Double Bass Trapped nerve in the Right Shoulder.

[David Potts]

One of the down sides to French bow use seems to be the risk of trapping a nerve in your shoulder joint through reducing the space through which the nerve passes. Perhaps this is because you can roll your shoulder forward as part of stretching down with your arm to reach a good contact point on the strings with the bow.

I have done something during the last few days that give me a sharp stab of pain when I lift and rotate my arm through a certain range of motion. This is interfering with the bowing motion at times. Has anyone had similar problems and what have you done about it? Obviously, if it continues I should seek medical advice.

There is no mention of shoulder problems / nerve entrapment in the above Health - related Issues sticky.

DP

 

[bassics1975]

I had something like this some time ago and it is a bother. In my case, I was having a numb sensation in my arm as well and a loss of strength. At first, my bow arm felt foreign as though I was picking it up for the first time (spiccato was very difficult). I laid-off the bass for a while and it seems to have sorted itself out. It may be worthwhile to see your GP and have it evaluated. Often, symptoms can be misleading and there could be an issue unrelated to the shoulder. The neck is a culprit for these sorts of things. Good luck...I hope it sorts itself out.

 

[twhitedc]

I'm not sure of the politics surrounding which practitioners do what work down there, but I'm a chiropractor, and if you waked into my office and told be the above. I would straighten out your spine and make sure the shoulder, ac, sc, and thoraco-scapular joints are where they should be to maintain optimal bio mechanics preventing further undue wear or irritation. Finally i would check the muscles of the shoulder girdle, traps, levator scapulae, serratus anterior and do appropriate muscle release work to help take the pressure off, restore posture, and try to help and asymmetries in muscle tone. Almost all musicians develop odd asymmetric "stuff" from doing different things with different sides, balancing instruments, etc...

either way, I would look for someone who can do some good manual body work, over here going to a gp generally just gets people drugged with pain killers and muscle relaxers. I hope this helps!

Take Care,
Tyler

 

[Violen]

Stop rolling your shoulder down. Bad Posture is Bad. Adjust your bass to sit higher.

 

[chicagodoubler]

There's a huge amount of complaint regarding various overuse syndromes here lately.

1) It's always best to consult with a physician in these matters.

2) Alternative medicine such as Acupuncture/TCM, Chiro, Structural Integration, Alexander, etc have proven track records for dealing with recurring pain, and often solve problems that Western MD's can't.

3) Pain during playing is your body telling you very clearly, in a loud voice, that you're doing something wrong.

We're never too old to develop bad habits. I recently overcame a nasty bout of tendinitis in my left wrist... by correcting an issue in my right arm. Even after 30 years of playing, we could all use a tune up lesson every once in a while, if for no other reason than to avoid/ fix injury.