u/iwannahavemuscles

I'm a college musician, and recently one of my fingers has started to pain me. My hand has hurt on occasion before, during strenuous weeks of playing my instrument (upright bass) but this is the first time that pain in my hand has been this bad, this concentrated, and this constant.

My index finger aches constantly throughout the day, even when I have not touched my instrument at all during the week. The aching is predominantly at the first smallest joint, but there is also some achiness down at the knuckle. My first finger joint pops very easily, so it has gotten to the point where I have been habitually bending my finger to crack it every few seconds for quick relief.

Compared to my other fingers, it feels like the joints in my index have almost been "worn down". I am able to bend the finger inward and outward with what feels like much less resistance compared to my other fingers. When I bend it either way I get more of that aching sensation and I have to stop. I am still able to operate the finger normally day to day but it can get uncomfortable to use.

Since my index finger is my most used finger as a musician, my biggest fear is that I have permanently worn down the joint through repetitive movement and years of poor technique. My instrument takes a decent amount of finger pressure because the strings are so thick so this finger has definitely been doing lots of work.

I just want to know what's wrong with me. I want to know if there is anything I can do to make it go away, anything preventative I can do so it doesn't get worse, or if it's just going to get worse the more I use it & I'm just doomed to be in pain for the rest of my career.

Can anyone please identify what is wrong with me & what I can do to help? And who should I see about this? I'm eventually going to see a specialist but I'm a broke college student and I'm afraid it will cost more than I can afford right now.

(Age: 20F Height: 5'3 Weight: 160lb Do not smoke, taking adderall 20mg)

I'm a college musician, and recently one of my fingers has started to pain me. My hand has hurt on occasion before, during strenuous weeks of playing my instrument (upright bass) but this is the first time that pain in my hand has been this bad, this concentrated, and this constant.

My index finger aches constantly throughout the day, even when I have not touched my instrument at all during the week. The aching is predominantly at the first smallest joint, but there is also some achiness down at the knuckle. My first finger joint pops very easily, so it has gotten to the point where I have been habitually bending my finger to crack it every few seconds for quick relief.

Compared to my other fingers, it feels like the joints in my index have almost been "worn down". I am able to bend the finger inward and outward with what feels like much less resistance compared to my other fingers. When I bend it either way I get more of that aching sensation and I have to stop. I am still able to operate the finger normally day to day but it can get uncomfortable to use sometimes.

Since my index finger is my most used finger as a musician, my biggest fear is that I have permanently worn down the joint through repetitive movement and years of poor technique. My instrument takes a decent amount of finger pressure because the strings are so thick so this finger has definitely been doing lots of work.

I just want to know what's wrong with me. I want to know if there is anything I can do to make it go away, anything preventative I can do so it doesnt get worse, or if it's just going to get worse the more I use it & I'm just doomed to be in pain for the rest of my career.

Can anyone please identify what is wrong with me & what I can do to help? And who should I see about this? I'm eventually going to see a specialist but I'm a broke college student and I'm afraid it will cost more than I can afford right now.

(Age: 20F Height: 5'3 Weight: 160lb Do not smoke, taking adderall 20mg)

I'm a college musician, and recently one of my fingers has started to pain me. My hand has hurt on occasion before, during strenuous weeks of playing my instrument (upright bass) but this is the first time that pain in my hand has been this bad, this concentrated, and this constant.

My index finger aches constantly throughout the day, even when I have not touched my instrument. The aching is predominantly at the first joint, but there is also some achiness down at the knuckle. My first finger joint pops very easily, so it has gotten to the point where I have been habitually cracking it every few seconds for quick relief.

Compared to my other fingers, it feels like the joints have been "worn down". I am able to bend the finger inward and outward with what feels like little resistance compared to with my other fingers. When I bend it either way I get more of that aching sensation and I have to stop. I am still able to operate the finger normally day to day, it is just uncomfortable to use.

Since my index finger is my most used finger as a musician, I wonder if I have permanently worn down the joint through overuse. My playing technique hasn't always been the best and my instrument takes a decent amount of force from the hand, so I can see it being possible. I'm just wondering if there is anything preventative I can do, anything I can do to make it go away, or if I'm just doomed to be in pain for the rest of my career. If I'm going to be stuck with simple, temporary pain relief solutions for the rest of my life, like hot towel compresses and taking ibuprofen, while being in pain the rest of the time, I honestly think I'd rather have 4 fingers on my left hand. It is impacting me that much.

Can anyone please identify what is wrong with me? Is there anything that I can do to make this pain go away?

And who should I see about this? I know I should go see a specialist but I'm a broke college student and I'm afraid it will cost more than I can afford.

20F, 5'3, 160lb

I want to take a second to pay some respect to all of the classical bassists out there. I am a jazz bassist practicing classical technique to support my jazz playing. I am being humbled and defeated by the classical bass every day.

Those of you who are able to gracefully and effortlessly use the bow... I just don't know how you people do it. I'm fumbling so hard just with intermediate pieces. My back is tired. My hands are tired. It's as if my left hand forgets how it's supposed to work the minute my bow gets involved in anything remotely difficult. My intonation? Out the window. Out of habit, I keep using electric bass fingerings where I shouldn't be. It feels like my bow can never decide if it wants to grip the string or not, and I keep mixing up the bowings in the music... With the assistance of my teacher, I am slowly improving, but it is an arduous climb.

