• 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.

Shoulder pain and dead arm

Yonni

Yonni

Oct 31, 2016
1,893
6,597
Scotland
#1
I’ve had a slightly crunchy shoulder for a while. No pain or real restriction of movement, just a few clicks. Since maybe just before Christmas it’s got worse. I’ve left it because I thought it was a tendinitis thing that would get better on its own eventually. Today I’ve had to take painkillers just to use the mouse on my computer at work. I get shooting pains when so do certain movements. I get caught out with this once every couple if days now. Not when heavy lifting more like extreme extension or moving my bent arm in front of my chest etc. This is my right ram (plucking). Over the last 2 days I’ve felt a kind of tightness in my wrist too. Now I’ve got forearm tightness and almost (but not quite) pins and needles in my right hand. My right arm just feels heavy and almost dead and my shoulder seems to have dropped lower than my left one. I’ve got a docs appointment next week but thought I’d scare myself in the meantime by asking you all if this sounds familiar to anyone? I gave it a rest from all cycling and playing for about 10 days in April but it didn’t make any difference.
I also mountain bike and did a race last weekend which probably didn’t help. I've also been practicing a bit more recently as I’ve got a new teacher. I’ve been playing about 3 years now. Any advice or tips?
 
#2
tendonitis gets better when you stop using the joint or at least only use it with far less extension. i've had tendonitis in my right elbow for years because of this. if you have tendonitis and don't give the joints time off, it won't improve and could get worse. but it could be arthritis or something else.

sounds like it could be that you're pinching a nerve, but i have this happen with my right shoulder periodically. it had a torn rotator cuff years ago and didn't get all the way better. i managed to tweak it while sleeping the other night - quite impressive, because i've never hurt it that bad sleeping - and as i continued to use it when i was awake, it got heavy and tingly, my hands got tingly, and my shoulder hurt worse and worse. but this isn't the first time, and i know what it is in my case.

sometimes things swell inside my shoulder, causing pressure on the nerves and tingling. i find that ginger tea helps as it's an antiflammatory as is aspirin and some other things.

i find the best way to deal with a limb or joint with issues is to not use it, and that's what my doctor and PT recommended, as well - stop using it for any kind of extension, lifting or angles that are uncomfortable till the symptoms go away. i have to keep my arm propped at a certain height - having it too high or too low can cause additional pain and numbness/tingling. to this end, i have a desk chair with arms that adjust higher and lower so i can find the magic height. in bed, i have a complex network of pillows to keep arm and shoulder at the right height and angle, and i use wrist braces when i sleep. the other night i fell asleep too fast to set everything up, and i woke up with pain and tingling.

btw, after taking a 10 day break, sounds like you went right back to your regular activities. i did that once with a torn lat muscle - turned out it takes about 12 weeks for a lat muscle to heal, so i re-tore it, making it worse. i hate taking breaks from playing, but that was the only way i got to be able to play again. i worked up gradually, and i also ended up playing smaller basses for years.

good luck figuring out the problem - hopefully your doctor will get you sorted out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wraub, MCF, DrayMiles and 6 others
#3
Sounds like you might have a pinched nerve. While your waiting to see your doctor get a massage from someone who knows what their doing. My type of job get monthly massages to prevent my left arm/shoulder from getting to tight , also get tingle on top of my left hand with the tightness. No more lifting until you see the doctor it will just aggravate the tension.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout, JCooper, Pirate Captain and 3 others
#4
Thanks. I think it is rotator cuff wear and tear. I have some arthritis in my lumbar/thoracic region as well which i manage with yoga and occasional co-codamol when its really bad. Its the numbness in my arm that's beginning to worry me but hopefully that's a by-product of swelling as you say. I fidget in my sleep and often end up sleeping on this shoulder, which obviously wakes me up with pain just now.

Getting old sucks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MCF and EatS1stBassist
#5
Possibly it could be "computer arm". That was my arm-pain source. Doctors had no clue. A masseuse suggested it to me.

Try moving your keyboard/mouse to a different level in relation to your body. I started by elevating the rig with a box on my desk, same in the shop. It's one of the reasons the Varidesk type things are catching on.

