| Author |
Topic: playing after back surgery |
Calvin Walley
From:
colorado city colorado, USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2013 6:21 pm |
|
how many player have had back surgery ?
as some of you may know in the past month
I have had 2 back surgery's
its has been 3 weeks since the last one
but my back gets tired within 5-10 minutes of sitting down at the guitar and I have to stop .
any other player's have this problem ?
_________________
proud parent of a sailor
Mullen SD-10 /nashville 400
gotta love a Mullen!!!
Guitars that i have owned in order are :
Mullen SD-10,Simmons SD-10,Mullen SD-10,Zum stage one,Carter starter,
Sho-Bud Mavrick |
|
|
 |
Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2013 7:23 pm
|
|
Have not had surgery but need to. I have that problem every day - the best thing I can tell you is to find the most comfortable seat you can and grit your teeth.
I lower my E strings on my LKR a LOT and that seems to make the problem worse. It puts the back in quite a bind. I hope your surgery will eventually make your problem better.
_________________
Doug Earnest
Manufacturer of Stage One & Encore pedal steel guitars
http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com
"Teach Your Children Well" |
|
|
|
Larry Hamilton
From:
Amarillo,Tx
|
Posted 9 Sep 2013 8:09 pm
|
|
Doug, Terry Bethel got my lowering E on rkl, raise E on lkr. I play the Day way and it works for me along with the the Crawford D on the 2nd string.
My back is shot too and I don't have to use lkl quite as much. As said before get comfortable as possible. Good seat, good guitar height. Playing steel is hard on backs because of the heavey stuff we carry even if just guitar, amp and seat.
Good luck. 
_________________
Keep pickin', Larry |
|
|
|
Bill L. Wilson
From:
Oklahoma, USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2013 10:04 pm Back Surgery.
|
|
| Bad car wreck in '05, broken back, knee, arm, and ribs. Bars and screws hold my back together. The only pain I have, is if I over work it. I installed a back support on my Sho-Bud Pac-aSeat. It is invaluable, and made from the leg brace, I used while in the hospital. I have no pain playing 4hrs, 2nights a week, and I take no pills, or drugs. Just God's miraculous healing power is all it can be. I really feel for you guys that can't play because of pain, but don't give up, invest in a seat w/a back. Joe Naylor can build anything you want and probably anything special to boot. Be Blessed. |
|
|
|
Bob Knetzger
From:
Kirkland, WA USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2013 11:30 pm
|
|
Calvin, Sorry to hear about your back problems. I sure had mine and a back surgery 20 some years ago. My post-op physical therapy was to go swimming every day. I hated it, but it really helped build up muscles and tone my "core" as they call it. I know what it's like when what seems so simple or insignificant can completely effect your ability to move pain free.
Take care and slowly work on it, it will get better! |
|
|
|
Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
|
Posted 10 Sep 2013 3:11 am
|
|
Calvin, I have had back surgery 7 times in 10 years. I'm now on my 2nd spinal cord stimulator implant.
Try to use good posture and get up often and walk around a little. It takes a while but keep fighting through it and the periods of time playing will increase.
Best wishes
_________________
http://twitter.com/hook_moore
www.facebook.com/hook.moore
Blaine Moore |
|
|
|
Mike Wilson
From:
Mansfield, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 10 Sep 2013 3:24 am
|
|
| Calvin, I have had 2 back surgeries. Fist to have a partial removal of a disk and the 2nd had another disk fused and caged. I don't have pain when I'm playing. Sometimes I might find it had to get comfortable sitting for a lengthy period but not bad. I have found that if I have to carry my equipment very far that, the next day I will start to feel it in the muscles, and it will last for 3 or 4 days. I finally broke down and bought an aluminum folding cart (on the advice of Herby Wallace and John Hughey, God Bless them both) and I can't begin to tell you how much nicer life has been since I got the cart. I will say that any exercise you can do to strengthen the muscles in the back is will be helpful. Depending on the nerve damage due to surgery will also effect what pain you have while sitting and operating the levers on the guitar. I mostly feel tingling in my foot, but that is all the time not just when I'm playing my guitar. You just learn to deal with it. I hope this is helpful to you.[/code] |
|
|
|
Bud Angelotti
From:
Larryville, NJ, USA
|
Posted 10 Sep 2013 7:37 am
|
|
Cal - Sorry to hear about your problem. Some possible solutions, Try lowering you seat, or use a lower seat or chair. that way you won't be tilting you head and neck down as much. Also since you stated it's been 3 weeks since the surgery, maybe you just need more time to heal up. Hope that helps.
_________________
Just 'cause I look stupid, don't mean I'm not. |
|
|
|
Calvin Walley
From:
colorado city colorado, USA
|
Posted 10 Sep 2013 8:11 am
|
|
i'm kinda hoping that things will get better with time , they cut a lot of muscle .
sandy tells me that I am rushing things
_________________
proud parent of a sailor
Mullen SD-10 /nashville 400
gotta love a Mullen!!!