And nevermind playing solos. Solo pieces being difficult is one thing, but at least they highlight the skill of the bassist... No, what is truly commendable is that many of our fellow double bassists have to confront all of these hurdles and tame this beast of an instrument just for the sake of providing depth and support to large ensembles. It's lots of work for a very understated role. Your presence is felt, but you are usually not heard or focused on, so you are underappreciated by the general public and by your fellow musicians! It's sad, because the double bass has such a gorgeous sound... ESPECIALLY when someone very skilled is playing it with the bow. It does not deserve to be overlooked the way that it is. And I have to mention how much of a shame it is that most people do not realize just how difficult it is to play the double bass. Especially for those like me who are on the shorter side, this instrument can be so uncooperative and physically demanding even on the simplest of parts.

I have so much admiration for classical bassists and I really want to express it. So I want to appreciate you all right now. You guys are incredible!! I hope to attain even half the technique and patience that you possess during my journey to become a skilled jazz bassist. My respect goes out to you!

I have 2 potential gigs, and both conflict with eachother. One is at an Italian restaraunt and the other is in a theater in a neighboring town. For the sake of this story I'll refer to gig #1 as "Restaraunt" and gig #2 as "Theater".

If both gigs were confirmed, I'd take the Restaraunt gig in a heartbeat because it usually pays more and it's a fun gig. However, recently, communication between us and the Restaraunt has been very poor. A few months back, it was very consistent and I was playing there each Saturday. But now, I usually do not know whether or not we are playing until the week of (and lately, we haven't been.)

As of now, I have recieved zero word if we will playing there on the day that conflicts with the Theater gig.

My dilemma is that I have to decide if I'm going to give the Theatre gig advanced notice that I can fill in for them, or if I'm going to forgo that and wait for the Restaraunt to book me.

I am inclined to take the Theatre gig because it is confirmed income, while as of now the Restaraunt gig is not. At the same time, I slightly worry about gambling on not having the Restaraunt gig. If things turn out the other way and I end up having to decline the Restaraunt because of my Theater commitment, I will be missing out on money that I am in need of.

P.S. Writing this shortly after drafting this post - I went with my gut and chose the Theater gig. I think it was the smartest decision simply because there was less risk involved.

I'm still posting this because I would love to hear about other musicians' takes on this situation. Would you guys agree that it was the best decision to choose the Theater gig? What experiences have you guys had with poor communication and scheduling, and what is your usual mindset and approach toward these situations? I'm wondering if there are ways to avoid this in the future that I'm just not seeing right now.

Also I just realized I spelt the word restaurant wrong throughout this entire post lol

I have 2 potential gigs, and both conflict with eachother. One is at an Italian restaraunt and the other is in a theater in a neighboring town. For the sake of this story I'll refer to gig #1 as "Restaraunt" and gig #2 as "Theater".

If both gigs were confirmed, I'd take the Restaraunt gig in a heartbeat because it usually pays more and it's a fun gig. However, recently, communication between us and the Restaraunt has been very poor. A few months back, it was very consistent and I was playing there each Saturday. But now, I usually do not know whether or not we are playing until the week of (and lately, we haven't been.)

As of now, I have recieved zero word if we will playing there on the day that conflicts with the Theater gig.

My dilemma is that I have to decide if I'm going to give the Theatre gig advanced notice that I can fill in for them, or if I'm going to forgo that and wait for the Restaraunt to book me.

I am inclined to take the Theatre gig because it is confirmed income, while as of now the Restaraunt gig is not. At the same time, I slightly worry about gambling on not having the Restaraunt gig. If things turn out the other way and I end up having to decline the Restraunt because of my Theater commitment, I will be missing out on money that I am in need of.

P.S. Writing this shortly after drafting this post - I went with my gut and chose the Theater gig. I think it was the smartest decision simply because there was less risk involved.

I'm still posting this because I would love to hear about other musicians' takes on this situation. Would you guys agree that it was the best decision to choose the Theater gig? What experiences have you guys had with poor communication and scheduling, and what is your usual mindset and approach toward these situations? I'm wondering if there are ways to avoid this in the future that I'm just not seeing right now.

Also I just realized I spelt the word restaurant wrong throughout this entire post lol

Hi guys. So as the title says, my Whitins have been really hurting my feet. I don't think it's a matter of adapting to them, because I've been wearing them almost every day for about 1 year or so.

I have relatively wide feet especially for women's sizes, and they were my first barefoot shoe. So I fell in love with them because they were the first piece of footwear I've owned that didn't cramp me into a narrow toebox. However, each day after I've spent time walking and standing in them, the bottoms of my feet really begin to hurt.

For this reason I'm looking for a new pair of shoes. I'm inclined to think more cushion might be the answer. I have a pair of those Hey Dude running shoes that I've slightly sized up, and I find the cushion on those to be pretty comfy while I'm walking. I'm also thinking about getting some of those sole-insert-thingies to put inside my Whitins to see if those would help, but the Whitins have started falling apart so it's about time I get a new shoe.

Any shoe suggestions? Mostly looking for every-day tennis shoes, but bonus points for boots and women's dress shoes. I'm pretty flat-footed if that helps. I lean toward more budget-friendy options, but I'm not afraid to spend more if it means that I'll finally be comfortable. Thanks!