26 years and I finally had to go to a physical therapist. 5 sessions and my entire life is changed. No more blinding headaches from neck and shoulder pain after playing guitar.
Dude you changed my life on guitar with just the knee change !! ..been a year of injured rot cuff ..which wasn't sure of how I hurt it..but thanks so much and keep on keeping on.
I'm on the right track. I found by trial and error that standing up and lowering the guitar doesn't t aggravate the shoulder like sitting down and playing. Thanks for confirming that.
Thanks for your video. It is very helpful for every Guitar players. I got a shoulder pain now because I played Guitar 1-2 hours every day for the past 20 months. I didn't realized the pain was caused by Guitar playing. I found the classical Guitar sitting posture (like you suggested) really relax my shoulder. I will try your method. Thanks！
I've just watched your video as I'm suffering from bursitis, thanks for the tips as I've got a contract to play 6 - 7 night a week for 6 months straight and I was terrified I'll seize up. Your explanation makes total sense, I'll look up the PT and give you an update in the coming weeks/months. Thanks bro🤘
Hi Dyce: I am not a pro player but I can imagine the stress you must have felt as you were resolving your shoulder issues. My takeaways from your video: keep up the PT exercises, they need to be a lifelong habit; use equipment like the classical guitar foot platform; and (really important), adjust the strap to lower the instrument. Professional or not, being able to play is important to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video.
Thank you for sharing your experience with this. I feel less alone! I have been dealing with pain around the right shoulder blade almost two years. I went to a PT about a year ago and it improved but now it’s getting worse again. I should go back to the exercises I can remember. I wish they’d write them down or give a video of each one. Hoping I can get my pain to calm down for a couple gigs next week. I will try your suggestions-thank you! I’m glad to hear you are recovering and still able to work.
Same issues - if you've got longer forearms then your elbow tends to kick.back higher on your picking hand and push your shoulder into a tighter/more stressful position than someone with shorter forearms. So finding guitars with a bridge thats pushed a little closer to the neck really will help- PRS 24 fret guitars have helped me find a much more comfortable seated playing posture because of the extra body space they have before the bridge
Thank you so much for the precious advice, standing up is a good one. Also for those who can afford it, take breaks, play every second or third day and hit the gym for presses and rotator cuff strengthening.
Ive realized this recently. im going to play less, play smarter, and start to write a book in my spare time, that way I can expand my creative reach and potential, while letting my shoulders rest.
I am not a pro. Singer-songwriter who likes to write songs. I have not been playing for probably 5 years. So recently I was inspired and I picked up my dreadnought instead of my parlor guild. Was getting back into the group pretty quick then all the sudden my shoulder just went out and is incredible pain. I had a fall in the winter and blew out my left shoulder. That is still recovering but now my right shoulder is out and I was just wondering what I could have done. The only thing different in the past two weeks was playing the guitar. After watching this video I am guessing that that's what I did. Just hoping I didn't do permanent damage to my rotator cuff. I just want to play the guitar right now and I can barely get my arm around it am I posture's probably not good with it. And I want to play now of course.. so the guild is coming out... And the ice and I hope a little rest it'll keep cure up but I can barely lift it up at all now It's almost worse than my left one was.
Thank you for sharing this. I'd love to see a video of your stretches! And, for those who aren't able to stand up for long periods of time, I recommend the guitar cushion in the classical positioning, even when playing the electric guitar. Just got back from doctor's office -shoulder tendonitis/subacromial impingement. Doctor's theory is that it's due to bad computer-desk posture, micromovements from guitar strumming causing wear n tear, and tennis practice sessions taking it over the edge. sucks getting old. I hope you're back to 100% and thanks again for sharing.
