Wrist problems + Ulnar nerve irritation

I would try lowering the height to where the main body of the bass is roughly at belt buckle height.

 

I have atrophy of the ulner nerve in the left arm.
It severely affects the pinkie & ring finger. Pain & stiffness.
The shoulder & shoulder blade also. I have been playing for many years.
Make sure you see a doctor & follow thru on recommendations.
As far as the bass position see a good guitar teacher & learn the proper technique
of holding /wearing an axe.

 

Yeah, from the vids it looks like you're playing in a way that'll put pressure on those nerves.

Try these from TB'er Havic5 on 'The Neutral Position':—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRkSsapYYsA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYuqTsUlyM

Also have a look at the videos on Fergie Fulton's site:—

http://fergiefulton.co.uk/health.php

Hopefully that'll do the trick for you. Still go see the doc though, & maybe take your bass with you so that they can actually see the problem up close & in context.

P.

 

The only way to "unbend" ur wrists r to put the fretboard at a more vertical angle(probably what the poster had in mind by lowering the body). James jamerson played this way and it is the classical tought way...similar to playing an upright style. You could also bring the bass up real high(think about holding it under ur chin) to take some bend out but it looks pretty dorky onstage. You have good left hand form and since u cover 4 frets with 4 fingers ....it spreads ur hands out and contorts ur wrists. Some bassists play with alot straighter wrist angle and almost wrap their thumb over the top and use multiple fingers to depress the strings. That kind of form is considered "sloppy" but it is worth considering on easier passages where hand position changes won't affect the riff. John paul jones, steve harris...many bassist play this way where they move their left hand alot more vs covering all the real estate in one hand position with ur hands all spread apart and wrists contorted. I personally used to play everything with your kind of "jacoesque" left hand position but as I got out older and started dealing with the pain issues as you have I have kind of "hybrided" my style to use both...only using the hand ultra spreadout-contorted wrist style when I have a fast passage that won't allow me to make a position shift without wrecking the lick. Hope this helps and keep on rockin....I liked the video!

 

No problem. Look at pacmans hand position in his avatar above me...now if he were to spread his fingers out real wide to cover alot of the fretboard he would have to contort his wrist more to get them to touch the fretboard. U can cover 3 frets on a bass with a real comfortable hand position using fingers 1,2, and 4 and Iam pedaling a note for awhile in the first position I may use my first 2 fingers to hold the note. Only spread those fingers apart when u HAVE TO...remember economy of motion. Give it a try.

 

Also...most riffs can be played in the first position covering just the first 3 frets and using the open strings and playing across ur fret board and using the g string more. E minor, G major(same scale different starting point), A minor. ..alot of popular music written can be played in this position. ..use those open strings as ur criends in riffs! Take "the ocean" zep riff. ..we all know it but 99% of the people start it out at octave G at the 5th fret and hammerin on to octave A at the 7th fret and playin 2 hand positions for the passage...instead strike the g string and hammer on the A(2nd fret) and play all the riff using all 3 strings instead...it will feel weird at first cuz u have developed muscle memory doing it the other way but after awhile u will b thinking man this is the way to go....u never have to move ur hand positiin and only need to cover 3 frets!! Economy of motion and u will be playin w/o pain for a long career. I have 2 bass playin friends who r only in their late 40s who used to both be in prominent rock bands who can't hardly even play anymore because of arthritis and carpel tunnel brought on by using the contorted wrist/spreadout finger technique along with having their bass ridin real low holding the necks horizontal like nikki sixx to look cool....live to play another day and revamp ur style before u make matters worse...

 

I think you will find that lowering and paralleling to the ground will make it more painful long run. Someone mentioned upright bass - I started there and one thing about it is your arm and wrist end up very straight since you are supposed to keep your elbow up and limber. My suggestion is raise the bass but mainly - raise your elbow. This will naturally take the bend out of your wrist.

I play a 5 string and consider it a hand saver, since I can play more passages in extremely comfortable mid-neck positions which by nature straighten the wrist. Basses with a longer upper horn are naturally more to the right balance-wise, pulling the lower frets toward you.

