serveral different designs and they come in basically any color you want.
An alternative and something I see a lot of aging touring bands doing is to bring bring a rug for a similar effect. Lot of the aging national acts that play two hour+ sets do that. Picture below is Deftones they are all between 45-48 years old now. Hell they probably have padding under the rugs as well, either way the basic idea is To avoid standing on a hard surface. It’s something I caught onto not only from work but when we’d play gigs and 90 minutes in on a hard stage with a heavier bass I wanted to go lay down but with the same bass at rehearsal on a padded and carpeted floor we’d rehearse for 4-6 hours sometimes.
My only other suggestion if you still want to stand is to try a lighter bass and see if that helps.
Sitting can absolutely work for some gigs. Acoustic gigs in particular but depending on the style it can be a bit of a turn off to concert goers.
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