Thanks Dyce. When you get y to your 70s, 2-3 hours a day are enough to cause the shoulder pain. So, your advice is stand up, monitor your shoulder position, lower the guitar and use a foot rest if seated, especially with classical style. And do the PT. Got it. Very helpful. Thanks
Thanks for the video. I’ve been a full time musician for 26 years. I’ve been battling shoulder pain this year. It has recently occurred to me that it is probably guitar related. I haven’t been to the doctor about it yet. It seems to be improving. I will try some of your tips to see if I can nurse it back to 100%. 🙌🎸
Great insights! I've been playing my 6 string guitar with V body for a while. I switched back to my 8 string with a more strat like body and immediately felt a lot of tension in my shoulder. I've always attributed it to the strings just being thicker and that I should build more stamina. But your video made me realize it's because I have my right arm higher and more to the back.
sucks i been playing for 12 years every day just about now i am exspericance shoulder pain right i thought it was due to gym work out after listen to other and this video now i know its the guitar who would have figure it cause should problems dam cant have fun doing anything these days
I’ve been experiencing a lot of pain in my right shoulder too. Haven’t been able to play too much. So grateful for your video. Will contact you for some lessons. Appreciate your upload. Thank you!
Thanks man. I had rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder in October 2022. It took over a year to get back close to 100%, its still not 100%, I think shoulder pain is something I'm just going to have to live with. But I also play guitar almost every day. I also do PT almost everyday, to keep it loose. Sucks getting older, but I'm not going to give up playing guitar. Thanks for the tips
Was looking for a fix when my shoulder always seems to act up while playing. I have over the years steadily raised the position of my guitar. I see now that I have to lower it again. What's more is that I in essence play a strat and do a lot of fast alternate picking while playing. I already train my shoulders regularly and I'm in fairly good shape, but seeing as I'm feeling it pretty much every time I practice my own songs I'll give your tips a go. Thanks man!
You are correct about shoulder injuries. They are harder to heal! I’m wondering if you have advice for a starter electric guitar so as I don’t have any issues. I play for stress relief and anxiety so no gigs for me lol! Just learning uke but want to eventually learn guitar ( acoustic and electric). Many thanks sir!!!😊
Damn, I relate man. 57 and been playing aggressive styles on guitar since 12 and now both rotator cuffs are giving me pain. I was getting the shots once a year since 2018 but seems to require it more. I own a business so taking off weeks to recuperate is impossible. Already bought a company truck with automatic andcsold my 4 speed, tuck my arm in at side when possible, will use pillows to raise up head and body while leaving a gap between to put my arm and shoulder in and not picking up heavy weight. I got a massage but it didnt help so maybe I need the surgery but going for shots again first. it sucks because quality of life is greatly reduced and putting on a shirt or picking up a gallon of milk hurts. Thanks for your helpful videos.
Too many injections can cause your tendons to weaken and ultimately tear. PT is a far better option than repeated injections. I know a guy who relied on injections his whole life, he's 69 now and every tendon in both shoulders is torn, thats 8 torn tendons.
Thank you Dyce. I would love to hear how you re doing and more on your dreadnought approach. Ben practicing for a year and still haven't settled on a a position I'm comfortable with. tennis elbow on left and shoulder blade knots from the right arm. standing for dreadnought may be key. love lounging and playing but that is how I injured myself to begin with.
same brother, the knots are annoying, if you are still dealing with this, please update me on how it feels now, and if you had to start being more mindful about your aproach to the instrument, I agree its the lounging and slouching over it and getting into it that causes the pain, and i think i will have to just do the exercises 5 days a week, and work on standing a quarter of the time, and maybe buying a device that sits on the leg and holds the guitar upright would also help.
Been suffering from shoulder, neck and chest pain , and back pain , for over 12 years. I also suffer from fibromyalgia. It is a bit better now but still is painful after playing. I am using a stand now , but I still have pain. Had therapy (physio and osteopathy ) for over a year, as I have said I feel a bit better but I still have pain after I apply , feels like a sharp knife is piercing my back and I cannot breathe . When I breathe deeply one of my bones in the chest cracks.. At least now with the stand I have removed the weight of the guitar from my back. Unfortunately I am not playing anymore as. I used to play, the pain it is too bad.
I have a similar problem but mine tends to trigger headaches because the upper traps are starting from base of skull. I very also lowered the guitar and play with a strap ..found that this position is better for tensioned shoulders, but we have to exercise daily because the strap adds some tension to the left shoulder now
I'm a beginner, same problem, I'm taller guy, longer arms, idk if it might be a reason. But I have to lift my arm up back very high and my shoulder suffers too, and also holding the guitar against my body (while seated). When I play standing up, guitar positioned a bit lower, no pain whatsoever. I guess it's impossible for me to play seated without pain. Take care of your shoulders guys !
