Tennis Elbow and La Pompe?

lewischang88 · October 2018

Bones wrote: »

... and my doctor gave me wrist braces to wear at night since I tended to curl in my wrists and fingers when I slept. The braces keep your wrists and fingers stretched out straight.

Thanks, Bones!

Bones · October 2018

Yeah Matteo, I have the shoulder issue too. Both of them but from surfing for 45 years. Plus arthritis. Sucks getting old. I just play as much as I can then take a break.

Buco · October 2018

@Matteo I have painful knot in my left shoulder. I was told by the physical therapist that she though it all stems from the posture. She worked her magic and it went away but said it's likely to come back. And if did, about a year later. Long story short, nowadays during playing as long as I make sure my back, especially lower back, is as straight as it can be, the pain goes down and often completely away.

Jazzaferri · October 2018

Posture, particularly making sure your shoulders are back not forward and stretching can go a long way to preventing RSI's

When you are in playing position try your playing movements and feel if everything feels relaxed and easy...no resistance. If something feels tight or wrong somehow your body is trying to send you a message. It pays to listen.

Matteo · October 2018

Yes, Jazzaferri and Buco, I believe that posture is a key factor. And it's important not to push the shoulders forwards. However, this is not so easy. It certainly doesn't come naturally. I understand that being able to play completely relaxed is the ideal. But how to get there?

I'm thinking that a larger guitar would perhaps suit me better. And a Favino copy may be an option at a later point. But, in any case, I absolutely need to find out how to pick and pompe without putting so much strain on my poor right shoulder. I'll try to focus on that, and just that, for a while. We'll se how it goes.

Right, Bones, getting older has its bad side effects. However, if the cause of pain is cramping muscles, you can do something about it. I'm seeing a kinesiologist right now who teaches me Hanna Somatics, a system of movements that let you get control over, and relax, tight muscles. It's a fantastic feeling when you suddenly can move your body in ways that weren't possible before. (Then it's back to the guitar and the problems begin again. However, it's a powerful tool and I hope I'm on the right track ...)

Jazzaferri · October 2018

yoga works for me and its cheaper than massage therapy

Matteo · October 2018

Yoga is on the list of things I want to try. When time permits ... Any method to fix your body yourself (Somatics is another example) is preferable. That said, I get massage now and then anyway, because it really helps and I get a subsidy through my work.

Well, thanks again Buco and Jazzaferri, I think you both hit the nail on its head. I experimented a bit with my posture this afternoon and attention to both the lower back and the position of the shoulders seems a good place to start.

I'll just add one thing in relation to the original theme of this thread, tennis/golf elbow. When I last began to feel pain on the inside of my left elbow I simultaneously noticed that my fingertips suffered a bit more than usual from pressning down the strings, particularly on the low frets. I checked the truss rod and after tightening it just a little bit the guitar got a lot easier to play, sounded better and both problems went away.

Bones · October 2018

Yes Matteo, stretching and strengthening has been key for me with my surfed-out shoulders. I would not be able to still surf or play guitar in my 60s without stretching on a daily basis. I have rotator cuff issues and the so-called 'scapular squeeze' stretch is a good one. It's all about getting my shoulders back and down to open up the rotor. Hunching over a guitar for hours is the opposite of what I should be doing to my shoulders but as long as I stretch every day to offset the time spent sitting with the guitar I'm ok. The other things I do are lay on my back with my arms at my sides, do the scapular squeeze to keep my shoulders back and down, then raise my arms slowly over my head and hold that for at least 30 seconds at a time. Also exercise my upper body with those rubber tubing things attached to a door knob for strengthening the supporting muscles.

Matteo · October 2018

Sounds wise. I really should do more to keep my back and shoulders fit. But I've been under a lot of pressure for some time and that's often when you start forgetting to do things like that. However, I just tried a qi gong exercise I learned many years ago and it felt really good. I remember that weekend course; it was a somewhat strange experience, I can tell you. But it can hardly hurt to move your arms about, roll your shoulders and lean forward in a slow choreographic for a little while, especially since I spend a lot of my work hours in front of a computer. And if it feels good, it is probably good. As a matter of fact, there were a couple of young professional musicians there at the course and they seemed to be really sold on it.