The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been experiencing right shoulder pain after extended playing sessions on my PSG.

Anyone else had this problem?

Suggestions? (other than quitting, please)

Regards,
HH

I had a problem a few years ago with my left shoulder but I found a solution. One thing is to figure out what is the proper seat height for you. I found that none of the commercial seats are at the right height for me so I built my own. I also ended up cutting about 3/4 inch off the legs of my steel. That in combination with the seat adjustments have been working for me. In my view if it hurts to play then something is not adjusted correctly for your body style.

Quitting is not a option!That is what I did about 8 or 9 years ago due to arthritis.At that time I had 2 steels,amps ect. and left one set up at church and one at home because of the trouble carrying these heavy things around.I sold everything, but my music because I wasn't sure it was out of my blood,and it wasn't.I am almost 40 and inherited this form of arthritis from my dad and was diagnosed at age 25.I have found it hard for most people to get started because of the expense.It took me a long time after I wanted to start back before I had the spare cash to start back.I have said all this to try and keep anybody from making the same mistakes I did.We are not as young as we used to be.
#1 try to find out what is causing the pain
#2 If it is something that you can change through medication,herbs,Therapy ect.
try that.Herbs help me
# 3 last but not least try to adapt.If it is something you can't change try to get it to a level of pian that you can live with.
If you Quit as I did someday you will be saying Boy I wish I hadn't sold this or that.
Hope this helps. Scott Howard Georgetown TN

Sounds like tension is the culprit. Try to find a way to play relaxed. Analyze your body position and try to move to a more comfortable position. Sometimes only an inch one way or the other will make a lot of difference.

I also have been having problems with my bar hand.. I consulted a rehab. therapist and she told first off to look at my posture when sitting at the guitar. Then she taught me to do several stretches to help loosen tendons and muscles to relax. They have helped tremendously. One is to lace your fingers together in front of you and then raise arms above your head with palms upward do this slowly,, fast stretchs can hurt you. Hold this for about 7 seconds then release the same way slowly. Another one was to tuck my elbow into my body with palm up and grasp fingers with other hand and slowly pull them down. You will feel the stretches everywhere. Note please do these slowly. Do repitions of 5 and as your arms and nerves get used to it hold up to 15 seconds. If you problem continues you should seek a physcian to see if you dont have a situation like impingment syndrome that can only be releived by surgery. I hope this helps as it did help me since I play anywhere from 2 to 6 hours a day.

Harry, I think Bob is right. It happened to me right after I started in earnest trying to learn to speed pick. It still happens if I don't watch myself. I would stiffen up to the point that a person couldn't pull my arm up if they tried. If that is what it is, try keeping your elbow in close to your side. Don't let it rest on the back neck if you play a double neck. Let your arm hang loose. I found that I was even more acurate at hitting the strings I wanted to pick doing it that way. Just my suggestion. Jim I'D RATHER BE STEELIN'

Let this be a trigger to check out Joe Wright's approach!
JJ

Harry,
I had severe tendinitis in my picking hand. After a couple of useless doctor visits, and a useless physical therapist, and one useless acupuncturist, I found a second acupunturist who was terrific. A combination of needles and intense massage on my back and neck, which opened up constricted channels that were preventing healing. I then engaged in my own physical therapy program, using a number of hand exercising devices, to stenghten my hand. I have no idea if any of this is of any help, but it's what I had to do to get better.

If all conventional therapy fails you Harry, then I highly suggest you redirect the pain with a huge bowl of kimchi and a liter of fermented rice juice!
Gary Lee

This brings me to something I've been wondering lately. When you pick, do you let your right arm float above the neck? Or do you rest your forearm somewhere. If you rest your forearm on the front neck (or pad, in my case) it's easier on the arm and shoulder, but movement is more constricted. If you float your arm above the neck as you play the low and high strings, this can have a tiring effect. I'm not sure which way is the right, or best way. All I know is when I float my arm over the neck, very soon I feel it.

Someone coined the phrase, "You are what you eat." Of course, he/she was making reference to a person's general well being, and not to a steel guiutarist's dilemma. I am a firm believer that much of the arthritis is subject to improving if a person can successfully identify the offending food or drink that causes imbalances within the body. A farinaceous diet will in some instances thwart certain types of painful arthritis. Tendonitis is the result of forgetting what leverage is all about. Turning to proper technique in managing any situation that requires the use of force, could reverse the situation, and thereby keeping tendonitis experiences to a minimum.

Bill H.

Harry,
I think it's called,"old age".

Seriously,I have had the same problem,& I've been taking glucosamine chondroitin,(max strength) & it's been helping. I have bursitis.