Good luck with it brother - B vitamins are good for nerve issues(particularly B12), maybe a little working out to increase muscle-balancing and decrease tension. I had ulnar nerve damage from getting hit by a truck....couldn't feel my fingers for a few weeks. Scary stuff. Seeing the dr. is a good idea - many of us either feel relieved or decide to really get with a program once we see the pros.

 

Yeah...read my post carefully and I said neck vertical to the ground like an upright bass. My other post said I have 2 friends who have pain/nerve issues holding the neck low rider horizontal position like nikki sixx...which isnt close to a good idea. Maybe op MEANT vertical...hopefully.

 

Well there are a couple of reasons that works for Getty, I think.
1.He's very thin so the bass body and neck are naturally rotated BACK - his wrist doesn't have to bend as far.
2.He keeps his elbow out pretty good, as I suggested - just 6" out from your rib cage makes a huge difference.

Google images of Getty and you will see that except for money shots where he is looking over his right shoulder at a camera or such, he frequently leans his upper body in toward the headstock, which is the same effect as bringing the neck up more vertical - for a person who spends more time upright.

DIfferent folks have different body shape (and different bass bodies to contend with). I'm hoping you find more comfort so you can play for as long as you want.

Hey, look how Robert Trujillo does it.

 

Hi
Some observations based on my own findings , reading, self observation and problem solving in the last 6/7 years while learning this badass instrument .
I just checked your vid and from what I can see you've got a
lazy elbow...lift it when going down to low F territory
You are flapping your fingers LH,reduce finger movement to ...Think 1mm from strings ,
Use the fingertips more on the fast stuff and rethink your finger-choice ,weak fingers can be strengthened .
You need to turn your LH hand towards the other one more ...lay 3LH fingers on the Fbd Thumb in the middle ...that's the position you need
Thumb always in the middle of the fretboard and fingers slightly bent like there's a pencil in between them and the strings
Rotate your hand more when changing strings and moving towards the E-string ...the fingers are moving and your wrist is NOT rotating ...improves reach (strength issue )
The Bass neck should NOT be nestling in the joint between your thumb and forefinger at any time.This could be to stop neck-dive ?
Thumb and forefinger move in unison along the neck ...best buddies
Lift your thumb sometimes when playing , make it habitual ,to reduce tension .This joint is not as advanced as the rest of our hand by a couple of million years .Be nice to it !
Do chromatic exercises to get the right hand position from low F up to 12fret and beyond into the dusty end on ALL strings start with 40 bpm .Yeah man !!!
Try playing this Song without your thumb that'll straighten your claw-hand !Pronto.
I suspect you were or are having endurance problems and your hand gave out on you and because of the pain you readjusted... badly .Do exercises to strengthen your LH pinky and the finger next to it while keeping the fingers bent NOT STRAIGHT .This also reduce tension on the back of your hand.
Use a mirror when you practice at home and monitor your hand ALL the time until it's straightened cuz if you've got a 2 hr show you're not going to last .
There's nothing drastic there that you can't change ,actually being aware is the first step,and consciously working in the proper direction step 2. Depends how much you practice and consciously avoid bad habits .It means re-educating your hand and strengthening the minute muscles that up to now have been seldom used .
If you are going to see a Doc go to someone who specializes in Stringed instrument players ...ask at your local /City orchestra ,they must have their "man". Doctors will just give you pills ,they don't know sh!t about this .
As to the height of the strap it's all dependent on the above .You've got it at a functional not optimum height which could change when you start the reeducating of your hand , so I won't comment on that .
That's all I can offer. I'm saying all this respectfully.
G'Luck

 

My experience is that numbness in the pinky does correlate to the ulnar nerve, but it's compression at the elbow, not the wrist, that is the problem. It could be caused by playing posture, but other contributing factors could be bending your elbows at other times (including sleep) or putting pressure on the elbow by leaning on surfaces (like a desk or car door, etc).

I did at one point have some tingling in my pinky while playing, but I focused on keeping my elbow at 90 degrees or more. I also took the stress off the never where it goes through the elbow by wearing a brace at night and not leaning on it while on my computer or while driving. This has really helped.

But a consultation with your doctor is necessary. These are just ideas to think about and discuss during your dr. visit.