cocco Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 (edited) Had a scary moment today. I'm suffering from a little tendonitis recently and I noticed the pain was pretty bad playing the blues scale (my go to scale) on the first 5 positions of my P-bass. Anyone else suffer from tendonitis? It's not as if I can even change my technique to help. Would playing a short scale bass help? I'm really worried about this. Help! Edited August 29, 2013 by cocco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Time to see a chiropractor /physio . I have tendinitis in 1 knee. Not too bad. But there are others a lot worse off .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1377806575' post='2192236'] It's not as if I can even change my technique to help. [/quote] Why not ? Perhaps your technique is the cause of this problem. As a matter of curiosity, do you use the "one finger per fret" on frets 1-5 ? If so, this could be a possible reason for your problem. Tendonitis can take quite a while to manifest itself. My advice FWIW....do as "ray against the machine" says, i.e see a chiropractor /physio, and rest up for a while. When you get the OK to play again, revisit your technique. Hope you are back to painless playing soon. Bear in mind that this may not be bass related, but that playing the bass aggravates the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Has the pain been diagnosed as tendonitis ? if yes, what advice was given by the person that diagnosed the problem ? if it hasn't been diagnosed, are you sure it's tendonitis and not something else ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I have it. Left wrist. Properly diagnosed. Shorten your strap. Angle the bass so as you look across at the headstock it is at eye level. Lower the action. Don't press too hard. Ice Ibuprofen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Ibuprofen gel, physiotherapy and acupuncture. Worked for me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Think I might try acupuncture actually. It's the only thing barring steroid injection or surgery that I've not tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Anti-inflammatories and rest. Only thing that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 You see, for me it's the "rest" part that I can't do. Teaching and playing is my job.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Try BAPAM - they know what to do with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 [quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1377812315' post='2192376'] Think I might try acupuncture actually. It's the only thing barring steroid injection or surgery that I've not tried. [/quote] Save your money. I'm sure you can find other imaginary treatments for free that would be just as effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Couple of threads on this previously so search around. I would add to the above: [list] [*]Methodical posture and bass position - avoid sharp wrist angles [*]Hydration - have a bottle of water on the go pretty much all day [*]Cod liver oil & Glucosamine [/list] Agree with formal medical diagnosis although this can be a tortuous process if mis-diagnosed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1377885667' post='2193298'] Save your money. I'm sure you can find other imaginary treatments for free that would be just as effective. [/quote] King bollocks. 90% of my bass playing (a percentage that increases annually) is testament to the fact that it worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 (edited) [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1377888213' post='2193345'] King bollocks. 90% of my bass playing (a percentage that increases annually) is testament to the fact that it worked for me. [/quote] I didn't say it wouldn't work, there's a very well recognised mechanism behind the way it works when it does. But there are other, cheaper/free, treatments that work using the same mechanism. Edited August 30, 2013 by KingBollock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randythoades Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 (edited) [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1377806575' post='2192236'] Had a scary moment today. I'm suffering from a little tendonitis recently and I noticed the pain was pretty bad playing the blues scale (my go to scale) on the first 5 positions of my P-bass. Anyone else suffer from tendonitis? It's not as if I can even change my technique to help. Would playing a short scale bass help? I'm really worried about this. Help! [/quote] I have arthritis in my knuckles in both hands and even considered changing to play left handed to minimise the effects (was a bad idea). I tried all sorts and found that changing to a short scale actually made it worse if anything for me but moving the strap up a couple of notches on my jazz bass gave the most improvement (although i felt like a prat at the time). I also found a medium scale aria from the 80s and changing to pick playing which really helped. The strap button position meant that the neck it was slightly closer to my body that my jazz bass plus the medium (32") scale meant that i could still play the scale in one position and made i much more comfortable. The medium scale is not as bass boomy as a full scale so i went to flatwounds to add extra bass in and to take away some of the brightness from playing with a pick. Took me over 5 years to work all this out but now i can play a home and rehearsal without too much problem but i do suffer the day after a gig. Edited August 31, 2013 by randythoades Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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