Epicondylitis and bass playing advice

[necrobacker]

hi all,
so 2 months after getting my first rickenbacker 4003, i got diagnosed with golfers elbow ( or epicondylitis).

rest, a selection of straps, ice and anti inflammetries have been prescribed (4 weeks ago

has anyone had this before and can they offer any advice/words of wisdom?

tried playing yesterday, and encountered the same stiffness in my ring finge and pain in my wrist and elbow i experienced before.......seems like its taking a loooooooooooooong time to heal.....

[teeder]

I was having tendonitis issues with my wrist / fingers and ended up switching almost 100% to playing with a pick and haven't had a problem since.

[edski]

I've had it in my right elbow once (from actually playing tennis - only time I had it from tennis), and my left elbow had it from playing guitar.

I'm not sure how I got it from guitar - I had played that guitar a long time prior, and a long time since. I might have injured the elbow and a lot of guitar playing irritated it?

You pretty much have the treatment regiment down - the biggest thing is rest. Tendinitis is a misnomer. The tendons don't have the capacity to get inflamed. What happens is the tendon sheath gets many, many micro-tears, and it just takes a bit of time to heal. If I recall the guitar impacted episode took a couple months to get better, probably at least a few weeks of no playing at all.

The tennis injury was easier to recover from, mainly because I did not let it go that long before I shut down playing and got that racquet restrung to a lower tension (but wow, that stick was peppy at 60 lbs! Just would have wrecked my arm if I played a couple more times with it that way). I took a month of from playing tennis, and was OK when I started back up.

HTH

[Ashgray]

I'm not sure my experience is related but post it here in case it's helpful...

I used to have a severe problem at gigs where the fingers of my left hand would cramp up, causing me a few embarrassing moments as I was unable to play for short periods as I couldn't unbend my finger joints! It turned out that the problem was caused by excessive smoking before the gig.

I don't normally smoke unless I'm playing but to cope with the adrenaline rush prior to gigs, I'd gotten into the habit of chain-smoking cigars - according to my doctor, this led to a constriction of the blood vessels in my hands, which were obviously hard at work during the gig. The combination of restricted blood flow and the need to pump oxygenated blood into the hand and finger muscles that were working to play the bass caused the problem.

I've cut back on tobacco before gigs and the problem has disappeared.

Ash

[teeder]

I used to get the cramping problem with my left hand when I used to play my Ja$$ Bass. It rarely happens now with the Ricks.

[RickyBubba]

See if the Doc will send you for some physical therapy. That can do wonders for many ailments….

[spongebob]

I'm not sure my experience is related but post it here in case it's helpful...

I used to have a severe problem at gigs where the fingers of my left hand would cramp up, causing me a few embarrassing moments as I was unable to play for short periods as I couldn't unbend my finger joints! It turned out that the problem was caused by excessive smoking before the gig.

I don't normally smoke unless I'm playing but to cope with the adrenaline rush prior to gigs, I'd gotten into the habit of chain-smoking cigars - according to my doctor, this led to a constriction of the blood vessels in my hands, which were obviously hard at work during the gig. The combination of restricted blood flow and the need to pump oxygenated blood into the hand and finger muscles that were working to play the bass caused the problem.

I've cut back on tobacco before gigs and the problem has disappeared.

Ash

I just love that you are called Ash!

[woodyng]

I used to have a severe problem at gigs where the fingers of my left hand would cramp up, causing me a few embarrassing moments as I was unable to play for short periods as I couldn't unbend my finger joints! It turned out that the problem was caused by excessive smoking before the gig.
I don't normally smoke unless I'm playing but to cope with the adrenaline rush prior to gigs, I'd gotten into the habit of chain-smoking cigars - according to my doctor, this led to a constriction of the blood vessels in my hands, which were obviously hard at work during the gig. The combination of restricted blood flow and the need to pump oxygenated blood into the hand and finger muscles that were working to play the bass caused the problem.
Ash

I have had the same thing happen to either of my hands while playing,(it's like you suddenly have webbed hands,and no fun!) and i used to also have some recurring cramps in my feet and calves. I do not smoke,and consume only moderate amounts of alcohol. My doc suggested i add potassium and magnesium supplements to my diet,and now rarely have an incident anymore.

