Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass How to deal with back pain
- Thread starter A Spotless Mind
- Start date
Exploiter8
Demons run when a good man goes to war
I tried acupuncture. The following day I couldn't get up after lying down on the floor. After the fire department was called in to assist the ambulance crew in hauling me down the stairs, I ended up in the hospital. After MRIs and two Disco-Graphs (pain generator), Neurologists, therapy sessions, and GREAT Union Officials, I'm now retired through disability. That was over 8 years ago. Needless to say, I never tried acupuncture again.
YMMV
X8
YMMV
X8
Attachments
Yes, Don, I can take what you say on board and I'm not trying to start WW 3. However, whether you support the head with a stack of paperbacks or not, does this diminish or KO the value of the stretch that I outlined in reply #12 above as a possible non-pharmaceutical way to give short-term relief to back pain caused by tension? Of course there may be other deeper more serious reasons for back pain to work through.
The source of this stretch is from the Egosque system, advocated by my sports physio to help alleviate pain and tension prior to a total hip replacement 18 months ago. It helped me a lot.
Cheers.....
DP
Not supporting the head does diminish the value of the stretch. The position of palms up further diminishes the value of the stretch. Palms should be down.
I've looked at the Egoscue site. I don't buy into what he says, and certainly not his training requirements for certification to teach.
Try those MBT rocker bottom shoes - i swear, since i have been wearing them, my back never stiffens up anymore more when standing for a long time at a gig, waiting for a ride at Disney, whatever. At $250 a pair retail, what you want to do is go to local store and pick out your style and size, then check eBay or other online outlets. You can usually find them for about $150.
Thanks for the wise words, Don. No hard feelings from me.
My Alexander guru here in Sydney is Terry Fitzgerald, who is also an instructor of Alexander teachers.
DP
These are all great suggestions. Another option I like to use for some immediate relief is bio-freeze. It's kind of like icy hot but with out the hot. But I should warn you that when you apply it it gets REALLY cold. However take this opportunity to observe your posture and your technique and try to find out what might be causing the problem.
Terry and I share the same Alexander lineage, i.e. Patrick Madonald. He was certified by Macdonald, and my trainor was certified by Macdonald.
I've never had serious back pain (knock wood), but my sympathies go out to those here who do. I've seen how debilitating it can be.
This may sound weird, but I've found that playing bass is an antidote to back pain. When I'm playing, it's the only time that I'm really paying attention by body position.
Sitting at the computer all day at work, my neck and back feel if not sore, then stiff and sluggish. My neck juts forward, taking my shoulders with it. I slump with boredom. After a 3-hour rehearsal or gig, I feel rejuvenated, both physically and mentally.
This may sound weird, but I've found that playing bass is an antidote to back pain. When I'm playing, it's the only time that I'm really paying attention by body position.
Sitting at the computer all day at work, my neck and back feel if not sore, then stiff and sluggish. My neck juts forward, taking my shoulders with it. I slump with boredom. After a 3-hour rehearsal or gig, I feel rejuvenated, both physically and mentally.
Thanks for all the feed back guys!
I usually sit on a stool to play, and it's really weird. My whole body is pain free except for my back after a certain amount of time! I've tried to figure out why this is happening but I can't figure it out! It's really frustrating.
I heard from somewhere that the stool has to be a certain height to my body/waist or something? Can anyone elaborate on this?
Also, my bass is really big with pretty high shoulders. Could the size of my bass have anything to do with my back pain?
I usually sit on a stool to play, and it's really weird. My whole body is pain free except for my back after a certain amount of time! I've tried to figure out why this is happening but I can't figure it out! It's really frustrating.
I heard from somewhere that the stool has to be a certain height to my body/waist or something? Can anyone elaborate on this?
Also, my bass is really big with pretty high shoulders. Could the size of my bass have anything to do with my back pain?
it's true, when doing the 'lying on floor' exercise you have to have something under your head, a book is a good thing, but I am not sure how to advise you how thick the book should be....
I am taking alexander technique lessons and my teacher asks me to do the lying down on floor thing but I have to put a book under my head, for me it is about 2 to 2 and a half inches in height, but I do know it has to be the 'right height' as when I asked my teacher if it does matter what the height is he said YES and to stick to what he told me was good for me.....
I would add my support to the Alexander technique. I have had a history of back problem and have found this to be very useful as a way of self-treatment and relief! 
I saw a Harley Street specialist at one point and he warned me off chiropractors in no uncertain terms!
I saw a Harley Street specialist at one point and he warned me off chiropractors in no uncertain terms!
Of course your bass' size could be relevant. Play on some smaller sloped shoulder instruments and see what happens. I find that while sitting, I will start to get back pain if the bass is too high or low in relation to my height on the stool. For me there seems to be a sweet spot.
1. It's called "constructive rest". It's not really an exercise.
2. When standing, the head is forward of the spine. You want to maintain that relationship when lying on your back. 2" is a generally safe starting point.
Just to be clear, AT is not a substitute for any bona fide mode of therapy. Chiropractic, accupuncture, orthopedics, PT, et al are all valid means of addressing symptoms and relieving pain.
They are responses to conditions. The distinguishing point of AT is that it is a preventative of those conditions. It just happens that when we are restored to our natural state, the body will heal itself, giving the illusion that AT is some kind of therapy. It often happens that a student reports to me correction of a problem that I didn't know he had, because he didn't know he had it. Such is the force of a habit. It's something like not being aware of the refrigerator humming until the power goes out and it stops.
That's a good distinction to make, Don - I tend to lump things together, as I have a book called "Treating your back" which has similar things and I pick and choose a few from this and from sessions I had on Alexander technique!
