Hey Steve,

I get a bit sore, or tired in my muscles after playing. Usually for me it is in my upper back, as I play a lot of double bass and I try to use the back muscles as much as possible when bowing. As far as arms or hands, not really sore though. It's good that you know about proper wrist angles, if you get more pain I'd suggest going to an Alexander technique teacher or maybe doing Yoga or Feldenkreis.

I liken it to the gym, you know that dull ache you get after a hard workout -the good pain? I think a little of that is okay as your muscles grow into the bass. Best regards,
Laurence

My right hand used to cramp up bad till I started using that imaginary pillow under my arm. Now after correcting that, the only time I get sore is when I'm doing stuff that's very fast.

Our band does a couple Iron Maiden covers and after tunes like that, my right hand's dead for a few minutes.

Doing warmups before any playing always helped me as well. I'll start with some stretching by playing chords up high on the neck, then working my way down one fret at a time.

August's issue of Bass Player has a cool little exercise in their Woodshed section. It's 'Bass Isometrics' by Glenn Letsch. I took his exercise, added some of my own stuff to it and I do it every day and right before every gig. It helps me a lot and I don't get as sore as I used to.

Rule #1 never hurt your hands, I say this as someone who has had to work through several long rehabs after injuries. Start slowly and warm up well when you practice and be sure to take rest breaks when working technical exercises every 5-10 minutes or less if you start to tire. I am working with a student rehabilitating her injury and I am having her use a timer adding 1 minute to each practice/rest interval every 3 days, in between she reads and listens to music. Wrapping a warm towel may help to relax your hands after a practice session or you might try a low tension grip putty. Don't be macho and go for the stiff stuff you'll just hurt yourself more.

On days we are playing I drinks lots of water..Dehydration can be a big part of muscle pain..I also drink water ( NO ALCOHOL, not while I am playing) the whole night ..Plus doing some massage, stretches, work wonders..

I have a massage therapist friend who stresses that he arm is connected to the shoulder and back muscles. I find that consciously relaxing my upper back muscles and neck muscles makes a big difference in playing comfort. Not just when I'm playing,either. You'd be surprised how easy your body stores tension without you catching on...

Thanks for the replies everybody. The pain is just sort of a dull ache in my left hand. I've been playing for several years but recently I've been doing A LOT of very fast technical drills. I think I need to start warming up more thoroughly and limiting the amount of very physically demanding exercises. Maybe sore hands is what you get for practicing 4+ hours a day. I just don't get how Alain Caron can play so fast and furious without his hands falling off! If I'm going to get to that level I'll have to practice even more. :)

Although he's not a bassist.. I went to see John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) in Nyack, NY. They had a little jam thing with only the 2 of them, and afterwards people got to chat with them and takes pix.. anyway, I commented to John about setting his 'special metronome' to 1000 for some songs and he said, "Sometimes I get such unbelievable cramps from playing too fast."

Maybe they're not all robots afterall ;).

Steve,

This topic keeps coming up (duh) and last month i posted a message about execising the opposisng muscles to get rid of cramps. At the time I had just started the execises. Now, after that month of exercises, my left hand cramps are gone. I paractice or reheasrse 2-5 hours a day.

richc

vitamin C my friend, on a daily basis,

Vitamin C is nice but only half of the story. I spent a couple of years on a research team touching on these very questions. The upshot is this: Vit C is going to get you a good ways to feeling better but the other half of the "cocktail" needed to help tendon and ligament repair is chondroiton/glucosamine. The really sweet thing about the chondroiton/glucosamine is it works harder to replenish as the amount of exercise increases. You can find this almost anywhere the popular press has now gotten a hold of it so you can read about it anywhere, as well.
Good Luck,
Jeff

Jeff - I have occasional overstress(MD said it) in my tendon on the left wrist.

chondroiton/glucosamine - OTC? Prescription? Health Store? Let me know please.

Right now I put one of those cast like wristbands on and pain subsides overnight ($20 at Eckerd)

I work at a clinic with one of the best Docs for this sort of stuff, I will show her your message and get back to you.

Glucosamine/chondroiton is OTC at most health food stores - I know alot of "wonder drugs" come out everyday and are gone the next, but I really believe this one works. Several members of my family plus dozens of patients absolutely swear by it sore knees, etc.

I will get back to you within the week,

Jeff