Left rotator cuff injury. :-(

[Randyman Tusk]

Hi ! Randyman from the Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Tusk. Just destroyed my left rotator cuff with a posterior shoulder dislocation. Surgery may be inevitable, but right now it doesn’t work. The only problem is getting down the neck (towards the head) quickly. I’ve lowered my strap for closer access and can get there with a quick push of the bass to the right. I play 5 string so I don’t need to reach all the time, but I depend on my deep notes to fatten the whole band’s sound.
If I do get surgery, I plan to still play, keeping my cuff immobile and capo-ing the 5th fret, rather than taking a sabbatical with a sub.
On my upright, I now keep the peg all the way in, and can reach the whole neck, but with bad form because my elbow is against my body.

Anyone out there have a similar experience ? It’s gotten me really down and can use some encouragement. I am very grateful, though, that I can still play with not much compromised.

 

[mongo2]

I had a less serious right rotator cuff injury that the docs said it looked like it was going to require surgery. I have no idea why but I decided on physical therapy instead. It took a while but it worked. I played through the whole ordeal. Moving gear was very...inconvenient.

I had to give up the upright until after I healed and when I finally started to really get back into it I had a mild stroke which effected my right side and made playing upright, guitar and piano impossible. But I can still get around on my electric horizontally played low frequency generating thing-a-ma bob.

Good luck and get well soon.

 

[JimK]

Punched nerve in my left elbow has done me in.
Never had any pain, just noticed a couple years ago...my hand power/grip/strength was not what it used to be.
Had surgery. Have some muscle loss in the hand, though.
Sucks.

 

[MonetBass]

Depending on the severity of the rotator cuff injury, you may be able to get away with just physical therapy, like @mongo2. But otherwise, don't put off surgery. It's a 'fix it now or get a shoulder replacement later' situation. This coming from a guy who's had both shoulders repaired over the last three years.

 

[Jason Stock]

First, I wish you a speedy recovery.

I too injured my left rotator cuff (in Dec 2011 to be exact) and was in sever pain and had a very hard time playing. At the time we had no gigs on the books due to personal circumstances (that caused the injury) but still tried practicing. No way I could touch an upright at the time but fought to play electric. Finally got in to see a sports physiotherapist. Many sessions later, and (and he used intermuscular shock therapy also I think he called it, needles with electrodes) in a matter of months I was able to play but still did therapy to make it better.

Hope you can heal as quickly as I did and be back to playing at your best.

 

[Randyman Tusk]

First, I wish you a speedy recovery.

I too injured my left rotator cuff (in Dec 2011 to be exact) and was in sever pain and had a very hard time playing. At the time we had no gigs on the books due to personal circumstances (that caused the injury) but still tried practicing. No way I could touch an upright at the time but fought to play electric. Finally got in to see a sports physiotherapist. Many sessions later, and (and he used intermuscular shock therapy also I think he called it, needles with electrodes) in a matter of months I was able to play but still did therapy to make it better.

Hope you can heal as quickly as I did and be back to playing at your best.

Thanks, Jason. That is encouraging for I only experience pain in specific positions and can still get to the whole neck of both ‘lectric & upright. I have an appointment with a physiotherapist to hopefully rule out neurological damage. I have PT scheduled, too, but don’t anticipate it helping where I have the damage. The hope is to regain some range of motion. Surgery recovery scares the crap out of me. If that happens, I’m considering capo-ing my 5 string on 5th fret so I can play with my cuff immobile.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

McVie disciple here. And also an upright and a five-string player. Love what you guys do.

Two bad shoulders, rotten spine (osteoarthritis) and a couple surgeries in with a couple to go. I hear you on not wanting to park it... I went through that too. Don't put it off too long. It is AMAZING what they can do now in a very short time.

Rock on.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

Hi ! Randyman from the Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Tusk. Just destroyed my left rotator cuff with a posterior shoulder dislocation. Surgery may be inevitable, but right now it doesn’t work. The only problem is getting down the neck (towards the head) quickly. I’ve lowered my strap for closer access and can get there with a quick push of the bass to the right. I play 5 string so I don’t need to reach all the time, but I depend on my deep notes to fatten the whole band’s sound.
If I do get surgery, I plan to still play, keeping my cuff immobile and capo-ing the 5th fret, rather than taking a sabbatical with a sub.
On my upright, I now keep the peg all the way in, and can reach the whole neck, but with bad form because my elbow is against my body.

Anyone out there have a similar experience ? It’s gotten me really down and can use some encouragement. I am very grateful, though, that I can still play with not much compromised.

