Advice about shoulder surgery

[barbara-kraichy–2]

Hi All,

It seem harpists, as well as other musicians, can be affected by awkward positions we have when playing. I can see, being a professional Harpist who has been playing harp for decades, I’m not alone when it comes to shoulder pain!

No one has mentioned seeing a chiropractor! Recently, my shoulder pain returned and I went to my chiropractor. He examined my left shoulder, had me rotate the arm and took some “hammer gizmo” (You can tell my medical knowledge is very lacking!) and hit a few spots softly. He told me to go home and put ice on it for 15 minutes. Then, he said “For every hour you practice, I want you to spend 15 minutes resting with ice on the shoulder. ” He also told me to do an exercise where I lower the shoulder and pull my arm back which squeezes the shoulder, shoulder blade and spine together.

I’ve followed his directions and the pain has gone away, but I have to keep doing the icing if the shoulder pain flares up. My chiropractor feels that the stretching we do when reaching for the bass strings pulls our shoulder, especially if tension is involved. and by reversing the front pulling and stretching by pulling back the other direction, it will relieve the pain.

Now I wait for my next chiropractor visit and most likely more hitting by “The Gizmo, but I’d rather do that than have surgery.

[kay-lister]

Good for you David – I hope you continue to improve!

Kay 🙂

[Alison]

ahem, what is Bursitis, please? I’ve really never heard of this and cannot see any explanation on this page, maybe I missed it…

[jimmy-h]

Bursae are like cusions for the tendons that keep friction to a minimum when you bend your joints. Bursitis is an inflammation of the Bursae.

I’m glad you went to a specialist and that things are getting better.

[Sylvia]

Bursitis
Definition
Bursitis is the painful inflammation of the bursa, a padlike sac found in areas subject to friction. Bursae cushion the movement between the bones, tendons and muscles near the joints. Bursitis is most often caused by repetitive movement and is known by several common names including weaver’s bottom, clergyman’s knee, and miner’s elbow, depending on the affected individual’s occupation and area of injury.

[barbara-kraichy–2]

Hi Harpists,

Yes, my chiropractor said I had inflammation in my shoulder. That’s why the ice treatment and it takes out the inflammation. Nothing was mentioned about having bursitis, but my shoulder muscles were tight and inflamed and the ice pack (for short periods of time) relieved the pain and an exercise rotating my arm backward instead of forward reaching (Reaching for the bass strings) really helped.

[Author]

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