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Top Tendonitis Tips!


leroybasslines
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Hi there!

I did a wedding gig on Saturday. It was a pretty crazy affair: someone had heard the odd folk, jazz, gypsy kazoo-laden quartet I play DB in and decided they'd like to book us to play tunes from the contemporary hit parade. We did as we were told/paid and cracked out hits by Katy Perry, Marron 5, Justin Timberlake and the like in a fun acoustic way. It was a great laugh to be fair.

However, during the gig I was nearly paralysed with intense pain in my right (plucking) wrist. I had to limp my way through the second set and couldn't really play the way I wanted to. The pain was as bad the next day and is only now starting to ease off. I'm guessing it's the dreaded tendonitis. I've been away most of the summer and not playing as often as I usually do and went into the gig cold...I'm guessing my right hand just wasn't ready and the intensity of recreating driving pop rock basslines on the double bass didn't help.

I suppose I'm getting to the age where I'll have to do warm ups/downs, having got by solely on bravado, alcohol and enthusiasm as a younger man.

Does anyone have any tips or exercises they'd like to share to minimise the risks and effects of tendonitis? How about set up? I play with a set of Spirocore Mittels which are pretty high tension...I love the big sound and the volume I can get from them but maybe it's time to compromise with what my body can deal with...

Any recommendations for a musician-friendly physio in the Bristol area would be good too...

Thanks!
Liam

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I suffered elbow and shoulder problems. After some good rest and physio treatment which relieved it, I found exercise to be a big factor in keeping away injury. I do kettle bell exercise and various other things to keep a certain level of strength and that seems to be working. Like yourself, I'm getting on in years and approach playing differently now, more finesse than brute force. Ironically, I've just switched to Mittels from lower tension strings as I find I can draw more sound from them with less energy so maybe it's just a new approach that you should look at. Good luck and I hope you solve your issue.

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Ouch! Tendonitis can be a very painful ailment
Re lessons - maybe some lessons would help, as someone suggested
I can personally vouch for Greg Cordez, who is in Bristol,
and a really great guy. I'm sure he will have come across this before....

And yes, go to see a registered practitioner - that's the best advice

I used to get tendonitis, playing Bass Guitar in a Ramones tribute
Which isn't an age-friendly way to play, I can assure you

Have you tried Voltarol Emulgel?
It's the best anti-inflammatory gel there is.... by a long way

Of course, you must read the directions, and take care NOT to take any other anti-inflammatories, like Ibuprophen
and it is only to be used for a short period of time, without consulting your GP
But it might prove useful, if you have another gig, and are worried about this happening again... certainly as a quick-fix

However, as I've said, a consultation with registered practitioner is the best way forward...

Like the sound of your band - interesting
Good luck sorting the tendonitis

Marc

Edited by Marc S
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Although technique will be equally as important as setup, I found that Spiro Mittels were not very forgiving if I'd spent a week or two away from practising (due to holidays or being busy on other instruments). If you're able to practice every day they can be great though! Spiro Weichs are a little friendlier in that respect and easier to come back to after a break.

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How long have you been playing? I have had trouble in the past, but rarely have tendonitis/RSI these days, probably due to a long history of gradually refining my technique and not playing when pain occurs (not helpful on a gig though!). I have more recently had problems with my back/shoulders, which Alexander technique definitely helped with. You might find that some alexander lessons would help with identifying unnecessary strain that you might be making (for me, I was overly tense in my face, which meant my entire body tensed up quite a lot)

It could well be that the length of the gig, plus possibly the volume at which you were playing, was wearing you out. I personally find that anything repetitive (like riffs that would be easy on the bass guitar) can be quite fatiguing on the double bass, so I tend to try and come up with variations to use different muscles.

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I've had a lot of tendonitis / RSI problems in my life sadly... mostly in finger tendons.

These gloves have been great for me : [url="http://www.thermoskin.com/wristGloves_end.html"]http://www.thermoski...Gloves_end.html[/url] - got a pair about 3 months ago... they keep your hands warm, so I wear them when travelling to rehearsals or when my RSI is causing issues - heat increases blood flow, which helps your body repair faster (something I've learnt from various physio's over the years). Avoid your hands getting cold, wear long sleeves & try running your hands / affected area under hot water before practise. If no hot water, put your bad hand / wrist under your arm pit.

I thought some of the RSI healing claims about the gloves was nonsense - but they worked for me & continue to do so !

Edited by Paul Galbraith
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[quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1409745923' post='2542877']
It could well be that the length of the gig, plus possibly the volume at which you were playing, was wearing you out. I personally find that anything repetitive (like riffs that would be easy on the bass guitar) can be quite fatiguing on the double bass, so I tend to try and come up with variations to use different muscles.
[/quote]

I think you've hit the nail on the head here! Wedding gigs are long, and the set was intense - lots of pop hooks and riffs that are very bass driven.

Thanks chaps. Lots of really useful info here! I think technique has a big part to play in this: I've played electric bass all my life but only started on upright about 5 or 6 years ago. I don't have any serious problems playing electric (touch wood!) but definitely do when playing DB. When I'm concentrating and the music is more DB friendly, I can usually maintain average technique and not get too many problems. But if I'm doing a long recording session or the music is more physically demanding, I definitely feel my right (plucking) hand tightening up. It's almost as though I'm playing through the string using brute force from the hand and wrist rather than letting the weight of my arm pull my finger through. Playing in louder situations doesn't help: I definitely unconsciously play harder to try and hear myself in the mayhem.

I think a lesson or two is a great place to start: I've been meaning to have a lesson from Greg for years but have never got around to it. Time to stop blagging it!

If I start with looking at technique, taking more care to prepare my body for playing and perhaps get a set of weichs on to compare to mittels (xmas is coming!) I'm pretty confident all will be well.

I think I'll always favour playing electric over DB (I'm definitely better at it!) and if it gets too much I'll have to put the DB to one side, but I hope it doesn't come to that for a long time! I love the variety of gigs you can get playing both...

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement! The band, by the way, is called Ahbub Mahboubi (no...really it is!) and we have an album coming out soon...on vinyl; they do nothing straightforwardly! I'll post some tracks on here for anyone who's interested. And then you can hear my poor technique for yourselves!

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A lot of electric bass parts in pop music are really difficult on double bass - doing repeating 1-3-5 patterns in the low positions with a lot of plucked notes per bar is hard work and it will wear you out doing it for 3/4 minutes at a time. That sort of thing doesn't usually sound very good on the DB either IME, so if I was doing your gig I'd try to adjust the parts to make them more appropriate for the instrument while approximating the feel of the original. Certainly I wouldn't play your average disco bass line on DB.

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Thanks for your continuing tips and advice. I went for a lesson with Greg Cordez today - the first lesson I've had on either double or single bass ever - and he took me right back to basic stuff. It seems that loads of my problem comes from the set up of my bass (action, strings etc. Greg got me to play his bass and it was totally different, it just wanted to be played whereas mine needs 'persuading') and the fundamentals of how I'm playing. I'm making loads of mistakes in transferring electric bass techniques directly on to upright. He's given me some simple exercises to get into, 5/10mins a day to try and reprogramme my hands. I'm going to give them a good go, go back and see him and see how it goes. I'm pretty excited though: it's great to get some expert guidance and know that I can probably avoid this problem in future. Don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

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