Is there such a thing as "bass thumb"?

[Greenman72]

I'm a rookie. Been playing about six months.

Last week, I had the house all to myself for a few hours, so I jammed away. (I rarely get more than 45 minutes, if that.) The next day, my right thumb (and that fat, fleshy part of your hand right below the thumb) hurt like hell. It even hurt to raise my right arm over my head. Couldn't bend my wrist backwards or hardly move my thumb.

Then it went away almost as fast as it came.

Is this somehow related to the bass? Has anybody had this experience before?

 

[kevrex]

i don't slap, but i have had various thumb/wrist things happen, usually because of poor posture (playing while slumped on the couch or something). as knowledgeable as folks here are (i'm sure 100s of them have had some joint problem), none of them are going to be as useful as a visit to a professional. a chiropractor helped me out. a sports medicine specialist might be good, too. a visit to a bass teacher to evaluate your technique would also help in the long run. good luck!

 

[gln1955]

If you want a diagnosis your won't get it here. Go see a medical professional who will do a proper history and physical examination. Depending on what they find, maybe imaging or nerve conduction tests.

Pain is a warning. If this is bass-related you need to evaluate your technique before you do permanent damage.

 

[Killing Floor]

I’m not a doctor but…

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Is your thumb evenly centered behind your 2nd finger straight up and down? Watch some YouTube videos of "proper left hand technique".
Also, I had this until I got rid of my Rickenbacker. What kind of bass do you play, and how ergonomic is it?
How do you carry your bass on a strap? How far do you need to stretch your left hand to hit a low F on the E string?

Everything comes into play with a heavy-ish instrument like a bass guitar.

 

[gln1955]

Is your thumb evenly centered behind your 2nd finger straight up and down? Watch some YouTube videos of "proper left hand technique".
Also, I had this until I got rid of my Rickenbacker. What kind of bass do you play, and how ergonomic is it?
How do you carry your bass on a strap? How far do you need to stretch your left hand to hit a low F on the E string?

Everything comes into play with a heavy-ish instrument like a bass guitar.

It's his right thumb. I assume he's playing righty.

 

[C Stone]

Sounds like you overused your abductor pollicis it’s actually a fairly thin muscle.
Full disclosure…I am not a doctor….very often when this muscle “hurts” it is can be the result of “overuse” give it a rest… Could also be that the tendon is sore…

 

[Lance Bunyon]

It's his right thumb. I assume he's playing righty.

Thanks.
So much for Evelyn Wood Speed Reading...

 

[salmon256]

As others have said, no doctor, but been playing bass for a bit, never ever had really any thumb pain, some wrist but from common factors of bass playing and rarely get them now adjusting strings and my technique. The other day I had thumb pain from fixing a fishing reel and holding it a certain way. Not to scare you, everybody is different so it may be something common, as others said if it really concerning go to a doctor if you can, honestly to me personally it could just be you are not use to playing that long, playing live my first time with anxiety and such had a bad wrist pain but was fine next day and nothing scary found by a doctor...

Also I didn't vote because I felt nothing fit my answer personally.

Again don't wanna give any medical advice because we are not doctors. Best of luck.
Also if you can get some, maybe get some lessons never hurts to have a teacher point out something, sometimes we do not realize we are making a mistake!

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'm a rookie. Been playing about six months.

Last week, I had the house all to myself for a few hours, so I jammed away. (I rarely get more than 45 minutes, if that.) The next day, my right thumb (and that fat, fleshy part of your hand right below the thumb) hurt like hell. It even hurt to raise my right arm over my head. Couldn't bend my wrist backwards or hardly move my thumb.

Then it went away almost as fast as it came.

Is this somehow related to the bass? Has anybody had this experience before?

Share a pic of your normal right hand positioning. Using a pick, "pedaling", or slapping?

Riis

 

[Stewie]

Bass thumb is what happens after a successful night of striped bass fishing. You grab the bass by the lower lip with your thumb and fingers. They have tiny toothlike barbs in their mouths. These barbs kinda shred your thumbs

 

[Ralph Manak]

Thanks.
So much for Evelyn Wood Speed Reading...

It's a shame no one has published a companion course on comprehension.

And per topic: +1 on evaluating technique, perhaps with a teacher if you don't already have one. One, or a few, lessons to get technique together, including ergonomics, is good leverage.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I'm a rookie. Been playing about six months.

