Yep. Rotator cuff. Result of shooting competitive archery. Had the surgery, did a couple months of PT and back to normal. I'd highly recommend seeing a good sports med doc.
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Shoulder injury. Anybody ever been there?
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
This. Find a quality orthopedic surgeon and get a proper diagnosis. An MRI is the only way you'll know exactly what the issue is. I know because I've had partial rotator cuff tears repaired in both shoulders. They were pretty painful before, but now I'm pain-free and my flexibility is almost back to where it was before.
I fell awkwardly on a slippery spot in a mens room at LaGuardia about 4 months ago (I know, gross) and did something to the labrum or rotator cuff on my right arm. The pain is not debilitating but it's definitely there. And it's not improving.
I lift weights three or four times a week and have had to adjust my approach a little. Most exercises are fine but I can't do anything like a dip or a lateral shoulder raise. Military pushups are questionable. Also the motion of picking myself up off the floor is painful. But interestingly, the pain is less severe on days when I exercise. Hurts more on my off days and can even wake me up at night. So the exercise seems to be helping, at least in terms of keeping the joint warmed up.
As a matter of fact I finally set a doc appointment yesterday. I'm fairly sure he'll tell me that it's not bad enough for surgery and that what I'm doing (exercise & occasional ibuprofen) is about right. But I have great insurance so why not have it looked at.
Thankfully this is my right arm and affects my playing not at all. The same injury on my left arm would be trouble.
I lift weights three or four times a week and have had to adjust my approach a little. Most exercises are fine but I can't do anything like a dip or a lateral shoulder raise. Military pushups are questionable. Also the motion of picking myself up off the floor is painful. But interestingly, the pain is less severe on days when I exercise. Hurts more on my off days and can even wake me up at night. So the exercise seems to be helping, at least in terms of keeping the joint warmed up.
As a matter of fact I finally set a doc appointment yesterday. I'm fairly sure he'll tell me that it's not bad enough for surgery and that what I'm doing (exercise & occasional ibuprofen) is about right. But I have great insurance so why not have it looked at.
Thankfully this is my right arm and affects my playing not at all. The same injury on my left arm would be trouble.
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I'm in the same boat with my right hip. All the above. Makes standing for a 3-hour gig painful if I can't move around. Hang in there! Good luck!
Physical therapy works wonders and you only need about a pound which works out to one can of beans so two cans of beans and a couple of shoulder exercises that are properly done or routine maintenance of your shoulders and you might be back up in shape in no time.
Not so much shoulder pain but a weakness. I first noticed it when I went to pick up a full gallon of milk and put it in the fridge. There was a spot where I just couldn't left it with my left arm, like I needed to assist with the right arm for part of the motion. Above my head was ok, waist high ok, but around shoulder height I needed the assist. No pain or tingling though.
The shoulder specialist found a cyst/tumor for lack of a better word, turned out to be benign luckily. PT had no affect on it. Long story short turned out to be 4 vertebrae in my neck were all compressed and pushing on the nerve for my left shoulder. Surgery was the only option, conf'd by two different Dr's. They went in from the front and removed the front of the vertebrae, shimmed them with a synthetic material with screws and a cage for support. Long recovery but still have the weakness. May/may not ever return based on the time the nerve was compressed.
The strangest part of all was that the kind of "compression" or injury in my cervical spine is usually seen after a trauma or accident. Never been in a car accident and I'm not athlete so just don't know the source.
My only advice is to seek out an answer and be sure you trust the doctor you're seeing.
The shoulder specialist found a cyst/tumor for lack of a better word, turned out to be benign luckily. PT had no affect on it. Long story short turned out to be 4 vertebrae in my neck were all compressed and pushing on the nerve for my left shoulder. Surgery was the only option, conf'd by two different Dr's. They went in from the front and removed the front of the vertebrae, shimmed them with a synthetic material with screws and a cage for support. Long recovery but still have the weakness. May/may not ever return based on the time the nerve was compressed.
The strangest part of all was that the kind of "compression" or injury in my cervical spine is usually seen after a trauma or accident. Never been in a car accident and I'm not athlete so just don't know the source.
My only advice is to seek out an answer and be sure you trust the doctor you're seeing.
I injured my left shoulder about 20 years ago and it made it almost impossible to hang a bass on it, so I moved to using a slinger strap which puts all of the weight on my hips. Once I got used to the feeling of standing behind my bass while playing it has become completely natural. You may have an easy time adjusting as you play upright too.
Hip Strap guitar strap
Hip Strap guitar strap
i thought my (L) shoulder pain was a torn rotator, but the doc said that i needed a new shoulder altogether ("this picture shows bone against bone, all the soft tissue is gone.").
at my age + the amount of work i'm doing = not sure if i want to take time off for recovery. i'm ambivalent.i made my own two-shoulder strap (does the same as @Jebberz's suggestion/link) and i use it when things are extra painful, it really helps. i use ibuprofen regularly, but sparingly if i can help it (i don't take it daily). i've changed the bottom strap button location on most of my axes, i've committed to lightweight axes as a 'thing' (my heaviest, of seven: less than 8 lbs.), and i now have zero tolerance for any neck dive.
my plan = don't quit!
Mentioned earlier it could be Adhesive Capsulitis or Frozen Shoulder. The shoulder capsule thickens and tightens from widely varying causes resulting in immobilization and pain. PT alleviates it and in time it goes away.
I had it in both shoulders. Got it from misusing Nautilus equipment. Couldn’t throw a ball for months.
Frozen shoulder - Symptoms and causes
I had it in both shoulders. Got it from misusing Nautilus equipment. Couldn’t throw a ball for months.
