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Double Bass Left Forearm/Elbow Issues

R

Rompi

Nov 8, 2013
15
4
#1
Hello there

I've been playing DB for a while and for the most part, have had minimal issues regarding serious pain and injury.
However, recently when I have been playing, I have been getting a burning like pain in my elbow and forearm, a bit like the pain you get when you exercise. As a result, my left arm has been getting tired surprisingly quickly, particularly when I have to shift a lot in the lower octaves. When I have finished playing, my forearm feels very tired, once again, like the kind of exhaustion one can feel after exercise.

I have noticed that playing my bass without the endpin extended alleviates this pain quite a bit, but of course, this isn't a solution as my back will suffer as a consequence.

Is there is any advice that anyone could offer to help alleviate my elbow and forearm fatigue? I have heard that tilting your bass too much or not enough can be bad for your left arm, though I am unsure as to whether this is relevant to the issue I am experiencing. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
#3
I currently am suffering from the same type of deal. What happened with me was I had developed tendonitis in my wrist from extreme overplaying (upwards of 16 hours a week). What I was told by my doctor (who is a guitarist) is that the muscles in your wrist/fingers are all connected all the way down to your elbow, which eventually causes breakdown of the tendons in your elbow, causing this type of fatigue you're talking about, that is also known as bass elbow. What's helping for me currently is taking a few days off of playing, then wearing a brace similar to this one (http://www.walmart.com/ip/IMAK-Elbow-Band-One-Size-Fits-All/15249956) when I am playing. It works as sort of a "Tendon Capo" as my doctor described it as.
 
#4
I suffered from this 3 years ago or so. It's also called tennis elbow. I stopped playing entirely for 6 to 8 weeks until the pain went away and then started back slowly. I no longer have any pain. Two things did the trick for me. 1) I learned to use the weight of my arm, as Chris Fitzgerald and others recommend, instead of squeezing the string into the neck between my fingers and thumb. I can easily play without using my thumb at all now. 2) I followed the recommendations in this video and still do the stretching exercises. Good luck.
Ah, one more thing helps me but isn't necessary: I set my end-pin quite long so that even though I stand, the fingerboard is more horizontal as if I were sitting. That's also partially so I can more easily reach the end of the fingerboard. There are plenty of players who use their arm-weight well without the extended end-pin, so it's not necessary, but it works for me.
Good luck.
 

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