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Cervical spine (neck) problem

6K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  gary 
#1 ·
Well, coming on to 2 months later and I've just dodged a bullet in the form of serious osteomyelitis (bone infection) in the facet joints between my C3 and C4 joints in my neck. It was a non-hospital acquired golden staph infection which manifested itself as "cervical spine facet joint septic arthritis". The arthritic abscess was ever so close to my spinal chord and the doctors said that another day or so without treatment could have been very serious.

It started out as a sore neck - not an unusual thing for a sax player and the reason I had been playing a Just Joe's gel strap for a couple of years. After a couple of days I got a very high fever accompanied by diarrhoea and vomiting and went to the emergency room.

I spent 10 days in the hospital on intravenous antibiotics and then a further month at home with daily nurse visits to service the IV catheter up my arm and into my chest. I had six weeks of my day gig and gave up quite a few music gigs. I'm back at work now and I've played 3 gigs with no problems. I'm on oral antibiotics for another month and my blood, xray and MRI results all say that I'll be totally OK, although the osteopaths reckon I have to expect neck soreness "at your age" (64) when all our joints can have their niggles.

As much as I LOVE the gel strap, I am now a convert to the Jazzlab saXholder. Brilliant! I hereby swear that I will never again suspend 5 kilograms of metal from my neck for hours at a time. None of the doctors have shown much interest in the saxophone connection, and I don't think for a minute that the sax caused the problem, but I'm convinced that I need to take better care of ALL my joints as I age.

The saXholder, while initially feeling a bit odd, is now practically transparent while playing. If I have a problem with it, it's what to do with it when I'm not playing (or playing clarinet). It's very light and without the weight of the horn feels a little strange. If I take it off, it doesn't hang on the neck of my tenor like a normal strap. It may take time for me to work out my on-stage horn changing routine.
 
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#3 ·
When I put the horn down it easily folds up and drops down the bell.
cheers, Mark.
Yes, that's about the best place for it all righty. But there's an extra few seconds involved in putting down my clarinet, reaching over the tenor, grabbing the saXholder, unfolding it, placing it on my shoulders (without knocking my glasses awry), straightening the cord, picking up the tenor, hooking it on and blowing. Practice will make perfect I guess, but after 45 years of putting down the clarinet, picking up the tenor, hooking on and blowing, it's gonna need some thought. A couple of times I've picked up the tenor (with saXholder in the bell) and gone for the hook only to find it's not there. Then the juggling starts. While it's not impossible to fit the saXholder one-handed while holding a tenor, I don't recommend it! :)
 
#4 ·
Jeez Pat, that's nasty. Glad to hear you're just about over it.

After a bit of trouble with osteo in the neck, I,ve been using a Neotech body harness for a couple of years. It does the job fine for me, though I know a lot of blokes findit constricting, not being able to raise the tenor up high in front of them. I strap the harness on before the gig and it's just there. I've never used a Saxholder — can't you just leave it in place unused on your shoulders when you're playing clarinet or does it fall off without the tenor to weight it down?
 
#5 ·
Jeez Pat, that's nasty. Glad to hear you're just about over it.

After a bit of trouble with osteo in the neck, I,ve been using a Neotech body harness for a couple of years. It does the job fine for me, though I know a lot of blokes findit constricting, not being able to raise the tenor up high in front of them. I strap the harness on before the gig and it's just there. I've never used a Saxholder - can't you just leave it in place unused on your shoulders when you're playing clarinet or does it fall off without the tenor to weight it down?
G'day Mike!

As to webbing harnesses, I find them worse than struggling into a wetsuit! Plus, I can't seem to get the position right; it seems when I breathe in, the horn comes closer and vice versa. From a distance, it looks like a traditional sling/strap.

The saXholder is very light - the metal is aluminium. You bend the arms to suit yourself and I'm not quite at perfection in that department. So when I move about, or bend forward to pick up my tenor from its stand for example, it can at best shift and at worst fall off. But this is all small potatoes compared with the benefits of NO pressure on any part of my neck or spine.

Another benefit it has over other harness solutions is that I can play alto, C-melody and baritone as well with just the normal adjuster we've all been used to for years. My saXholder came from the US and cost me about $70. There's a mob in Brisbane who sell them for about the same here in Australia.
 
#7 ·
Pat, sorry to hear about your problems! I know pain myself and I know how much it affects you life.

One can use the saxholder under any garment or just casually above it, the only precaution is to make sure that you adjust the abdominal rest as not being too long if you go sit down after playing in the erect position because if this is set too low , sitting down will push the shoulders up ( thys typically affects rather short people). If one makes sure that the ab support is placed on the solar plexus and not lower, you won’t have any of this.
 
#13 ·
Glad to know that things have gotten better for you, Pat. And that you're back to playing. These things can be a real challenge, not just physically, but otherwise.

Just for fun, here's a recent photo of me. (Six hours under the knife):

 
#16 ·
Hi Pat, long time. I too am glad you're feeling better! Uugh, sounds like kind of a nasty ordeal. Best to you always.

@ Gary - holy crap you got screwed. Looking at x-rays makes me uncomfortable. When I saw mine from the neck surgery it really made me tentative for a good long time. Funny thing is, my screws (and graph) are mounted on the back-side, although the surgeon gained access from the front of my neck. Best to you too.
 
#17 ·
Hi Pat, long time. I too am glad you're feeling better! Uugh, sounds like kind of a nasty ordeal. Best to you always.
Thanks Joe, I appreciate it. Kind regards to you and thanks for your helpd in the past. I hope you're in good health and still making those great straps. They're still the best I've tried of the touching-the-neck variety; and mine is still in my tenor case ready to step in. :) I am so freaked out about my neck at this point though that Gary's xray and your references to your own woes are giving me the heebies. I'm determined to look after mine from now on.
 
#18 ·
@Joe. Don't know about the mounting from the front or back, but in my case, my bones had grown in so much that my spinal cord was compressed dangerously in three different locations. One good whiplash type whack and I could have been paraplegic for life. Where/how the surgeon cut maybe has something to do with why ours are mounted differently.
 
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