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Damn. Fractured my left shoulder.


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Did the same thing few years ago, even when I got the use of my arm back I stil had to play seated for a while. Lightweight, short scale and headless basses (preferably at least two of those attributes in one instrument) are a help, fortunately I had an Aria Sinsonido and one of the Ibanez parlour acoustics to tide me over. Eventually started gigging with an Ibanez EHB headless, around 3kg and no pressure on my left shoulder whatsoever.

 

So the silver lining is you have a perfectly valid reason to buy at least one new bass.

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My wife slipped over in the kitchen earlier this year and broke her shoulder. The yowl when she hit the stone floor was incredible, like Yoko Ono on steroids or something!

 

I hope you recover soon, best of luck with the healing process 👍

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2 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Did the same thing few years ago, even when I got the use of my arm back I stil had to play seated for a while. Lightweight, short scale and headless basses (preferably at least two of those attributes in one instrument) are a help, fortunately I had an Aria Sinsonido and one of the Ibanez parlour acoustics to tide me over. Eventually started gigging with an Ibanez EHB headless, around 3kg and no pressure on my left shoulder whatsoever.

 

So the silver lining is you have a perfectly valid reason to buy at least one new bass.

It’s a nice idea but I’ll see how much recovery I make in the next week. I can already touch my left hand to my left shoulder so hopefully as the swelling goes down I’ll get mobility back. New bass IS NOT AN OPTION! Worryingly though I play a Dingwall Combustion most of the time so I may end up back on the Stringray for some time…

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20 minutes ago, meterman said:

My wife slipped over in the kitchen earlier this year and broke her shoulder. The yowl when she hit the stone floor was incredible, like Yoko Ono on steroids or something!

 

I hope you recover soon, best of luck with the healing process 👍

I made some very expressive utterances…

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2 hours ago, BigAlonBass said:

Do what the Ancient Chinese used to do...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grit your teeth and keep playing, softy.   😉

I have to be careful not to turn a fracture into to a break!!!

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30 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

A fracture is a break. It's already there.

Well yes. I mean careful not to do any more damage! At the moment it’s in a single piece. I broke my other shoulder before and now I’m part metal !!

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Just now, kwmlondon said:

Well yes. I mean careful not to do any more damage! At the moment it’s in a single piece. I broke my other shoulder before and now I’m part metal !!

 

I set myself back by walking down stairs at night using my phone as a torch so as not to wake the family up. Phone slipped out of my hand and I quickly reached out and caught it with my left hand, was equally surprised at my unusually quick reflexes and the intense pain jolting through my shoulder. All the black bruising came back and I had to go back to the hospital.

 

 

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Ouch!

 

If I can offer any advice it would be to make sure you get a proper amount of physio when it is healed enough to start.  I had an operation on my shoulder where they effectively cut the collar bone away at the joint.  I didn't get any physio, and it has never worked properly since. Shoulders are very complicated and you need to get it working properly not just working.  Good luck.

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You have my sympathy!! Smashed my right shoulder body-boarding in 2001, which ended up fixing itself eventually (sort of). Knew it wasn't good when the x-rays came back and I could see the doctors saying oooh that's not good. Was going to be kept in to have it replaced as the left one was a few years later, but then they had a big RTA come in and there were no beds so I was strapped up and sent back to the campsite by taxi in the middle of the night.

 

Left shoulder was replaced around 20 years ago - the start of many repairs.

 

As Nicko says GET PHYSIO & DO YOUR EXERCISES! My left shoulder works ok but could be better if I had really worked at the exercises (and possibly if the physio hadn't gone slightly easy on me). Getting all the muscles around it generally that hold everything together is also important.

2021-03-19 13.41.23.jpg

 

A GruvGear Duo strap helped out with heavier basses until I got lighter ones I can manage a gig with on a normal strap. Cheaper than a new bass but if you do get the leather strap that runs across the back of the bass between strap buttons for the second strap to loop round. I started with the webbing version but found it not solid enough.

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5 hours ago, WalMan said:

You have my sympathy!! Smashed my right shoulder body-boarding in 2001, which ended up fixing itself eventually (sort of). Knew it wasn't good when the x-rays came back and I could see the doctors saying oooh that's not good. Was going to be kept in to have it replaced as the left one was a few years later, but then they had a big RTA come in and there were no beds so I was strapped up and sent back to the campsite by taxi in the middle of the night.

 

Left shoulder was replaced around 20 years ago - the start of many repairs.

 

As Nicko says GET PHYSIO & DO YOUR EXERCISES! My left shoulder works ok but could be better if I had really worked at the exercises (and possibly if the physio hadn't gone slightly easy on me). Getting all the muscles around it generally that hold everything together is also important.

2021-03-19 13.41.23.jpg

 

A GruvGear Duo strap helped out with heavier basses until I got lighter ones I can manage a gig with on a normal strap. Cheaper than a new bass but if you do get the leather strap that runs across the back of the bass between strap buttons for the second strap to loop round. I started with the webbing version but found it not solid enough.

Thanks for the advice! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update - managed to play the first fret on the 5th string. Got there slowly and not pushing myself but it's a relief to know that I'm on the mend! Gonna take me a while before I'm comfortable around the fretboard but really good to know I'm back on the mend!

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Keep at it. Baby steps and do all your physio!

 

My smashed right shoulder 21 years age knitted, and the replacement of the left a couple of years later is still in and working, so it can be done and all the best.

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