Has anyone experienced upper back pain while practicing?

General Music Discussion
#1

For about a year and a half now, whenever I make an attempt to practice I experience some intense pain in my right rhomboid. Usually, I notice it about 10-15 minutes after I start practicing at faster speeds. At first, I had assumed it was from looking down at my hands while playing since I have a habit of doing that. I went to physical therapy to get some help but while those exercises can reduce the pain, the pain is still present. I ended up taking a break from playing for about a month or two and the pain practically disappeared.

When I started practicing again, the pain returned. But this time I noticed that any time I attempt to play fast, I flex my rhomboid and move my shoulder backwards (sometimes forwards). It’s almost like the movement and flexing of those muscles is involuntary. Somehow my brain and body have learned that playing fast = flexing specific muscles and holding tension when that shouldn’t be the case. I suspect that this is the culprit and that I will have to be extremely aware of my body as I play and reduce the muscle activation.

Has anyone experienced anything similar to this? Have you had any success at reducing or eliminating pain caused by bad technique or habits? I feel like I’m at my wits end trying to get through this. I’d rather this issue not be the reason I have to quit playing.

#2

Not sure if this will help as I’ve never experienced this myself, but I notice a lot of players, even great ones, tend to shrug their right (picking hand) shoulder - this is especially obvious when sitting down. I can’t help but think this could potentially cause an issue, and sitting classical style (guitar on left leg) prevents it, for myself, at least. Have you tried playing left leg, and does it help you achieve a better sense of shoulder/back balance?

1 Like
#3

I play V shaped guitars so playing in classical position is about the only way I can play while sitting. The motion my shoulder makes isn’t really a shrug either. It’s the same motion you would use if you were to pinch your shoulder blades together and squeeze, except it only happens on one side. It doesn’t matter if I’m sitting or standing. The second I start trying to play fast my shoulder involuntarily moves and about 10 minutes later I’m in pain.

#4

Hmmmm… assuming this is a learned, but unnecessary habit, maybe try experimenting with a totally different picking motion? I just reviewed the videos from your December post - if you’re still basically doing the same thing, try elbow. Not as a permanent change, just to see if you can do some sort of fast picking without engaging the “half row” contraction in your back.

#5

I frequently experience upper back pain - between the shoulder blades - and practicing definitely makes it worse.

Some things I’ve found that help:

Focus on relaxing your muscles, from your back to your arm to your hand. I know I tend to tense up, particularly when playing fast, and that tension goes from my hand through my arm into my shoulder and back. Focusing on relaxing everything and staying relaxed has helped.

Change your playing position. It may involve sitting more upright, using something to elevate your foot (I use a yoga block), moving the guitar from your right leg to your left (sort of between the legs), or even standing up. I find that the less time I spend in any one position, but less I’m likely to have back pain, and standing up for a few minutes in particular has helped.

Stretching afterwards. There’s a variety of stretches, and you kind of have to experiment to find what works for you. There’s two doorway stretches - one for your chest by putting your arms on either side and leaning in to stretch your chest, and one for your back where you grip the doorway with one arm and then lean back reaching with your other arm under the arm that’s holding the doorway. There’s the cat/cow stretch of curling forwards and then extending backwards. There’s the twisting stretch of twisting to look behind you, first one way then the other. The doorway stretches help the most for me.

Soft tissue release and spinal adjustment. What helps me the most after pain sets in is either foam rolling my back - laying down across a foam roller and slowly rolling down, letting my back stretch across the roller and pausing on any painful spots until the pain melts away - or using the edge of the bed to stretch my back - laying down on the edge of the bed and slowly sliding off the bed, letting the bed stretch out my back. I usually hear some popping as my spine re-aligns when I do this, and it brings instant relief.

I hope some of this helps.