Guitars that i have owned in order are :
Mullen SD-10,Simmons SD-10,Mullen SD-10,Zum stage one,Carter starter,
Sho-Bud Mavrick |
|
|
|
Micky Byrne
From:
United Kingdom (deceased)
|
Posted 11 Sep 2013 1:58 am
|
|
Hook I congratulate you....you seem to have a really positive attitude. I too have back ache, usually to the left side after a few minutes playing. This is on top of all my other health problems...A positive head is the way to go. Cheers to you 
Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.
www.micky-byrne.co.uk |
|
|
|
Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
|
|
|
|
Eugene Cole
From:
near Washington Grove, MD, USA
|
Posted 11 Sep 2013 5:22 am Pay attention to ergonomics to minimize pain and injury
|
|
| Calvin Walley wrote: |
how many player have had back surgery ?
as some of you may know in the past month
I have had 2 back surgery's
its has been 3 weeks since the last one
but my back gets tired within 5-10 minutes of sitting down at the guitar and I have to stop .
any other player's have this problem ? |
I have not had back surgery per se. I did however reach my pain threshold and had to take the time and make the effort to substantially readjust my seat-heights and my guitars leg-lengths.
Several thoughts came to my mind when I read your post. My first thought was to look at the ergonomics of your body position.
- Think about your seat height. Would your posture and/or your playing position improve if your seat was an inch or 2 highter or lower? I always start with seat-height when I look at people that are having the problem which you wrote about and then fit/adjust the guitar-height to work with the ideal seat height. Guitar and seat height are inter related and do effect each other.
- Some players lean forward over their guitar; this gets problematic and will create back pain over time. This is self-evident.
- Are your guitars legs (and pedal rods too) adjusted so that you have an ideal playing position? See seat-height above.
- Just extending the rear legs an inch or lowering the front legs an inch (or so) can for some people (myself included) make playing more comfortable.
- Have other PSG players (preferably older guys that have already had to face this issue) take a look at your playing position and discuss this with them.
My wrists, hips, and subsequently my back prefer me to have my guitars rear legs a little longer than the front legs so that the back of my guitar is a little higher than the front. I'll spare you the detailed descriptions of why this is unless you want me to explain it all.
For me it was a case of doing this work or giving up the instrument because I could not continue playing the manner and in the positions that I had before. For some of us this process is a must-do.
It is a bit of work to find and adjust your seat and your guitar heights to more optimum settings. It may mean taking an hour and cutting new threads for longer (or shorter) pedal rods, and it will mean readjusting your pedal rods so that the pedals end up at comfortable heights. The process of making new pedal rods and adjusting the pedals was (for me) harder than finding my optimum seat-height and guitar-leg lengths. One can order rod-extenders if you do not want to make new (longer) rods. However once you have done this with 1 PSG, the process of doing it on your other PSG's will be pretty easy.
_________________
Regards
-- Eugene <sup>at</sup> FJ45.com
PixEnBar.com
Cole-Luthierie.com
FJ45.com
Sierra U14 8+5 my copedent, 1972 MSA D10 8+4, and nothing in the Bank. 8^) |
|
|
|
Daniel Policarpo
|
Posted 11 Sep 2013 5:45 am
|
|
Cal, your wife is probably right (as much as we hate to admit it sometimes) as far as rushing things is concerned, or maybe its more to do with what you expect from your body, which has gone through delicate surgery. I think examining things like comfort, posture, and things to look for (especially if pain arises) right now will help as your back gets stronger and yoru time at the steel becomes more robust and longer. I feel for you, too. I am looking at increasing sciatic pain as the years go on, but I am trying to stave off the problem now, rather than later. Hopefully your surgeries were successful and you will be at the steel for long hours (and years!) soon enough
Take care,
Dan
Last edited by Daniel Policarpo on 11 Sep 2013 11:28 am; edited 2 times in total |
|
|
|
Calvin Walley
From:
colorado city colorado, USA
|
Posted 11 Sep 2013 8:40 am
|
|
thanks to all of you :
now let me say this to anyone putting off having back surgery.
DON'T delay it . I put it off way to long and that was a factor in having to have the 2nd surgery .
this is something that does not get better with time , it will only make things worst later
_________________
proud parent of a sailor
Mullen SD-10 /nashville 400
gotta love a Mullen!!!
Guitars that i have owned in order are :
Mullen SD-10,Simmons SD-10,Mullen SD-10,Zum stage one,Carter starter,
Sho-Bud Mavrick |
|
|
|
Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
|
Posted 11 Sep 2013 1:23 pm
|
|
I feel for anyone with back problems. I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back from a work related injury in 2005. A workers comp issue. The insurance company doctors , as well as my doctor, all agreed that the surgery would probably not make it any less painful, and I was never able to get the surgery. They are L4 & L5 and when it really flares up, I get sciatica in my legs, but mostly the right leg. Because my Worker's Comp claim was settled, I can not get the surgery done unless I want to pay for it out of my own pocket. Other health insurances I have had won't touch it because it was a work related / workers comp injury.
