Ankle Problems - Workaround or give it up?

[Jim Williams]

I'm 58 years old and lately have been having frequent problems with soreness and stiffness in my left ankle. I am a beginner on the pedal steel and I know that a lot of moves on the A / B pedals require twisting the ankle to ease off or on a pedal. Is there a way I can work around this with satisfactory results or is it going to be a major disability or limitation? Really trying to decide if it might be time to let go of the pedal and put all my efforts in non pedal.

[John De Maille]

The more you play, the easier it will get. You're trying to teach your feet,ankles and knees a new trick and it takes time to acclimate them to new positions. I used to get a little pain from the muscle at the front of my left shin bone. It stopped hurting after a while and today, it doesn't bother me at all. Unless you have a physical malady, you should work it out after a while.

[Jim Williams]

No, that's what I mean, I hAve pain soreness & stiffness when I'm not playing. I've injured the ankle before and it is probably arthritis or something.

[Scott Duckworth]

I adjusted my left knee levers to help me work the pedals. I have great range of motion for the "A" only pedal, but very limited range of motion for the "B" only stuff.

[Daniel Policarpo]

I just think of how much mileage Don Warden got playing that one pedal Sho~Bud. Sure, ankle movements are nice, but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

[Richard Sinkler]

Don's playing was pretty basic and repetitive. That may be an option for him though. To get the most out of the E9 tuning, you need to be able to rock on and off pedals and to do it on one pedal while holding an ajacent pedal down.

We don't really know his goal in learning. Have you tried seeing if you can play with your ankles using a "Day" setup. You can do this without changing you rods around. Just loosen the nylon tuner on the C pedal, E to F# change so it doesn't activate when you press the C pedal. This will effectively make your C pedal now your A pedal.

But, by seeing that your ankle problem is happening with your everyday life, you should be seeing a doctor for advice, not the steel guitar forum.

If it was me, I would define what I want to accomplish on the pedal steel. If you want to play Buddy Emmons licks and such, without the ability to rock on and off pedals, it most likely won't happen. Do some soul searching and find out just what you want to accomplish.

[Tom Gorr]

Assuming most of your pain issue is with the tilting moves and not simply pressing on and off a pedal...here's an idea to try:

Maybe keep b on the floor and put the a pedal changes on the left vertical knee lever. A lot of the placement that exists is probably the result of evolution of the instrument over time.

The advantage of having the a pedal on lkv is accessing that raise is easy when your are depressing a pedal, the disadvantage is that the a pedal is also often used by itself, and this will need some muscle toning, but if you're just beginning you'll grow into it.

You can try this location in 3 minutes by moving the string 5 lower rod to a raise hole.

As long as your e levers are msa style on the right knee, this would be fine for 90 percent of E9 straight up steel playing.

If you have so much pain that ankle movements are totally out of the question, another approach is to look at the C6 neck. Most players have 5 pedals and one knee lever. A lot of uni players have the P6 on a knee, and a very few other players put the boowah on a knee. I've seen one guy with P5 on a knee, and there's at least two players with P7 on a knee, including myself...

So, pretty clear that a person could theoretically play all the main C6 pedals on knee levers instead.

[Richard Sinkler]

Moving A to the vertical is assuming he has one. Even so, it is a good idea, but I would probably put on the right knee. And, I would put the B pedal on a lever instead. Probably less travel required. Seeing as how B is used often by itself or with the E to D#, it might be hard on his ankle to have to plant his foot down to be able to use the vertical by itself. Of course, putting the B pedal on the right knee would force him to put both E string levers on the left knee. I think that Putting the B pedal on a lever on the left knee would cause a lot more pain than the right knee.

[Edward Rhea]

Jim, everything about this instrument has challenged me, physically and mentally. However, every obstacle you overcome makes playing it, more rewarding. I certainly hope you don't have to give it up! What are you using for a seat? Perhaps you are to low or need your pedal height adjusted? Try a 1" block under your left heel, then gradually wheene yourself from it. This helped me build that muscle memory for my left foot, strengthening it as well. Also getting out of that kitchen chair and onto a pac-a-seat helped a great deal. Only trying to help, good luck.

[Brett Day]

Keep playing because the steel is a beautiful instrument. As a steel guitar player with cerebral palsy in my left hand, I can tell you that the best thing to do is stay with the playing. You can overcome obstacles that get in your way. When I first started playing steel fourteen years ago, I had to try different steel guitar bars for my left hand, and found my current bar in 2003 and have been using it since then. Playing pedal steel is a rewarding experience!

[Billy Carr]

Do you play Emmons or Day set up?

[John Booth]

Just an idea,
Would it help if you moved the pedals to say, 2,3 & 4
or 3,4 &5
where you could use them more easily?

[Justin Griffith]

You may have tried it, but I know lowering the pedals closer to the floor helps me. Just a thought. Keep them high enough to clear carpeted stages, rugs, etc.
When I was no longer able to wear cowboy boots, this helped me tremendously.

Good luck. Keep at it. You will find a solution.

[Lane Gray]

I assume you have worked with doctors and therapists? I know my joints like me better with occasional Icy Hot and regular consumption of glucosamine and chondroitin.

[John Booth]

I assume you have used one of those elastic & velcro ankle wraps too?

[Wayne Ledbetter]

Like John mentioned...I have noted that some use the Emmons set up on the 2,3 pedals and have what they call ( I think zero pedal on 1). I have thought about that myself. I would like to be more at ease on the A+F combo. Anyway, those Emmons pedal rolls keep your ankles moving.

Jim, hope you find a good solution. God be with you so you can keep playing.

[Tony Leary]

Hello Jim , I also suffer with ankle issues from sporting injuries. I found if I raised my left heel, like a volume pedal does with right ankle there was less stress on my ankle , and gradually over time was not needed . Just some 2 inch foam was good for me, good luck with it .

[Tony Leary]

Hello Jim , I also suffer with ankle issues from sporting injuries. I found if I raised my left heel, like a volume pedal does with right ankle there was less stress on my ankle , and gradually over time was not needed . Just some 2 inch foam was good for me, good luck with it .

[Tony Leary]

Hello Jim , I also suffer with ankle issues from sporting injuries. I found if I raised my left heel, like a volume pedal does with right ankle there was less stress on my ankle , and gradually over time was not needed . Just some 2 inch foam was good for me, good luck with it .

[Tony Leary]

Hello Jim , I also suffer with ankle issues from sporting injuries. I found if I raised my left heel, like a volume pedal does with right ankle there was less stress on my ankle , and gradually over time was not needed . Just some 2 inch foam was good for me, good luck with it .

[Jimmie Hudson]

Try Taking off your shoe and put on 2 pair of socks and do the A pedal up and down with your big toe and the b pedal with the ball of your foot.
It works for me and my ankle won't bend at all. It has a steel rod in it.

[Tony Dingus]

If you're only playing a single neck and your right ankle doesn't bother, you could move the pedals and use your right foot. I broke my left ankle a few years back and played a SD10 and had work coming up and didn't want to lose it. My guitar was predrilled for 9 or 10 pedals so I moved my pedals and it worked fine. I could use my volume pedal but I got through it with no problems. Just thought this might be an option for you. Best wishes to you.

Tony

[Johan Jansen]

Go see a doctor for your ancles. If he says there is nothing wrong with them, work out.

JJ