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neck problems

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  saxomophone 
#1 ·
do you ever experianced pain or discomfort at the base of your neck?

i am 35 and play a tenor for a few months, 2-3 hours daily.I feel discomfort and sometimes a dizzy head on specific days, and i know that is a sax related thing.

my neck is my sensitive area, after years of professional druming.i live in athens Greece, and here the work of a musician is 5-6 hours no stop!

Maybe the culprit is the locking position of the head.The problem area however is the left side, that makes me think that my left hand maybe is tense.I play an ankward Weltklang.

I use a harness because i dont want to put the weight of my heavy Weltklang on my neck, and most of the time i practice standing with my back against the wall and the sax rest at my right foot.I have my right foot in front, so it can take some of the sax weight

any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
Do you exercise on a regular basis? Have you seen your doctor for an annual physical? Most times it is a matter of inactivity coupled with repetitive activities that cause this kind of problem. How often do you stretch out, get the kinks out your muscles? Ever notice how a cat or dog always stretch when they rise from a period of inactivity?
 
#3 ·
2 to 3 hours is a long time. You may want to take breaks every 20-30 minutes and do some stretching. The sore area could be just a symptom i.e. the neck could be compensating for a weak area elsewhere. According to a book I'm reading (It's not carpal tunnel syndrome), overuse injuries or rsi can be attributed to lack of strength/endurance, lack of flexibility in muscles or nerves, and bad ergonomics. Also the book has a bunch of exercises for the whole upper body.
 
#4 ·
The ergonomics factors really add up. For example if you are looking up (at your music or monitor) even slightly for a couple hours a day you could very quickly end up with a RSI. I used to check our writers and editors setups and it was amazing how many people had their monitors too high.

I use an ergo keyboard with my computers because I type 4 to 8 hours a day. I really feel the burn if I have to use a standard keyboard. If you wait until you have problems to understand these things, you could end up paying for your lack of attention the rest of your life.
 
#6 ·
thanks for the answers.

i used to drumming.i play almost 20 years and when i was practising i could do it for many hours.If i had a good posture i havent problem with muscles or nerves.

i thought that with sax things will be even better, no stressed areas, but now i see that i was wrong.

I was practising 2 years on an alto about 10 years ago and had no problem at all.And i was practising for hours every day.

Maybe its the tenor, or my age, i am now 10 years older.

I will take a break for a few days and then i start practice in smaller sections.

I think that tenor will be more tough for my body than drums

maybe i must take a soprano
 
#7 ·
likk said:
I use a harness because i dont want to put the weight of my heavy Weltklang on my neck, and most of the time i practice standing with my back against the wall and the sax rest at my right foot.I have my right foot in front, so it can take some of the sax weight

any suggestions?
How do you manage to stand and have the sax resting on your foot.
You must be a dwarf, or play a straight tenor :D
 
#8 ·
likk said:
I use a harness because i dont want to put the weight of my heavy Weltklang on my neck, and most of the time i practice standing with my back against the wall and the sax rest at my right foot.I have my right foot in front, so it can take some of the sax weight

any suggestions?
How do you manage to stand and have the sax resting on your foot.
You must be a dwarf, or play a straight tenor :D
 
G
#9 ·
I experience the same thing in the last 2 months.
I switched from a strap to a harness - very noticable difference.
I've also been going to a chiropractor for a few weeks now - HUGE relief.
I also sleep on one of those contoured pillows - don't know how that's going, but it's not hurting.
 
#10 ·
All great suggestions so I won't repeat too much.
Just to remind you we all get old;) What was easy 10 years ago may no longer be the case and you need to become more aware of what your body can and can't do.

I strongly agree with intermittent breaks which should include some light strech and range of motion type exercises for your neck (should only take a minute)
 
#11 ·
Exercise greatly decreased the amound of neck/back pain that I get. I used to play these 1 1/2 hour gigs on bari sax where we stood the whole time. By the end of the gig my neck and back would be burning with pain.

I started taking TaeKwonDo classes a few times a week, and I immediately noticed a huge difference in the length of time I could play without getting neck pain.

Maybe try adding some exercises to your daily routine if you don't already exercise. Even doing push-ups before you go to sleep or when you wake up in the morning can make a huge difference if you arn't exercising at all now.
 
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