Last week, I had the house all to myself for a few hours, so I jammed away. (I rarely get more than 45 minutes, if that.) The next day, my right thumb (and that fat, fleshy part of your hand right below the thumb) hurt like hell. It even hurt to raise my right arm over my head. Couldn't bend my wrist backwards or hardly move my thumb.

Then it went away almost as fast as it came.

Is this somehow related to the bass? Has anybody had this experience before?

It's the beginnings of arthritis. Your thumb being locked in one position is making your thumb hurt.

Mine does it. I deal with it.

Right where my middle finger is pointing.

My thumb is used as a mute. It says in a similar position most of the time I play, so it locks up and needs to be stretched periodically.

 

[Greenman72]

It's his right thumb. I assume he's playing righty.

Correct. I am right-handed. This is my picking/strumming hand.

 

[Sid Fang]

You didn't say whether you're playing with a pick, or using your thumb to pluck, or using your thumb to "tug". I think that matters rather a lot in getting useful advice (other than, if it persists, see a doctor).

Personally, I learned bass initially playing with a pick, and can vaguely remember having a sore base-of-thumb from having a death grip on a pick as I was playing guitar-speed licks on my bass, very early on. I started using picks with more texture, got better technique, and ultimately started playing bass fingerstyle 95% of the time. But that's me.

 

[MattZilla]

You exercised muscles you rarely/never use in normal life for a longer duration than you ever have before, and abraded your skin for a longer duration than you have before.

That will cause temporary soreness. This is normal for new players.

Permanent issues are unlikely to develop until at the earliest you’re in your mid-30s and have been playing 50-70 hours per week.

Go easy on slapping Flea style for four hours at a time- his terrible way of dealing with the open wounds it caused was to cover his fingers in not-healthy super glue.

Stretches and exercising the nearly never ever used opposing muscles are advised by most doctors & physical therapists for mitigating/avoiding overuse injuries… for your whole body, too.

A bicycle tire tube is a good cheap tool if you can’t find a PT rubber band for working the back of hand muscles for your individual fingers and thumbs. Try to do exercises with your palms down, infacing, and up.

 

[smoothbrain]

If you want a diagnosis your won't get it here. Go see a medical professional who will do a proper history and physical examination. Depending on what they find, maybe imaging or nerve conduction tests.

Pain is a warning. If this is bass-related you need to evaluate your technique before you do permanent damage.

I agree and can only restate: "...you need to evaluate your technique before you do permanent damage..."

Re-evaluate your technique before you do permanent damage.

Re-evaluate your technique.

I've been playing hard since the late 1960s. Once I played/practiced hard almost continuously for more than a week only taking time off to eat and sleep and the occasional bathroom visit. I was in my fifties. I started having problems. After I played the gig for which I had so relentlessly practiced I re-evaluated my technique and altered it. I had to, I couldn't feel the fingers between the ring finger and the back of the thumb of my right hand and it hurt like the devil at the gig and after for a few weeks.

I haven't had any similar problems since then.

Re-evaluate your technique.

 

[mambo4]

“ jamming” tells us nothing about how your right hand was getting used.
Op needs to specify picking/ finger style/ slapping / double thumbing/ floating thumb/ movable anchor etc etc

best option might be a video of what you were doing.

but yes reevaluate technique

 

[jTrolt]

“ jamming” tells us nothing about how your right hand was getting used.
Op needs to specify picking/ finger style/ slapping / double thumbing/ floating thumb/ movable anchor etc etc

^THIS^

No, I've not experienced such pain, whether picking, plucking, strumming or slapping, so I can only guess it's bad technique and suggest a doctor or PT visit. Show them how you're playing, and I'll bet you get an instant answer as to why it's going to hurt you, plus suggestions on how to avoid and or prepare before playing to assure good hand health. This is qualified healthcare professional territory.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I’m not a doctor but…

Neither am I, and I haven't stayed at any Holiday Inn Expresses lately.

Seriously! Have a local teacher check your technique and possibly see a doctor.

Carpal tunnel and repetitive stress injuries are no joke and are often preventable. I had to sit out 10 YEARS due to carpal tunnel issues, which required surgery to correct. It took an additional two years or so to fully regain feeling in my hands after the surgery.

After missing all that time, I sometimes tear up with joy after a good session. In my case, it was all preventable.

Don't seek situation and fact dependent medical advice online. Just don't.