Limits

A very important understanding of bass guitar related strain injuries comes from the way our muscles work. Humans move when muscles contract on one side of a joint and stretch on the opposite side to flex or extend it. The nerves both monitor and direct those movements.

But the possibilities of joints are limited. They can only work in specific directions, they will not flex or extend beyond some point and they can only handle a certain maximum force.  

RSI risks are biggest when

• movements are repeated over and over
• a joint is repeatedly flexed or extended close to its limits
• the force on a joint comes in at an awkward angle
• the muscles have to work very long and hard to maintain a position

Combining these factors will multiply the chance to get RSI. For a bass player, problems  are most likely to arise from flexing or extending shoulder, elbow and/or wrist close to their limits, going together with repetitive gripping.

The nerves that direct our movements run through our arms and hands between bones and muscles. They pass through joints by relatively narrow openings. Full stretching or flexing of a joint as well as full contraction of muscles for a long time without relaxing may put too much pressure on nerves and damage them. Damage to the nerves is by far the most widespread feature of RSI.

Hands and arms do differ

Hands and arms differ enormously between people in size, proportions, strength and dexterity. Teachers and players explaining technique tend to rely on a mixture of standard instructions and their own experiences. What if following their advice is physically impossible for a student? Some people with tender hands, very short arms and fingers or obesity simply are less fit to play the bass guitar. Switching to a short scale bass, lighter strings or a top notch strap might help, but will these measures be taken quickly? In many cases teachers will have no choice but to allow their students to play in a way that works for them on material they can afford. If the teacher is unable to clearly point out health consequences, there will be no urge to take measures.

Besides the explicit cases, much flaws are hardly noticed. With so many musical aspects deserving attention, the complexity of problems might be too much even for the teacher. 

Healthy basic technique should be priority nr. 1 for every conscientious teacher!

Advice on bass guitar technique is not just about a long list of do’s and don’ts without consistency. It will have to be about limits and about choices based on some general principles. Understanding those priciples is the key to avoid health risks. Every player will have to develop his hands to find a way to both develop technical ability within his or her limits. Compromise will be inevitable. Therefore it is highly important to know where NOT to compromise.