I wondered the same thing. I will try letting it heal up a bit, then start playing only standing and see. I really enjoy playing, but i see how hurting myself is really counter intuitive. Doing the PT and standing should fix a lot of it.
It's commonly called rotator cuff impeachment I think where the tendon at top of the socket stays stiff at 1 position for a prolonged period. This causes pain at joint & especially when you try to lift your arm. Me has it too & true it comes from prolonged playing involving too much wrist movement to pursue accuracy.
This is very important..I also suspect that damage begins from wrist and transfers to shoulder and traps too .. Perhaps we should try more forearm moving ?
@@sakiszachariades Keeping the whole arm straight down more often & applying or oral Declofenac helps for me though but not for long when you pickup the guitar again 😕
I have shoulder instabilty due to playing the guitar improperly and far too tensed up concentrating lol. I have a smaller acoustic but when I play my friends larger normal one it's worse. Its extremley painful. It makes my scapular Wing whilst playing. Thanks for the video.
I just started learning acoustic last week and my shoulder already hurts. Do you think a smaller acoustic could help me? They all look the same to me since I’m new 😅 do you have a recommendation? I’ll work on my posture too
i fixed this issue myself after years of pain and wanted to share this tip. Massage the area in the back of the arm right above your elbow and see if the pain goes away. Turns out its incredibly easy to develop triceps tendonitis from strumming, and the pain is often referred (i.e., shows up somewhere else). A short massage with my fingers fixed an issue i had for 18 years. Try it out.
I've been playing classical guitar primarily for the past 2 years and have noticed pain in my fretting hand shoulder. Your comment about having your elbow far back away from your body and exerting force in that position as a bad habit makes sense. Going forward I'm going to preemptively ice my shoulder and try some PT exercises. Hopefully that'll help things. I can't stand the idea of taking a month or two away from the guitar. Thanks for the video!
I have used that pedal pretty high but on right foot. Have pain in same side shoulder and in front also. Most after night when slept. Thought this pain could be from that pedal which is too high also. What do you think?
Standing is probably a good idea. I have a lot of shoulder pain and I just got out the hospital from blood clots in my leg and both lungs ( leg clot broke off into the lungs) from sitting for hours at a time practicing on my guitar. Now I try to get up every half hour or so to stretch.
Same pain, same causes (strat, shoulder far back with constent tension). Same cure: exercices (back muscles, eternal rotators of the shoulder), playing standing or classical style. Playing standing with guitar low is the best fix for me. I can't play standard position more than 10 minutes before pain comes back :D.
wow. yah I fell backwards and tore 3 of my rotator cuff tendons off and left 1/2 of one... they ended up fixing my shoulder with a reverse shoulder hardware. omg I'm only 2 months out after the first month ended up knocking it out and had to have it put back in. This is one surgery that is no fun what so ever wow. showest ever to heal. I am trying to play guitar and can't find one that is gonna work well with my hardware. I know you mentioned playing the guitar lower. will try that too. I usually play acoustic guitar ... thats a no go at the moment. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thank you
I mostly play on my chair I use the classical position but it just doesn't work with thick acoustic guitars for me...the pain always comes within an hour
Heat to increase blood flow? I’m having shoulder issues from my main job as a dog trainer, but definitely affecting my playing and performing. Especially loading gear 😂 😢
You seem like a big guy. You dwarf that acoustic. Maybe a concert grand would fit you better. Personally, I stand with my Strat, and sit with my acoustic dreadnought, making sure my arm is resting on the guitar at all times.
I’m a long time jazz drummer/bassist never had problems till I picked up the guitar, didn’t want to believe it was because of that, haven’t touched my strat for 6 days now and all my pain is gone, stressing on how to re approach it. Maybe I’m a better drummer than a guitar player!😂
Speaking from personal experience, 3-4 times a day and for about fifteen minutes each interval. Don’t put the ice directly on skin! Use a cloth or something like that.
Hi mate, appreciate the like on my comment. I still have this problem. Ive seen you have videos of you playing the guitar sat down on your channel. How did you solve the problem? Could you record a video of you going through the physical therapy. I cant play acoustics anymore because my shoulder is fucked
