The wrist of my fretting hand in sitting position... ouch

if you sit down, you shouldn't put the bass in your lap.. that decreases controll over it..

over your right leg is the best.. ( or left leg if you're a lefty ofcoz )

try it.. it releases a lot of strain on your wrists..

 

All the advice I've seen for good technique - i.e. technique that avoids causing injury or problems like this, says that you should have your bass on the strap, so that it is in exactly the same position whether you are sitting down or standing up.

I think that putting undue strain on your wrist for long periods can be dangerous. When playing, your wrist should be as relaxed as possible (so it is in a position that feels natural, rather than requiring effort to maintain) if you want to avoid this sort of strain.

 

Sounds like some sort of nerve compression causing altered sensation to me. May not be carpal tunnel syndrome (which is specific for the median nerve) but there are other nerves innervating the hand through the wrist that may be compressed from bad technique.

Like Bruce said, when you practice, wear the bass exactly like you would if you were gigging - this exercises your hand and arm muscles in the right position, and improves your technique, as well as preventing RSI (repetitive strain injury).

 

I don't know if this will help, but I wear my bass at chest level, and so my hand position is the same if I'm sitting or standing. I'd find it off putting if my hand positions kept moving about.

Also, when I first started I played sitting down pretty much all the time, I then that standing up when I was playing a gig was quite difficult for a while. So it's a good idea to practise standing up too.

I hope everything works out okay with your wrist.

 

Thanks Dr. Mike,

One of the resident Talkbass doctors, mikemulcahy, gave me great advice one time: Before you play or practice, run hot/really warm water over your wrists, hands, and fingers to increase blood flow throughout your hands.

Also, really stretch them before you begin playing. These things can help tremendously.

 

I expect he can afford a stunt double by now!

 

I use a bar stool and a strap. The seat is high enough so that my legs are out of the way. I can sit my tired old butt down, rest my feet a bit and still have the bass hang at it's normal place.

 

That doesn't sound like anything to worry too much about if its just a pain in the wrist. I think I've managed to damage my plucking arm in some way by bending the wrist too much. I was practicing with my band and had to stop as my fingers just locked in position. Now when I play for about an hour or more I get a tingling sensation that runs down the whole of my fore-arm.

If you try to adjust your posture to reduce the angle of both wrists while playing you shouldn't run into any problems.
Thing is I see a lot of bass players playing with a 90 degree angle in the plucking wrist in order to plat perpendicular to the strings.

 

You might want to see a doctor. That sounds like the beginning of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

 

Really? I knew I should have warmed up.

It didn't help that when I did it I was working in an office typing all day so I never had the chance to let it heal. It doesn't happen all the time, only when I dig in and play too hard, but its sudden and comes without warning, gives me a bit of a shock.