Whenever I move my shoulder for playing I feel sharp pain from inside. Ive never had a shoulder injury before. Recently my left side of my entire body is getting too much pain. Every day I take massage with an ointment and then fomentation. I am used to take pain killer regularly but thats not responding. Is there any injury or any muscle problem? Please advise me what should I do?
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Double Bass sharp pain from inside
- Thread starter blueeyes1032
- Start date
not sure what kind of pain killer you are using, but i'd start with an anti-infammatory like aleve or advil. and please heed kevin's advice.
Go to a doctor, preferably one that specializes in Sports Medicine. If you have a rotator cuff injury you may need surgery to correct it. If it is muscular, you may just need to rest and not play for a few weeks until the injury heals. In any case, have a doctor make the diagnosis and then get whatever treatment is recommended. Continuing to play through pain could make the injury worse or permanent.
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I'm not sure what you mean, but perhaps you meant massage followed by fornication? If so, I think that's a good start.
You have to take these types of pain very seriously. Some aches and pain are normal, some are not and they can become very big problems. Don't keep going and hope that it is O.K.. Back away from the bass, see a specialist. Anti-inflamatories are a good choice, if you can tolorate them (they cause bleeding in some stomaches) You might also look into the Alexander Technique, it's helping me with my shoulder pain and has helped a lot of musicians.
Also, welcome to Talkbass. Please add some information to your profile, the more we know about you, the better we can respond to your questions. If we know where you live, for example, someone might know a specialist in your area.
I'm sorry you're having pain.
Troy
go see a doctor.
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anyone who gives medical advice ( whether 'qualified' or not ) over the internet is as foolish as someone who asks for it.....
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anyone who gives medical advice ( whether 'qualified' or not ) over the internet is as foolish as someone who asks for it.....
with the advil: you can take up to 2grams (not milligrams) before stressing your liver. They usually come in 250milligram (ie, 0.25 gram) tablets, so you can start by taking 4 to 6 tablets and see if that helps between now and physical therapy or whatever.
Definitely see a doctor. Anti-inflammatory drugs are fine once you know what the problem is but don't mask pain with drugs and continue to play. That will almost always come back on you.
You know, one day I asked my doctor if he thought it would be better if I played a particular passage in an ascending Am7 pattern or if he thought it would be better if I just played straight eighths on the root. Amazingly enough he had no clue as to what I was talking about.
Get the point?
This is not the place to seek medical advice.
Get the point?
This is not the place to seek medical advice.
ok ok. when you go to see your doctor, ask him how many advils or whatever you can take. unlike me, your doc will be legally held to his word. that info about up to 2g/day (but not EVERY day!) was given to me by an RN and an MD when I went to get checked out for migraines. best of luck.
my dentist is a bass player. we usually talk about soloing. amazing how they can understand you when they've got their hands in your mouth!
It looks like I'm joining the party late, here's my 2¢...
I started down the injury path about one year ago. Your description of the pain is similar to what I was feeling at the time. After one year of anti-inflammatories, ice, physicial therapy, injections, an MRI and a nerve test I can say I'm better but not 100%. See a doctor. Try to get to the bottom of it, i.e. try to understand the movement that caused the injury. That will help the physician narrow it down.
Be mindful that using things like Tiger Balm and Icy Hot will give you temporary relief from the pain but they do not reduce inflammation. It's not a good idea to rub in a handful of Icy Hot and then go practice for two hours. Ice and naproxen (Alleve) have been my best friends over the last year. I had to stop my lessons and cut way back on my playing. I'm finding that taking frequent breaks while practicing and icing immediately after practicing has helped.
As an Alexander teacher, I say thanks, Rico; but no Alexander teacher would recommend not seeing a doctor.
It's normal, but incorrect, to assume the symptom is the problem. It almost never is. That's why symptoms return after having been "cured" by one or another discipline that addresses symptoms. Your pains are a local point of expression of general, habitual, unconscious misuse of yourself. Conventional medicine, chiropractic, massage, etc. have one thing in common: They are responses to problems. The Alexander Technique approaches problems from the other side, i.e., the behaviors that cause problems, starting with what happens in the brain when a stimulus is received. It is fundamental and not condition-specific. The plumber with a bad back, the actor with stage fright, the computer geek with carpal tunnel syndrome, all get the same lesson.
Believe me, physicians are not trained to know whether or not you are in a pattern of excessive tension. No physician is competent to judge the work of an Alexander teacher. It takes me about 20 seconds to show a doctor that he doesn't know where he is in space. I've already done it.
kwd, I don't know how often you take Alleve. It's effective, I've used it, but long term, it's a threat to the lining of your stomach.
Your area is full of Alexander teachers, some of the best in the country, or the world, for that matter. I can connect you.
TroyK is seeing an Alexander teacher that I recommended. I'll let him speak for himself.
Blues - I don't know where you are. Fill in your profile.
Trying out the Alexander Technique is good advice for long term correction. I had the same exact problem that you had for a while a few years ago. Along with that I had pain around the shoulder blade and on the trapezius where my strap rested. I would also get shooting pain along the top of my shoulder up the side of my neck. I still get it after about a week of daily practice. The pain in the joint is probably tendonitis from holding the arm up in playing position. I made the decision to sell all of my heavy basses and only use lighter instruments. A parker fly bass is next on my list and possibly an acoustic or electric upright.
What has helped me quite a bit in the past was acupunture. After about 5 sessions over a 2 week period, I felt a major difference. Find some old chinese guy in your area. Don't pay more than about 50-60 bucks per visit. A typical visit for me was 30 min of acupunture followed by 5-10 min of massage.
What has helped me quite a bit in the past was acupunture. After about 5 sessions over a 2 week period, I felt a major difference. Find some old chinese guy in your area. Don't pay more than about 50-60 bucks per visit. A typical visit for me was 30 min of acupunture followed by 5-10 min of massage.
Since you have not filled out your profile, it's impossible to get any idea of your age. I am going to assume that you are older rather than younger based on you taking pain killers regularly. I had to have rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder a couple of years ago. I have been told that problems of the rotator cuff seldom come on suddenly unless there is an injury. Mine developed over several years. I would recommend that you see a shoulder specialist. They can diagnose rotator cuff and other shoulder problems by having you do some simple range of motion tests. If the problem is rotator cuff, the rehab after surgery is going to be painful. However, I discovered that I had been avoiding certain playing positions (for years) to avoid the pain. Once the pain was gone, I found I could do things on my bass that I hadn't even been willing to try for years. Now I wish I had not waited as long as I did to have the surgery. Living in pain is not fun.
I agree with everyone who said to stop playing and see a professional about it. These kind of injuries should be taken seriously because if you leave them alone and keep playing on them you can make them even worse, sometimes to the point where you can't play at all anymore.
After you see a doctor and take a good break from playing, I would suggest looking into an acupuncturist. If you don't believe in "alternative" medicine, that's okay, but acupuncture really works and has done wonders for many people I know, including myself, who have developed tendinitis and other conditions. I started doing acupuncture treatment a few months after the condition started, and I rarely if ever get pain anymore.
After you see a doctor and take a good break from playing, I would suggest looking into an acupuncturist. If you don't believe in "alternative" medicine, that's okay, but acupuncture really works and has done wonders for many people I know, including myself, who have developed tendinitis and other conditions. I started doing acupuncture treatment a few months after the condition started, and I rarely if ever get pain anymore.