I am so used to the pain that I hardly notice it on an every day basis. But sometimes it gets worse, mostly if I have to bend over a lot. I really have to watch it when setting up my equipment.
A few years after the back injury, I had a pinched nerve in my neck and the bulging disc was pressing against my spinal cord. That surgery was necessary. And, that surgeon said that my back injury surgery should have been performed and the the doctors involved were "full of S#!T". He mentioned there are some unethical doctors who will take payoffs from insurance companies to go along with them in workers comp cases. Oh well...
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
|
|
|
Bob Moore
From:
N. Rose, New York
|
Posted 16 Sep 2013 5:14 pm
|
|
| I have a total fusion of the spine. I sit best with a good pac seat with back. I had my surgry in 2002 and started trying to play in about a year. Play every day for at least a hour. Just take time out if you need to change positions. I'm 73 and still making noise (still learning) Bob Moore |
|
|
|
John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
|
Posted 17 Sep 2013 10:42 am My bad back
|
|
I had osteomyelitis last summer. It's a bone infection that occurred in my back T9 and T10. A laproscopic procedure was performed to fix that but it resulted in a staph infection in my neck. That required a much more invasive surgery, three cervical vertebrae were fused with titanium cages. I lost about 30 lbs. and was on my back for about 8 weeks. I was on antibiotics for about 9 months.
I temporarily lost strength in my left hand and couldn't play an E chord on the guitar. Pretty spooky. My steel guitar playing wasn't so bad but I got busy practicing as much as I could. I'm now back 100% on both instruments. I've gradually gained strength and weight but I still get dull pain in the middle back lifting heavy things.
I carry my Zum SD12U in a light weight keyboard case, with the legs and rods in a separate gun case. I use a folding dolly for everything. I always try to lift with my legs (not affected by the surgeries). My pak-a-seat has been modified with the addition of a stadium seat back and an inflatable cushion (REI). It's very comfortable. My amp is a 35 lb. Roland Cube 80. I got rid of the 65 lb. Fender Twin.
I'm not completely healed, may never be but I'm playing more than ever. I recommend stretches and what ever PT your doctor refers you to. Oh, I'm 65 years of age and hope to continue this steel guitar obsession for a few more years yet.
Thanks to all the above who posted their stories. Very helpful and encouraging. |
|
|
|
Calvin Walley
From:
colorado city colorado, USA
|
Posted 18 Sep 2013 6:47 pm
|
|
talked to my doc today and I might have to have more surgery
to put a permanent drain put in my back
to get rid of on going headaches ..I am thinking I might take time off
from playing for a while until I get all this behind me
_________________
proud parent of a sailor
Mullen SD-10 /nashville 400
gotta love a Mullen!!!
Guitars that i have owned in order are :
Mullen SD-10,Simmons SD-10,Mullen SD-10,Zum stage one,Carter starter,
Sho-Bud Mavrick |
|
|
|
Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)
From:
Greenwell Springs, Louisiana (deceased)
|
Posted 19 Sep 2013 12:23 pm
|
|
Hi, Calvin ...
Some years ago, after being stupid enough to fall off the roof of my house, I ended up having to have back surgery. I was suffering from five collapsed disks, L-1 through L-5, and what they did with mine was something called Endoscopic Discectomy. They went in and put these little shock absorber things around my discs and, basically, the shock absorber things lend about 80% support while my own discs still support my back by 20%. I keep a sense of humor about it and like to joke and say I've been Midas-ized!
That being said, after my procedure it took about 3 to 4 weeks before I could sit at my steel for more than a few moments. After that post-op time, I could sit for hours without my back getting tired or aching.
Here's hoping and praying you have a completely successful surgery with a speedy 100% recovery. I feel for anyone with back problems ... before my surgery I stayed in excruciating pain most of the time.
_________________
1986 Mullen D-10 with 8 & 7 (Dual Bill Lawrence 705 pickups each neck)
Two Peavey Nashville 400 Amps (with a Session 500 in reserve) - Yamaha SPX-90 II
Peavey ProFex II - Yamaha R-1000 Digital Reverb - Ross Time Machine Digital Delay - BBE Sonic Maximizer 422A
ProCo RAT R2DU Dual Distortion - Korg DT-1 Pro Tuner (Rack Mounted) - Furman PL-8 Power Bay
Goodrich Match-Bro by Buddy Emmons - BJS Steel Bar (Dunlop Finger Picks / Golden Gate Thumb Picks) |
|
|
|
Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
|
Posted 19 Sep 2013 5:02 pm
|
|
June 6th I had spinal stenosis surgery and the base of my spine removed due to pagets disease. This Monday a hip replacement. Oh well......
 |
|
|
|