[jps]

I used to get the cramping problem with my left hand when I used to play my Ja$$ Bass. It rarely happens now with the Ricks.

Does this mean you'll sell it to me cheap?

Once in a while I will get a slight numbing of my fretting hand thumb, haven't tracked down the actual cause but, as Kevin noted, it may be due to skinny necks, as in narrow nuts. It has not occurred in quite a while so that may be why, since I no longer have those types of necks except the Yamaha BX-1 which I rarely play these days.

[edski]

Had trigger finger happen once on my left hand - read about magnesium after that. But it was on my Jazz bass...which is probably the reason that J is going to get a P-bass replacement neck sometime in the future.

[chromium]

For years I had struggled with carpal tunnel in both hands. Not quite the same as epicondylitis, but in the ballpark (I was tested for that too). My thumb, index, and ring fingers would go numb, tingle, and gigging was painful. Ended up with a decent spread of short scale basses, though, as that seemed to help

I went thru the braces, cortisone shots, etc... Eventually had the surgery - one hand at a time. That relieved the symptoms mentioned above, but then the side effect of it was a noticeable loss in grip strength (manifesting as a strange discomfort, especially in fretting hand). Overall, I'd say that I'm not real great about going to the doctor, but what I came to realize is that physical therapy (mentioned above) is a huge part of the recovery. After doing some exercises to help the side effects, it has gotten MUCH better.

I'd recommend following your doc's treatment plan. If one thing doesn't work, go on to the next... keep on it. It's a pain and inconvenience, but worth it in the long run.

Good luck!

[antonius]

Chris,

If it still hurts or is stiff, I'd recommend just resting completely and letting it heal, and then, if you get any signs of it happening again, have a think about altering your posture and playing technique and see if you can find a more relaxed way of playing with the minimum of stress and tension.

I once started getting horrible pains in my right wrist. I'd heard about what can happen if you ignore it so I took it seriously. I just stopped playing for a few weeks until it went away and then I de-constructed my whole approach to playing, analysed what I was doing 'wrong', had a look at all the different techniques the teachers recommend, and changed how I play. I've never had a problem since.

Hope you recover soon!

[LONNIE4003]

october 13 i had surgery for a "massive" rotator cuff tear in my left shoulder. had to heal for a month then start physical therapy. couldn't even pic up my ric for two months, so i feel your pain. lots of rest is a must but you should get some physical therapy as well. by the was i'm back to playing now. not yet 100%, but i'll get there and you well too.

[necrobacker]

thanks for all the advice and support!

yeah im currently resting it and taking anti inflammetries. kinda hard to when im infront of a computer all day at work, but im managing it by alternating hands. also have 2weeks off in 2days time = more rest, huzzah!!)

it feels liek its getting better. the pain in my wrist and forearm have virtually gone. although i can still see/feel the swollen nerve under my elbow.

for the record, playing bass (a fender jazz bass for the last 18months, and a bc rich before that)was only part of the issue. bad posture when playing games on my pc was probably the biggest culprit as i was using the arm of my chair as a mouse, and my elbow was always rubbing against said arm chair.

luckily, my band is on hiatus at the moment as we are finding a new singer and drummer so im not being forced to play.

wont be long till im playing my rickenbacker again!! (hopefully the start of 2014)

[wints]

You pretty much have the treatment regiment down - the biggest thing is rest. Tendinitis is a misnomer. The tendons don't have the capacity to get inflamed. What happens is the tendon sheath gets many, many micro-tears, and it just takes a bit of time to heal. If I recall the guitar impacted episode took a couple months to get better, probably at least a few weeks of no playing at all.

Exactly. Rest, rest...and then rest some more. Try and reduce and/or remove the cause, which can be more than one thing, but there's usually a catalyst and that's what you have to stop.