Too bad it took about 7 months to figure it out, but, It worked for me. Good luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EatS1stBassist, IamBF and Yonni
#6
Paula Warren said:
Sounds like you might have a pinched nerve. While your waiting to see your doctor get a massage from someone who knows what their doing. My type of job get monthly massages to prevent my left arm/shoulder from getting to tight , also get tingle on top of my left hand with the tightness. No more lifting until you see the doctor it will just aggravate the tension.
Click to expand...

a massage can make things worse, so definitely make sure it's someone with training.

and ditto no more lifting. also no reaching, no reaching over, nothing that stretches the arm, wrist or shoulder. let it rest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wraub, EatS1stBassist and Paula Warren
#9
Several years ago I had a frozen right shoulder with initial symptoms similar to yours. It took 2 years of PT but it got better.

Eleven months ago today I had a minor stroke which has resulted in my right side feeling heavy, numb and restricted movement. My handwriting looks much worse that it did and I can't use a mouse much and my typing has gotten worse. Upside is I can still walk well enough, move my right arm and the index and middle fingers of my right hand well enough to have gigged and rehearsed nearly weekly since. I consider myself very lucky.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: covermego, Methaneman, MCF and 6 others
#12
I had issues that were only resolved after an MRI showed that the nerve was being pinched in my neck due to spinal compression. The surgery was Anterior Cervical Diskectomy Fusion, and now I have a titanium plate in my neck. It totally got rid of the shoulder / arm pain. That was a decade ago. Btw my symptoms were a bit different from yours, so hopefully your situation can be resolved with a less intrusive procedure or physical therapy.

Currently I'm trying to retrain myself to sleep on my back, as sleeping on my side leads to me waking up with a sore and numb shoulder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the_home, EatS1stBassist, viper4000 and 2 others
#13
Skillet said:
I had issues that were only resolved after an MRI showed that the nerve was being pinched in my neck due to spinal compression. The surgery was Anterior Cervical Diskectomy Fusion, and now I have a titanium plate in my neck. It totally got rid of the shoulder / arm pain. That was a decade ago. Btw my symptoms were a bit different from yours, so hopefully your situation can be resolved with a less intrusive procedure or physical therapy.

Currently I'm trying to retrain myself to sleep on my back, as sleeping on my side leads to me waking up with a sore and numb shoulder.
Click to expand...

i've been trying to sleep on my back, too, but i can only do it when i'm totally exhausted. i have found side positions that work with creative pillow use that takes most of the weight off the shoulder on the side i'm on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EatS1stBassist, Paula Warren and Skillet
#14
Nutrition. I don't know where to start. But the full spectrum of Vit C with it's constituent bioflavaniods, rutin, hesperidian... and alpha lipoic acid is very good for these body mechanics things. But basically you need minerals from food and also probably vit K2 so the calcium in circulation gets picked up by cells at locations that need calcium. The modern diet, if you eat that way, excess meat and starchy processed foods and drinks, runs a person out of structural resources about age 45.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bodeanly, EatS1stBassist, mikewalker and 2 others
#16
BassBrass said:
Nutrition. I don't know where to start. But the full spectrum of Vit C with it's constituent bioflavaniods, rutin, hesperidian... and alpha lipoic acid is very good for these body mechanics things. But basically you need minerals from food and also probably vit K2 so the calcium in circulation gets picked up by cells at locations that need calcium. The modern diet, if you eat that way, excess meat and starchy processed foods and drinks, runs a person out of structural resources about age 45.
Click to expand...

All of what you posted is a great point. Let's face it: age, and also the excess many musicians subject themselves to for a long time (boy I did), both take a toll. I'm serious when I say that TalkBass should possibly consider adding a health and fitness sub-forum. At 60, I'm now totally clean, very fit, and with the cholesterol and BP of a teenager, but it took dying (literally, during a very difficult detox), to finally consider changing my ways... ...and I'm having more fun now than ever. :D

We could share tips, travails, solutions, and maybe, just maybe, get some of the youngsters to avoid (to some extent :) ) the same mistakes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ahbradot, Geri O, EatS1stBassist and 3 others
#17
mongo2 said:
Several years ago I had a frozen right shoulder with initial symptoms similar to yours. It took 2 years of PT but it got better.

Eleven months ago today I had a minor stroke which has resulted in my right side feeling heavy, numb and restricted movement. My handwriting looks much worse that it did and I can't use a mouse much and my typing has gotten worse. Upside is I can still walk well enough, move my right arm and the index and middle fingers of my right hand well enough to have gigged and rehearsed nearly weekly since. I consider myself very lucky.
Click to expand...
Glad you are doing ok
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back