I can relate to the feeling down part. I had some new levels of discomfort in my left wrist and forearm this week, I think mostly attributable to playing double bass in thumb position, but also due to playing electric. I shortened my strap for a gig last night, which I believe may have helped mildly. But when you start thinking “I have to take a break from playing bass, but that’s who I am, what will I do” etc, it’s gets dark rather quickly. One possible outcome is playing less bass and getting better at piano and composing. I think I could live with that. Good luck.

 

[Stewie]

There is no cartilage in either of my shoulders. It is a bone on bone situation. I can do anything as long as my elbows are close to my ribcage. I’m six one and keep my peg about six inches long on my upright. My form may be a might goofy, but I can play. I have a loooong guitar strap for my P Basses and wear it low like DeeDee Ramone . Works great for finger style but I can’t use a pick (no worries, never could anyhoo). I would have had to leave the band for a long time to get the joints rebuilt and they told me I couldn’t go back to carpentry or surfcasting for Stripers anyways. Use the shoulder as an excuse to make your singer carry some of your stuff. He can stick his mic in his pocket and carry your amp.

 

[Scarey Larry]

Tore right cuff. Not sure how compares to OP's but was a damn pain and general problem. I did not do surgery. PT did not really work. What I did do was try to find what was actually keeping the shoulder irritated. Was the strap! Lowered strap a notch or two changing arm angle and it got better. Of note is that I never got back 100%, more like 87% but avoided surgery that I was a little concerned about. Tore it trying to start a leaf blower of all things.

 

[DirtDog]

Hi ! Randyman from the Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Tusk. Just destroyed my left rotator cuff with a posterior shoulder dislocation. Surgery may be inevitable, but right now it doesn’t work. The only problem is getting down the neck (towards the head) quickly. I’ve lowered my strap for closer access and can get there with a quick push of the bass to the right. I play 5 string so I don’t need to reach all the time, but I depend on my deep notes to fatten the whole band’s sound.
If I do get surgery, I plan to still play, keeping my cuff immobile and capo-ing the 5th fret, rather than taking a sabbatical with a sub.
On my upright, I now keep the peg all the way in, and can reach the whole neck, but with bad form because my elbow is against my body.

Anyone out there have a similar experience ? It’s gotten me really down and can use some encouragement. I am very grateful, though, that I can still play with not much compromised.

No specific words of wisdom for that injury, but I can empathize. I’ve had injuries that have kept me off the bass for longer than I would have preferred.

I hope you heal up quick but make sure you follow the doctors orders for recovery. There are no shortcuts.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi ! Randyman from the Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Tusk. Just destroyed my left rotator cuff with a posterior shoulder dislocation. Surgery may be inevitable, but right now it doesn’t work. The only problem is getting down the neck (towards the head) quickly. I’ve lowered my strap for closer access and can get there with a quick push of the bass to the right. I play 5 string so I don’t need to reach all the time, but I depend on my deep notes to fatten the whole band’s sound.
If I do get surgery, I plan to still play, keeping my cuff immobile and capo-ing the 5th fret, rather than taking a sabbatical with a sub.
On my upright, I now keep the peg all the way in, and can reach the whole neck, but with bad form because my elbow is against my body.

Anyone out there have a similar experience ? It’s gotten me really down and can use some encouragement. I am very grateful, though, that I can still play with not much compromised.

Man, I feel bad for your mishap. I ripped the two main cuffs on my right (non fretting) shoulder trying to catch a couple of falling speaker cabs after a gig about 4 years ago. The only fix offered was a shoulder replacement.

I decided not to have the surgery as I was told there is a high likelihood 15 years down the road of further complications requiring further surgery that may or not be successful. That would put me in my late 70 so I declined.

So I gutted it out. Pain yes. Never missed a gig and never had much help with my gear either. After about a year my full range of motion started to come back thanks to having access to a pool. Today, the only deficit I have is weakness lifting things weighing more than a jug of milk over head, occasional fatigue, and some muscle aches from time to time. Throwing a ball around is not a good idea.

In your case, once the inflammation goes down(ice is your friend), see what your range of motion is, and consider what you have to work with on deciding what you need to do when playing. Odds are it will improve in time. Keep in mind, the options with surgery go down with time.

I can’t help you much because I have no idea the extent of your injury and or pain tolerance. I can just give you my story. Best wishes for a livable outcome.

 

[lfmn16]

Just my 2 cents, but don't screw around. Get the surgery, and do what the doctor says. I can't image any doctor would think it's a good idea to keep playing, especially upright. If you screw around with this, you risk the very real possibility of chronic pain and/or a career ending injury.

I had tendonitis in both wrists and got some God awful medical advice from people that were supposed to know how to treat it. I wound up not playing anything for about 2 years and I was never able to play the string bass again. That was 30 years ago and if I play for more than a few minutes I can really feel it. That's on a friend's jazz bass that is set up with light strings and low action.

