Forearm pain help - fretting hand

[jastraw]

I'm getting increasing soreness on my left (fretting) forearm. It feels generally ok while i m playing. When I m done. It's painful. Tapping my protruding forearm bone triggers soreness/pain. As well as when i massage forearm muscles.

I watched youtube vids on tennis elbow and tried of the suggested at-home therapy. It helps to a degree.

I play with a light touch. What I consider good technique. Thumb is usually centered back of neck. I tried to minimize and be efficient with finger movement. A lot of pinky usage.

I average 2 hours a day. More on gigging nights. I've been playing 8 years. This is slowly coming on past 6 months. I'm 56 if that matters. I find myself not practicing as much due to pain.

I'm open to suggestions. What do you do to keep yourself healthy and pain free in your art? Thanks.

 

[Mushroo]

Post some pics or a video of your playing, and we'd be happy to give you some pointers!

Just a random guess without seeing you play: Maybe try repositioning your thumb? The "thumb centered back of neck" technique causes pain for a lot of players. It's more of a classical guitar technique than a bass technique (in my opinion/experience). Most players prefer to wrap or hook their thumbs around the neck, so maybe give that a try and see if it helps with the discomfort.

Hop on YouTube and study a bunch of your favorite players (especially older-generation players who are still rocking into their 60s and 70s). Pay particular attention what they do with their thumbs.

For example today is John McVie's 76th birthday! He's had a long and productive career, so he must be doing something right in terms of ergonomic bass technique. Watch some Fleetwood Mac videos and experiment, if there is anything you can learn from John McVie's left hand technique. Here is a clip of his famous solo from "The Chain." I think he was in his 50s in that video. When you compare your left hand to McVie's left hand, do you notice any differences? Is there anything that jumps out to you about his technique?

Who are some of your favorite older players?

 

[Lobster11]

Usually the culprit is fretting with a badly bent wrist, especially down by the nut. The tendons that move your fingers, which are attached to muscles in your forearm, get crimped in the wrist, straining the forearm muscles that are trying to move the tendons.

Check out this video, which has saved countless bassists from carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive-motion injuries:

 

[Mushroo]

Or another example, I see from your avatar that you're a Deadhead? Phil Lesh is still going strong at age 81, and playing a big old 6 string bass! Does watching Phil's left hand give you any technique ideas you could experiment with?

 

[Swipter]

Could be bass setup but I would lean to technique and physical. I would cut the play time. Also, if you are doing the same thing every day when you play, always doing scales for example, I would change it up.

 

[fearceol]

I average 2 hours a day.

All in one go, or broken up into smaller mini sessions ? If the former, then try the latter.

 

[jastraw]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions. I will work on them. Cheers.

 

[Lo-E]

Tendonitis (and that’s what this is) takes a minimum of 6 weeks to fully heal. In your situation you would do well to reduce your practice time to the bare minimum required to maintain your chops and give your arm time to heal. The arm bands with a pressure pad can be helpful to reduce further injury while you’re healing.

Once your arm is feeling better you can gradually increase your practice time again but, as fearceol noted, it’s safer to do several shorter sessions with rest in between than it is to push through a 2-hour practice session.

 

[Discount Bassy]

Look at your wrist when you play. If it is bent, figure out what is going on and how you can flatten it out. Strap length, bass angle (neck angle up/down and proximal/distal to body planes) and posture play major roles.

 

[HolmeBass]

It very well could be tennis elbow - lateral epicondylitis - but it might be another kind of tendinitis. I would see a doctor, preferably an osteopath, to get a good diagnosis.

I manage mine by warming up slowly - when it is flaring up, very slowly, taking 15 to 20 minutes to warm up. I start very slowly and quietly, and build up speed and finger pressure throughout the warmup.

Then after playing ice your forearm, wrist, and hand for about 10 to 15 minutes. Take an NSAID if choice. Read up on the proper way to ice. Turns out you don’t want to apply ice directly to any one spot for more than a few minutes at a time. Follow your doctor’s advice.

Stretching and self-massage helped me. Having the osteopath massage deeply really helped. I’d have to ice after his sessions. You also might have to curtail the amount you are playing. I would do this by taking days off rather than cutting it shorter each day, but ask your doctor and follow their advice on this.

You may have to try a few different docs until you find one whose treatment path clicks with you.

I found that hydrocortisone did not help me as a permanent solution, but for some people it works miracles.