Hi all, my fingers and hands can go all day, it’s my left shoulder that feels the strain, more like fatigue. I had it replaced in '09 but hasn’t been a problem. Just wondering if my shoulder is having a case of being terminally unique or I’m in good company.
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Mine gets achy from time to time.
Many muscles to work plucking 4 strings.
Mind posture, it helps.
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yeah, I catch myself mid slump, good point.
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I agree with @John_E regarding posture. Try your best to stand as erect as possible. Also, the strain of trying to pluck and fret properly causes tension in various parts of the body, so you are likely to feel stress in different places, particularly if you have had surgery there previously. Lastly, I recommend using a nice wide and padded strap, which will make a huge difference.
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Bob and Brad are actual physical therapists, and have a LOT of videos for whatever ails you, PT-wise. While I haven’t tried any of their shoulder exercises (yet) myself, I have used some of their videos for other trouble spots with success.
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Was just looking into them, have a cheap narrow-is nylon strap right now.
Thanks!
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OH MAN! Excellent, thanks for that info!
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Well, it’s a topic which has several postings on our forum with different solutions, if posture doesn’t help enough. Have a look for example at Backpain & shoulderpain, different solutions:
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Thanks for the link to the other thread! Really appreciate how helpful everyone is here.
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Well, you know, yeah… … … we’re bassist, bassplayers, lowenders, to be called a few names… … … 
just on route to or have made it to BAB.
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That’s right! They hate to watch us leave but they love watch us walk. 
@GunnyAlki to be honest having some exercise and stretching helps a lot. As well as taking small breaks while you jam/practice.
You don’t have to play for an hour straight without any rests at all like a loop pedal either. When I start to slouch then it’s time for that small break. Lightning won’t come crashing upon my head if I put the bass aside for just a second.
Used to get some ugly back pain when playing too long while I was mostly stationary & not exercising for like weeks. But it seems you have to do some physical therapy type exercises because of your replaced shoulder.
Your posture & play style will play into how you feel too. So try tilting the bass neck upwards a bit and see if that helps. I find it leaned on my left leg & wedged in muh crotch with my back straight to be the best way for me to play personally.
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Ummm… How do you do that? I can’t picture it?
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Basically like this except I slide bASS into my crotch a little more than him.
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Oh okay, so you play while sitting. That explains it.
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Most of the time I play standing, but when sitting down, I use this “classical” posture as it seems the best one for ergonomics and whole session longevity.
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Yeah most the time. When I stand up I still tilt it up higher at a diagonal angle instead of having it more perpendicular with the ground. So it’s basically what I do when I’m sitting but I just transfer it to standing.
My back hurts more then I have the neck more flat than vertical especially when I have to hit lower notes and extend my arm out instead of sliding up more comfortably.
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When I play on my right leg, my right shoulder pulls from the front of my delt and it just causes a ton of pain early on and I probably can’t even jam for 15 minutes with that posture because my elbow ends up higher than I want it.
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I play standing. A wide strap is probably the best thing you can do but I also move my body and the position of my bass a lot.
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@Gorch I do exactly the same thing. I move so much it almost looks like I’m dancing with my bass. My strap is 4.5 inches. It really helps a great deal.
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I just got a wide 3.5" or so padded leather strap, so much better!
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