 

[Barticus]

Sorry to hear that, I have a torn left rotator injury from about eight years ago, tore it lifting 4x8’ sheets of 3/4” plywood by myself (dumb ).

My situation, not yours of course… I decided after the evaluation to forgo surgery and just strengthen the muscles around as I didn’t want to be completely down for that period of time after surgery. I decided this largely because of the experience my son had with his long recovery after repairing a torn rotator from a couple of dislocations (a high school wrestler at the time) and was working with the same doctor/surgeon. This meant keeping the elbow close to my rib cage and not trying to lift the wing too high. It did take quite a while to rebuild the muscles around to compensate, and of course for scarring to build up around the torn rotator. During that time, what was most comfortable for me, was playing my 34 inch scale headless with the long top horn which makes the overall length of the base seem much shorter so I didn’t have to reach and I could keep my elbow pretty close to the rib cage.

Hang in there and keep that elbow close, it may help the pain. Good luck with recovery. And take your doctors advice on your situation.

 

[bherman]

I went through this some years ago, tore my left rotator cuff and biceps. PT helped for some time but eventually deteriorated enough that surgery was needed. Surgery is serious and recovery is slow but now many years later I am better than ever before. I had to completely lay off from playing for about 4-6 weeks, honestly I think you need to be open to that possibility. It’s very easy to do damage to the repaired shoulder until it has time to heal, and you recover muscle mass that you’ll lose while recovering.

 

[PillO]

Hi ! Randyman from the Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Tusk. Just destroyed my left rotator cuff with a posterior shoulder dislocation. Surgery may be inevitable, but right now it doesn’t work. The only problem is getting down the neck (towards the head) quickly. I’ve lowered my strap for closer access and can get there with a quick push of the bass to the right. I play 5 string so I don’t need to reach all the time, but I depend on my deep notes to fatten the whole band’s sound.
If I do get surgery, I plan to still play, keeping my cuff immobile and capo-ing the 5th fret, rather than taking a sabbatical with a sub.
On my upright, I now keep the peg all the way in, and can reach the whole neck, but with bad form because my elbow is against my body.

Anyone out there have a similar experience ? It’s gotten me really down and can use some encouragement. I am very grateful, though, that I can still play with not much compromised.

1. Don't take medical advice from strangers on the internet.
2. Follow the advice of your medical professional(s).
3.

Just destroyed my left rotator cuff

not sure what that means.
4.

with a posterior shoulder dislocation

has the dislocation been reduced yet? What was the advice at that time? Is follow-up scheduled?

All things considered, surgery is likely in your future. If you are young, distant future; if not, more immediate. Post-op, you will not be playing at all for weeks-months. I tried at about 6 weeks post-op to get back to playing by renting a left-handed bass. It did not go well because it was backwards. Full recovery takes 6-12 months.

 

[BassFalcon]

I’m not a doctor nor do I know the extent of your injuries, and based on you being in a Fleetwood Mac cover band I’d say you’re probably older. My advice would be to hang it up for while. Let your body heal Bro. Why keep pushing it and either make it worse or heal it incorrectly and/or pickup a bunch of bad technique habits. Use this time to work on your mental game, study theory, even just sitting down and closing your eyes and visualizing the fingerboard and playing through stuff in your mind can be incredibly productive. My advice, since you asked, and yea I’ve been in this position 3x with a broken left hand several months ago, and a bad shoulder and a shattered right wrist on seperate occasions years ago, channel all your enthusiasm for playing into doing your rehab exercises, and work on what I would call your mental game.

 

[g-dude]

I’ve had pain in my right elbow region for over a year now, still trying to get to the cause of it. If I could get it resolved tomorrow and it meant not playing the bass for six months, I’d be shopping for kazoos on Sweetwater right now.

Things don’t get better by ignoring them, but they certainly can get worse.

 

[luteslinger]

Had surgery on my left rotator cuff Aug 8. I have a gig scheduled 40 days after in September. If I play on a stool, maybe that'll help. For sure no practicing until the night before, but I'm used to doing that The real problem: there is a bass player in the wings ready to take my place and this gig is a good one. 6 weeks has to be a decent amount of recovery time to be able to pluck a big string for a few hours, right? Asking those that actually know.

 

[buldog5151bass]

The one thing I always tell people is to listen to their doctor. When I was in my 30s, I had rotator cuff/bicep tendon surgery - baseball injury. My doctor told me do NOT throw a baseball for a year, no matter how good I felt. I didn't listen. I used to be able to pitch in the 80s. After my foolhardiness, I couldn't hit 65 throwing downhill with a tailwind.

Every situation is different. Tell your doctor your needs/goals, and work out a plan together.