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Just a comment. Those players who "think" they've got the answers to avoiding problems: Well, I thought I did too. You never know what causes something to happen or when it might happen. I felt invulnerable. Then when I was in pain, and I spoke to others, I found out that many people have it too. Some get operations, others try physical therapy, others, like myslef, look for alternative means. I tried doctors, pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories, natural anti-inflammatories, ate loads of fresh vegetables, etc. etc. Bottom line, I think, is that if you fall ill, you need to try many things; don't sit on one thing if it doesn't work. IMO, if you are trying a therapy, and cannot see NOTICEABLE AND CONSISTENT improvement within a couple of weeks, then look for something else. I'm not saying you should get healed in a couple of weeks. It took me several months once I found a solution, and I'm still at 90%, not 100%. But the thing is, if a therapy, any kind of therapy, shows promise, you will see some results relatively quickly. If not, move on. Even though a therapist or practicioner might be more than happy to let you go on indefinitely, you can't afford the time or money to do that. You must get results, so keep working at it. By the way, you might do a search on the Internet under the subject of "shoulder pain" and "musician" and see what comes up. I spent hours on the Internet looking for help, and there were many, many ideas. There are also forums with many contributors on such subjects. Naturally you find conflicting information. It's up to you to figure it out and find out what works. Everyone is different, but I'm confident something will work for you.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jeff Lampert on 06 June 2002 at 10:39 AM.]</p></FONT>

For several years I had very sharp pains in both shoulders, usually it happeded when I made a sudden move or raised my arms quickly. My doctor said it was bursitus, and offered no particular treatment. Here's what worked for me, daily exercise with light weights, 12 lb dumbells. A few minutes, a couple of times a day, it took a number of months, but the problem went away.

Gotta put my two cents worth in here. I agree with everything and everybody, however, (and you knew there would be a however, right?) I was experiencing pain in my shoulders and found that I had torn both rotator cuffs. I had surgery on both of them and then arthritis set it so I had to have a left shoulder replacement. Am now looking forward to another replacement, the right. Not sure I should have checked into the pain in the first place, but the doctor said I probably started all this carrying my steel around by myself. Could be, but anyway, that's my two cents worth. Probably not worth it.

I'm pretty sure that I'm sitting at the right height, etc.

I had a bursitis problem in both of my shoulders in the past. Cortozone shot in one and cortozone shot and physical therapy for the other did the trick.

But this pain is in back underneath the shoulder blade. I ain't letting nobody stick a needle there!

I think a good massage therapist and some excersize might do the trick.

Thanks everybody.

Regards,
HH

Please close this thread.

Thanks,
HH

Harry, I know you asked that the thread be closed, but I just go to reading it. Did you find an answer? If not, I'd like to add that I had the same problem. A muscle under the shoulder blade spasmed and *would not let go*. It was after I'd been playing PSG for about six months, and once started could be triggered by several other things (playing six string, riding a motorcycle...).

It was definitely started by playing too tight and tense, but changing my playing style didn't make it go away. After typing a bunch of things (chiropractic, massage, etc) yoga exercises did the trick. It hasn't reoccured.

Other than that, Jeff L's approach is a good one.

If you've already answered your problem, great.

Harry you didn't ay how old you are..A few years back I noticed my left hand would go numb,then go away , then go numb again. this would go on for weeks, then it went numb, stayed numb and then my entire left arm went into severe pain.We are talking child birth here ! Well after the Ex rays , MRI's and Cat Scan it was learned that I had a crushed disk between c6 and c7 leaning on the nerve route. I'm talkin pain..along with total numbness of the lower left arm and hand. An operation was planed , but not for about 90 days..according to the neck guy sometimes these things ( nerves) have a way of fixing themselves..and it did, after almost 3 months of meds the nerve route sort of fixed itself, the pain went away and then finally the numbness went away. The nerve route is still being pressed on in my neck but it "learned" how to recover on it's own. My left arm and hand are ok but they cannot tolerate any stress or continued labor or it will seeze and the muscles will tighten and it may take a few minutes for the muscle to relax and return to regular. I'm 53 , and according to the neck Doc this condition has been going on for many years and it just took this long for the nerve route to call it quits. I don't need or want an operation and I can live with what I have very well. My left hand and arm can stress out from playing Steel but if I take it easy I can stay ahead of the fatigue. Sometimes just putting the bar down for 30 seconds and relaxing my left arm will have a major positive effect. Maybe a short 30 second rest would help in your situation. Years ago I had the cortozone shots under my shoulder blade, hurt like hell.The pain went away for about 6 months and retured, I stopped playing ball.All the pain went away as well as my errors on the field !
hope you are ok

tp
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 16 June 2002 at 12:04 PM.]</p></FONT>