Anyone else suffer with this? I’ve been playing for 2 months, roughly 3 times a week for 45mins to one hour.
In the last few weeks my left elbow (fretting hand) has been in pain. If I pick up the guitar, after 30 mins or so my elbow is really stiff. When not playing it’s still sore most of the time.
Does anyone know how I can recover? It’s getting in the way of my enjoyment of the bass and B2B course!
I’ve had that with my elbows, wrists, fingertips and more. Only thing you can do is take some anti-inflammatory meds (Advil, Alleve, etc) and let it heal.
Had to do it a couple weeks ago when I hurt my wrist saving a puppy from a band of demon ninjas…and not from sleeping on it wrong. It was the ninjas. Seriously. That other thing would be so lame. Can you imagine?
Either way a couple days off every now and then, believe it or not, will actually improve your playing.
It will come and go.
Try adjusting your strap height, you might not be in a position your elbow likes.
Don’t play through pain, but some mild discomfort after playing is part of the game until you build up stamina in the muscles needed.
But, ergos matter - a lot.
Yeah, take it easy and don’t play as much until it starts to feel better again.
Also, try applying an ice pack to your elbow as well as taking NSAIDs. These two things, plus laying out for a few days, should do the trick.
And, when you do play again, experiment with how you hold the bass. There should be a comfortable height/angle that works for you.
You want to ice your elbow for 20 minutes, then at least 40 minutes off to let it warm up. You can get a tennis elbow strap to help alleviate the pressure on the tendon. Do some light stretching before and after practice. You can also go see a doctor for a cortisone injection. You also need to google strengthening exercises to build the muscle back up so you don’t strain it again…
You’re doing something new so you have to give the muscle and tendon a chance to strengthen.
I don’t recommend getting a cortisone injection. The newest studies point towards it helping for two weeks or so, then it comes back and the recovery all in all will take longer.
There are two phases to a tennis elbow: The first acute phase, where you should rest it as much as you can. Ideally, it is over then. The second phase is chronical. In that phase, resting is not the best option, you should do excercises to strengthen the muscles.
The best exercise for me was to use a, I don’t know what it is called in English, the bar of a dumbell? The short ones you use for curls.
You take that at one end and hold it horizontal in your hand, so it points to the right. Then you rotate your wrist so the other end moves to the left. Do that 20 times, repeat on other hand. You can do 3 rounds or so. Works very well while watching TV.
With all strengthening exercises it is important to not power through the pain. Slight dicomfort is okay, but you shouldn’t go through pain doing the exercises.
I’ve had tennis elbow a few times but from overuse lifting in the gym not playing bass. What worked best for me was exercises with a Theraband resistance bar, works for both tennis and golfers’ elbow. Available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000KGOMBC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Three different ones available depending on resistance level required. The green is enough for most people. Red if you have tiny hands and not much grip strength. Unless you have forearms like Popeye and the grip of a hydraulic vice, you won’t need the blue one.
Also, I’ve found that applying ice to the affected area a couple of times a day can help immensely.
Personally, and this is only my opinion so doesn’t count for much, I’d avoid the likes of Ibuprofen or pain killers, unless the pain is unbearable. My reasoning is that they mask the symptoms and that’s not ideal; that then encourages you to carry on as normal and possibly end up making the situation worse.
Thanks for all the advice guys. I’ve experimented with the strap length and I think previously I had the bass a little too close to my chest. I’ve lowered it a little and not getting half as much pain in my arm now.
Have a great new year!