Arm soreness while playing

[Bassbonechandler]

Hello all,

I have noticed my arm gets sore when I'm practicing after 15-20 minutes. It gets sore on the inside of my elbow (very front of my bicep). I have an axe handle installed on my horn that got rid of hand cramping I used to get from playing, but now it's my arm that gets sore. Any suggestions or opinions would be helpful.

[pompatus]

Do you already do any kind of weight lifting? Even light lifting can help to strengthen those muscles enough to offer significant improvement. A double valve bass (looking at your listed stable) isn’t an inconsequential horn, and they’re definitely not ergonomic.

If it’s a big problem, or becomes one, you might consider looking into an Ergobone support.

[norbie2018]

I use a neo tech grip that moves the strain from my wrist and into my bicep. Yes, my bicep gets sore after playing awhile, but I simply rest and I believe I'm building more strength. Perhaps your strength will build up the more you use it.

[Bassbonechandler]

Do you already do any kind of weight lifting? Even light lifting can help to strengthen those muscles enough to offer significant improvement. A double valve bass (looking at your listed stable) isn’t an inconsequential horn, and they’re definitely not ergonomic.

If it’s a big problem, or becomes one, you might consider looking into an Ergobone support.

Yes I do weight lift. It's just weird to me because I've gotten stronger in my arms but the horn still makes my arm sore. I thought about trying a different grip on my horn to see if that would help.

[hyperbolica]

I get the same pain with my bass bone. I think it's bursitis.you might try taking some Allee or Similar before playing. I took a couple of weeks off that horn, and it helped a little. The only other thing is there ergo bone. It's the only thing that takes the weight off that part of the arm. A grip just helps your hand or fingers.

The other thing is that if you have recently gained weight, your elbow might be having trouble closing because your arm is bigger. I've lost a little weight and a did help some.

[Reedman1]

Massage therapy might help. Alexander technique, a good stretch program, yoga or tai chi - all very good.

[Burgerbob]

Left arm? Make sure you're not doing anything weird or extra, muscle wise to hold up the horn. The bicep doesn't do a whole lot except put a little bit of pressure on your face.

[SwissTbone]

I have had some problems in my shoulder that went away with some ergotherapy.

Make sure you are holding your trombone in a very relaxed manner, it should just "sit" on your hand, no pressure. Try to move your shoulder/elbow forward and backwards in order to find the most comfortable spot. Make sure your elbow doesn't stick out to the left.

But the most important, is holding your horn in a relaxed way.

[AndrewMeronek]

It's interesting how some musicians adopt odd postures, likely to transfer stress from one part of the body to another. Here' trumpeter Walter White is clearly shown with both shoulders up, and the left higher than the right. I think he probably does this to transfer stress off of his deltoids, and the different shoulder positions correspond to different hand heights while holding the trumpet.



I don't really have an answer for the bicep thing, except to just be observant. Sometimes a posture change can make a big difference.

[ghmerrill]

My experience with my bass was that once I got it balanced (forward/aft) to "neutral buoyancy", all my left arm/hand pain disappeared and it was a pleasure to play. But if I was having to exert any kind of pressure from hand or arm to keep it oriented correctly, it was a painful unpleasant mess.

[hyperbolica]

My experience with my bass was that once I got it balanced (forward/aft) to "neutral buoyancy", all my left arm/hand pain disappeared and it was a pleasure to play. But if I was having to exert any kind of pressure from hand or arm to keep it oriented correctly, it was a painful unpleasant mess.

What the OP is talking about is something I think I have experienced myself. It's a soreness on the inside of the elbow, maybe the tendon that connects the bicep. It appears after holding the horn in playing position for more than, say 5 minutes.

For me, I make sure to put the horn down or otherwise just relax my left arm as often as I can. Some physical therapy specifically for that action would probably help, although I never stuck with it long enough to find out. I have switched to a smaller bass, and play tenor as much as I can. Laying off the heavy horn for a while has helped.

Ergobone will eliminate the problem. I have one but don't use it because I switch horns a lot. If I played bass exclusively, I'm sure I would just suck it up and use the ergobone.

[Bassbonechandler]

What the OP is talking about is something I think I have experienced myself. It's a soreness on the inside of the elbow, maybe the tendon that connects the bicep. It appears after holding the horn in playing position for more than, say 5 minutes.

For me, I make sure to put the horn down or otherwise just relax my left arm as often as I can. Some physical therapy specifically for that action would probably help, although I never stuck with it long enough to find out. I have switched to a smaller bass, and play tenor as much as I can. Laying off the heavy horn for a while has helped.

Ergobone will eliminate the problem. I have one but don't use it because I switch horns a lot. If I played bass exclusively, I'm sure I would just suck it up and use the ergobone.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I relax my arm when it starts getting sore for a minute or two normally.

[ghmerrill]

In that case, it sounds like "tennis elbow" (or "golf elbow", sometimes "trombone elbow"), and it would be a kind of tendonitis. Doug Yeo describes it in some detail (http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/faq/fa ... nsion.html), and it's also described here: http://slidebonedave.weebly.com/blog/te ... rombonists. But in general, what causes this tendonitis is excessive stress on the tendon -- which in the case of tennis can be poorly executed strokes (been there, done that, took months to resolve) or in the case of trombone may be undue stress caused by trying to hold the instrument in a particular position that it's weight distribution is fighting. Switching to a smaller horn, or a different horn, can eliminate the problem. But if you keep playing the same horn, holding it in the same way (like swinging the racket in the same way), it's very likely going to just exacerbate the the stress on the tendon that's causing you the pain.

[sterb225]

I've had the same issue. Ax handle makes a difference in that it removes tension from your hand .... but the big fix was improving my overall fitness and by extension circulation (aka blood pressure) so the extended contraction of that left bicep is better serviced and cleaned of acid build up. In hindsight the severity of the issue correlated directly to my weight gain and overall decline in fitness.

[SimmonsTrombone]

I adopted several things to help. I use a brace on my bass. I wrap my fingers around my bass one way, my 88h another, and my 6h yet a third way, all to help get the horn balanced. Doug Yeo has some photos on his site, and Sam Burris had some on the old forum.
Second thing was getting back to the gym and lifting free weights for general conditioning and light dumbbells for my wrists. I twist the weights from the elbow, then do front and reverse wrist curls.
Remember, I’m just a low brass player not a doctor or physiologist.