Frozen shoulder - Symptoms and causes
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If you email the company they can make custom orders for a pretty reasonable price. I had a couple made with the small tab folded up and sewed into place so the lower horn on my bas is up a little higher. I also use flush mount strap locks on the back of my bass so it doesn't alter the appearance of the bass when you are playing it and it also helps it hang a little more to my right. One strap lock on the back of the lower horn and one on the back about an 2 inches above and an inch towards the left (as I'm wearing the bass). I got this idea from Dingwall basses. They offer the flush mount on the back to move the bass to the right a couple of inches.
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Damage to left rotator cuff and left collar bone (where it ties into the top of the shoulder) Damage to numbers C5 & C6 vertebrae. No intention of getting any surgeries. Deep heat before each rehearsal and show. No basses over 9lbs and must have exceptional balance. 3 inch wide padded straps and 20 minute ice down after. Also deep heat and ice for my knees. Inconvenient yes, end of the world no.
I've gone through the whole gamut. Many years ago I injured my left shoulder on a fall while skiing. I was you ng (in my 30s) and was able to recover pretty quickly without having to do much except a bit of PT. Apparently there was damage caused because it festered over the years to the point when in my 50s it was impeding my activities to the point where I sought medical help. Pretty ambitious physical therapy and lots of general exercise got me by for a few more years, but when it started to get worse again I went in for a full evaluation and MRI - turned out to be a damaged rotator cuff and two tears in my bicep. I went for the surgery - longer recovery than I expected (docs are really good at only partially telling you what to expect) but 6-12 months later I was better than new. The only problem that I had was that after years of compensating for shoulder/muscle weakness, I had developed tendonitis in my left forearm and shoulder. My doc recommended acupuncture and 3-4 treatments later, it was gone (I should add that I was an acupuncture skeptic, but figured that I had nothing to lose). I still do many of the exercises that I used during recovery, as well as work out generally 3-4x/week and my should is better than its ever been (I'm 67 now). My lesson from all this - if its torn or damaged, get it repaired rather than putting it off. It won't heal itself. But have reasonable expectations about how long and rigorous (and yes, painful) the recovery will be. And you have to be 110% committed to doing the work to heal. I've seen several people who got the surgery and didn't do what they needed to for the recovery (exercises that are repetitious and boring 2-3x/day, every day). And figure that you'll be away from the bass for a month or two, depending on how extensive the repairs are.
Feel free to pm me if you want any more details about the procedure and recovery. I do in hindsight wish that I know more about it before I went in. I still would have proceeded, but maybe would have been better prepared for it mentally.
Feel free to pm me if you want any more details about the procedure and recovery. I do in hindsight wish that I know more about it before I went in. I still would have proceeded, but maybe would have been better prepared for it mentally.
Had a complete right shoulder replacement 2 years ago. I put it off for 10+ years until it was pretty much worthless. PT was brutal. In retrospect the results aren't what I expected but it's better than it was.
No surgery, but extensive PT rehab, exercises, and now I'm switching to short scale basses. Gotta keep the bass moving even when the body doesn't want to 
- Feb 29, 2020
- 250
- 210
- Disclosures
- I am way worse than I think I am LOL, but I love to play!
A few years back, I had a twinge in my left shoulder. You know the one... the shoulder my bass hangs on?
About that time, I began icing it and doing some therapy exercise. I sold my 10lb basses and picked up basses in the 8lb range. It eventually got better. (That was actually the beginning of me buying/selling basses... hmmm)
Fast forward to a month ago... I was moving a piece of furniture and felt a *pop* in that same shoulder. This was different than before. I talked with my doctor. He said surgery would likely not be necessary. So he gave me some exercises and told me to go back to icing it. Most of the time, it doesn't affect my bass playing. Last weekend I played 3 nights and even after hours of a bass hanging around my neck, there was a dull ache but nothing major.
Playing upright is a different story. the angle of the arm makes it a little more uncomfortable, but still doable.
Some days it will hurt if I sleep on it wrong. But for the most part, it's just a mild nuisance. if it flares up, Advil does the trick.
Curious if anyone else here has dealt with a shoulder injury or even pain. Anyone have surgery?
Even though most humans only have two shoulders, I've dislocated mine 3 times in the last 4 years.
Physical Therapy works wonders. But all three times, the first thing I did was strap on the guitar to see if I could still play, I could, so I did. Hurt? Well what do you think?
Had myself back up to 1 hour nonstop playing within a few months.
Just goes to show, the old saying is correct: "It don't mind, cause I don't matter!
Yep. I'm glad that others are mentioning this... Its super, super important to fully understand the root cause of really bad shoulder pain/issues, because they can really make life really bad as you get older.
My first shoulder surgery was when I was 17. The second was when I was 36 and that was only two years ago...
I've been back to (a normal) full range of motion for like a year now, but doing that PT is super important. I tend to push hard on the therapists and docs as I'm an athlete and I focus my recovery to maintain performance as much as possible. It sucks, its hard work, its often painful and its a drag, but its WORTH IT in the end.
Bass playing Archer here, these activities take a toll on our Mortal Form. My only advice is to not ignore the problem, but rather deal with it as soon as possible.
It is worth the trouble.
It is worth the trouble.
I've got a separated shoulder after using it for landing gear in a motorcycle accident 21 years ago. It produces an icy, stabbing pain if I don't take care of it. This means, in order of effectiveness:
- Regular "lifting" exercises using exercise bands and lifting with both shoulders.
- Using a foam, "Comfort Strapp" I bought at Sam Ash, Comfort Strapp™ – Comfort Strapp™ Guitar Straps
- Taking some gigs where I get to sit down part of the night - as in my avatar pic
