Double Bass Tendonitis :(

[Burr 15]

Hi, I've been a musician for 30+ years Guitar / Bass . Bought a DBL Bass last year and really enjoying it! Finding a lot of work with it. Recently been dealing with Tendonitis ugh...Probably due to a combination of my work (Courier) and Dbl Bass + Age etc...Anyway it really kicks in the day after playing. Don't want to let this interrupt my gigs. Wondered if anyone had advice or links to stretches / exercises etc. that has worked for them?
Thx in advance! Terry

 

[csrund]

Stretches like the ones illustrated in this video have proven really helpful for me. Your mileage may vary. Good luck!

 

[jallenbass]

The only thing that made my tendonitis go away was rest.

 

[Burr 15]

The only thing that made my tendonitis go away was rest.

Ya I believe that's the best if you can between day job and gigging. I just had to take some down time with the flu, No Bass and No lifting at work and it actually feels a lot better! For the time being anyway.

 

[Burr 15]

Stretches like the ones illustrated in this video have proven really helpful for me. Your mileage may vary. Good luck!

This was very helpful!! thx

 

[pcake]

what part of you feels the tendonitis the most? mine was in my wrists, so i started sleeping with wrist braces, which helped, and considering your day job, maybe working with at least one on. if your elbows, i found that harder, but a single dose of aspirin or ibu seems to help the inflammation, and i also lightly rub the exact spot in each elbow where the pain is and a lot of it goes away. but yeah, rest is good, too.

you might find ergonomics when playing that cause less stress on your joints, too.

 

[YosemiteSam]

you might find ergonomics when playing that cause less stress on your joints, too.

Just wanted to amplify this part of the previous post, as it was what I was going to say, too. Depending on where it hurts it may have to do more with style than lifting, or whatever. I've only been playing the double for a short time, but I keep hearing about the importance of arm position because of the threat of tendonitis.

I had back surgery 8 months ago, but was only down from playing for about 6 weeks. Still, at this remove, I get some tenderness and weakness in my arm from playing too much, in the wrong position, or even just being overly tired. Of course being 56 y.o. has something to do with that, too...

-- Sam