Oh Oh Arm pain

[thunderbird13]

I've been playing DB a bit more now but I've just noticed that I an getting a twinge in my left arm tricep, nothing major just enough to give me cause to think. Would anyone know what the cause of it would be, I deliberatly dont use my thumb on the back of the fingerboard and because the pains not lower down past my elbow I'm going to assume that my left hand is OK. So the question is , is this pain just caused by the muscles getting used to being held at a strange angle or am I doing something wrong?I shoud also mention that I have a torn ligament in my left shoulder which restricts my mobility as well

I fully appreciate its only a teacher watching me play could really give an informed decision but I wonder if anyone could give me some pointers in the meantime - has anyone ele expereinced this pain

Suffice to say that if it gets worse I'll stop playing and get medical help !

[BassBus]

I would look at the angle of your wrist. Make sure it is as straight as possible. You could try dropping the height of the bass too. That might with the angle of your wrist.

Might also be worth your while speaking to an osteopath. They can give you advice on how the muscle groups work together which might help.

[danthevan]

RSI would be my guess.
All going to be down to posture etc

[nickbass]

I get a similar pain in my left tricep from a shoulder injury caused by too much practising of the same piece of music. I had a few sessions with a physiotherapist which helped.

[ubassman]

You may have your bass rotated too much into your hip ...causes the elbow to be way out in front of the 'nipple line' ( an imaginary line if you were to 'join the dots' !) .The more the elbow is out to the front , the more the tricep is stretched. Try playing 'air double bass' and get into your playing position - see if you can feel your tricep tighten . You may simply need to pull the elbow back towards the nipple line which will mean the bass won't need to be rotated as much. Hope its as simple as that !

[thisnameistaken]

Could be referred pain from a rotator cuff problem - shoulder impingement. Do you do any weight training?

[thunderbird13]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1367013875' post='2060399']
Could be referred pain from a rotator cuff problem - shoulder impingement. Do you do any weight training?
[/quote]
No weights but I do have a damaged rotator cuff muscle which is missing some cartlidge

[thisnameistaken]

It could well be that. I had a rotator cuff problem last September took a good three months of physio to sort out, the shoulder itself felt OK but I got a lot of pain on my upper arm, right around where the front deltoid and bicep overlap, especially when my arm was extended for long periods. I didn't think it was a shoulder injury but the physio was proved right in the end.

Either way if you're getting pain you should go see your GP in the first instance, but he/she will probably tell you to self refer to physiotherapy. While your crocked shoulder might always be a problem you might find with some extra development of the right muscles you can overcome it enough to stop the pain.