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Double Bass Tennis elbow

T

Thermaloverload

Mar 31, 2012
4
0
#1
I picked up a Stagg EUB a couple of weeks ago and have been playing with it for a good hour or two every night. The problem is I'm getting some serious tennis elbow.
This is my first time with an upright I usually play guitar a bit of lap steel and sitar, none of which has ever given me any arm problems.
Is this a common thing that will just ease off as I get more used to the new playing position or an I doing something fundamentally wrong.
 
#2
Maybe play shorter or with longer rests in between.
Use the body separator/spacer and don't hold the neck too close to your body. Study some YouTube videos for the correct arm position.
The factory Stagg strings are really soft for a DB player. You may also adjust your plucking to DB jazz style (using the left side of the index finger over the first knuckle).

Which arm makes problems the plucking/bowing one or the fingering one (or both)?
 
#6
You need to approach playing EUB as an upright bass - the set up, string choice, string height, left arm/wrist position is the same technique as an upright bass. As a beginner you need light gauge/tension strings and lower string height. You would benefit from taking lessons from an upright teacher. If you don't address all these factors you could be in for a more serious injury.
 
#7
Tennis elbow will not go away without 6-8 weeks of rest and/or tendon exercises. Cold packs help inflammation subside, but once you have TE, you will only aggravate it by continuing to play. I now wear a forearm brace whenever I practice. This compresses the forearm tendons so not to overwork them. The only time I don't wear it is when I gig. So far, so good. I haven't had TE in over a year and a half.
 
#11
Pay careful attention to the position of your wrist.

Tennis elbow is caused by the wrist being excessively extended (bent backwards) excessively often.

Having the wrist in a more neutral / straighter position will help calm down the muscles on the outside of your elbow (where you have pain).

Some gentle stretching for those forearm muscles would help too.

Don't get too caught up in ice / anti-inflammatories. Tennis elbow is a degenerative issue i.e. it is NOT inflammatory.

A strap can help but it's not fixing the cause of the issue, which is how your wrist and elbow are moving.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you want more info.
 
#14
baileyboy said:
Tennis elbow will not go away without 6-8 weeks of rest and/or tendon exercises. Cold packs help inflammation subside, but once you have TE, you will only aggravate it by continuing to play. I now wear a forearm brace whenever I practice. This compresses the forearm tendons so not to overwork them. The only time I don't wear it is when I gig. So far, so good.
Click to expand...

Same here except I wear the brace when gigging too.
 
#15
Tennis Elbow / Lateral epicondylitis absolutely can and usually is inflammatory in the early stages. Like any other inflammatory condition, the longer it persists the more likely there is to be degenerative bony changes. In my Chiropractic Practice, I've had a lot of positive results working to release the Brachioradialis muscle and subsequent tendon to help ease the pain and tension of the affected elbow. You can do some stretches to loosen said muscle by doing movement's like [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] You should expect to feel some tightness/ stretch in the the top of the forearm near the elbow.

I see a lot of musicians will all sorts of over development/ and prolonged tightness as a result of their playing techniques Biomechanics, posture, and habits. I think the above posters are right, better technique should help fix the problem, but hopefully the symptoms ease up a bit. Feel free to message me with questions. I can try to give you some more stuff to do, but sometimes these things are hard to describe in words.

Take Care!
 
#16
twhitedc said:
Tennis Elbow / Lateral epicondylitis absolutely can and usually is inflammatory in the early stages. Like any other inflammatory condition, the longer it persists the more likely there is to be degenerative bony changes. In my Chiropractic Practice, I've had a lot of positive results working to release the Brachioradialis muscle and subsequent tendon to help ease the pain and tension of the affected elbow. You can do some stretches to loosen said muscle by doing movement's like [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] You should expect to feel some tightness/ stretch in the the top of the forearm near the elbow.

I see a lot of musicians will all sorts of over development/ and prolonged tightness as a result of their playing techniques Biomechanics, posture, and habits. I think the above posters are right, better technique should help fix the problem, but hopefully the symptoms ease up a bit. Feel free to message me with questions. I can try to give you some more stuff to do, but sometimes these things are hard to describe in words.

Take Care!
Click to expand...

The brachioradialis isn't implicated in tennis elbow. It's the extensor carpi radialis brevis. This is why this is the muscle that's surgically operated on when surgery is warranted. Not the brachioradialis.

The brachioradialis doesn't even connect to the outside of the elbow, which is where people have tennis elbow pain. The extensor carpi radialis brevis (and ECRL and ED) does though.

Your success "releasing" the brachioradialis was probably you concurrently "releasing" the ECRB and ECRL accidentally.

If tennis elbow was an inflammatory condition cortisone shots would be beneficial for it. But they aren't. In fact, they can be detrimental because they potentially degrade an already degraded tendon. See here: Invalid Link Removed
 
#17
To give an update the problem still exists, in fact it has got worse. Opening a packet of cereals is now too painful (the plastic inner, not the box).

I did use an arm brace for two weeks but no joy. So I haven't touched the bass for two or thee weeks now. I have a feeling this was not started by playing, but first noticed when playing.

My trade is toolmaking so using some machinery requires repetitive movements of my left arm\hand. I,m fairly sure that was the cause, it just coinsided with getting the bass.

Anyway I've just got back from the doctors and he has given me a script for anti-inflammatory gel to see if that eases things. It just so happens that I'm on holiday next week so I have the chance to give the arm a full rest and see what happens. Problem is the bass is is just standing there and I'm desperate to have a bash on it. Still if its worth waiting for (and it bloody well is) I'll have to wait.
 

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