Left forearm pain while drumming..

Eliasand

Junior Member
So i'm a 16 year old drummer and have been playing for about 5-6 years and never had any injuries or such. But now a couple of weeks ago i started feeling this slight pain in my left arm. It hurt everytime i hit the snare after i'd been practicing for a while. I have good technique: loose grip and letting the stick bounce. And it only hurts while drumming. Any advice?
 
See the doctor (traumatology) be aware of rimshots, play soft.

Best!
 
I had a similar experience a few years ago. Turned out it was a squashed disc in my spine touching some nerves which went to my left arm.

Discovered this by seeing a chiropractor who sent me for X-Rays, which confirmed their suspicions. Treatment was 8 x fortnightly chiropractic 'adjustments' which gradually straightened the upper spine and also improved my posture. The pain and tingling gradually faded away. I have no problems any more.
 
Why don't people just go and see a *&%^ing doctor? At least over here, they spend about 7 years qualifying to practise and have countless hours learning about the human body and its ailments.

They are the experts. NetMD, Drummerworld and you are not. Like any profession they sometimes get things wrong but I think the likelihood of a proper diagnosis in person with a qualified professional is infinitely higher than asking a bunch of non-qualified people over the Internet what they think of your non-specific symptoms.
 
So i'm a 16 year old drummer and have been playing for about 5-6 years and never had any injuries or such. But now a couple of weeks ago i started feeling this slight pain in my left arm. It hurt everytime i hit the snare after i'd been practicing for a while. I have good technique: loose grip and letting the stick bounce. And it only hurts while drumming. Any advice?

As others have said, go and see a doctor and do what he or she tells you to do, whether that's exercising, stopping playing for a bit, going to see a physio, whatever. Don't take advice from anyone on the internet who hasn't seen/examined your arm. Anyone who is professionally qualified in this area wouldn't try and diagnose you over the internet.
 
Why don't people just go and see a *&%^ing doctor? Like any profession they sometimes get things wrong
Sometimes? I would argue MOST of the time.

But something like this should definitely be x-rayed or even put in an MRI.
 
Yeah. Like everyone says. there's more than one possible condition. How would we, a bunch of dudes and dudettes ona forum know.

I probably know more than he average person, but there's no guarantee and I would still have to see YOUR arm.

Yes. Not all doctors are the best these days. The nature of the profession is that of people ag gas stations and garages selling bread and ice cream and knowing nothing about cars anynre. Just the way it is. But hey. That's why you shold get a second and third opinion from those you feel most inclined to trust.

Just to blabber on a bit.

Good technique is what? How do we know? That's also personal and it all goes out the window if we're tired and practice too much. Especially if we're practicing one thing and one movement.

No matter how good it is, repetitive stress injury will happen if not propper care and precations is taken. Breaks, full movement, stretching, propper nutrition, hydration and rest. There are a number of ways to treat and there are a number of ways to prevent. Some are general and should just be part of one's routine, some may be particular to a condition that you now might have which brings us, in this case, back to what most others have said.

Age definetly matters. I'm maybe young to some, but at 40 it's not like I was 20. Practicing and working out the same is no problem, but diet is a whole different matter.
 
Sometimes? I would argue MOST of the time.

But something like this should definitely be x-rayed or even put in an MRI.

I'd argue the complete opposite given the high standard of care that I have been given by doctors. In a couple of cases, they were also quite awkward diagnoses of long-term joint damage in somebody rather too young to have them.

So no. I profoundly disagree with you based on my experience of doctors.

If you have a very rare condition, then it is likely to take time to diagnose a condition. Diagnosis is largely based on the statistical likelihood of a particular ailment occurring in an individual patient based on a number of factors like age, height, weight, diet, ethnicity, etc. If you think you know better, then go and qualify to practise, take all of the exams and standardisations and wow me with your magical diagnostic skill.
 
So i'm a 16 year old drummer and have been playing for about 5-6 years and never had any injuries or such. But now a couple of weeks ago i started feeling this slight pain in my left arm. It hurt everytime i hit the snare after i'd been practicing for a while. I have good technique: loose grip and letting the stick bounce. And it only hurts while drumming. Any advice?
You are doing something wrong, or you have a medical issue unrelated to drumming. Your technique may not be good now. I suggest playing the hihat with your left hand, and right on the snare and see if you are still in pain. If I were to guess what is wrong, I would say your thumb is touching the side of your hand(and it does not need to be tight) Other than that, you need a pro to look at what you are doing. Matter of fact, videotape yourself playing, and I'll look at what you are doing. I studied with Joe Morello, Jim Chapin and others. Use a good angle. Nobody can diagnose your problem without seeing what you are doing wrong. If your strokes and grip look good, goto doctor.
 
I asked my doctor if he could help me on the transition from 4/4 to 12/8 and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. :)
 
If you think you know better, then go and qualify to practise, take all of the exams and standardisations and wow me with your magical diagnostic skill.
I've experienced both good and bad doctors, and for the most part, they are usually pretty average. After leaving school (where most do NOT pass at the top of their class), most of them do not keep up with advances (they don't have the time) and most of them are too easily swayed by the pharmaceutical industry.
 
I have good technique: loose grip and letting the stick bounce. And it only hurts while drumming. Any advice?

Post a video of your playing, demonstrating what hurts and where.

Bring sticks and practice pad to a hand/arm doc. Demonstrate it for them. They'll do a range of quick checks where you'll pull and push on their hand from various angles and positions, and should be able to identify which muscle groups, linkage, and/or nerves you're having trouble with.

They might even be able to determine why and what the cause is.
 
I've experienced both good and bad doctors, and for the most part, they are usually pretty average. After leaving school (where most do NOT pass at the top of their class), most of them do not keep up with advances (they don't have the time) and most of them are too easily swayed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Perhaps that is the case in a private healthcare system. Over here they have to evidence a lot of CPD each year and any relationships with pharmaceutical companies have to be disclosed, even casual meetings. Gifts can only be accepted in specific circumstances and also have to be declared...

Different systems.

Even an 'average' doctor has a better chance of diagnosing the original poster than one of us via the Internet.
 
Thanks for your replies, i'm going to see the school nurse tomorrow and hopefully she will get me a doctor appointment. Also spoke with my drum teacher who has 20+ years of experience and he also told me to completely stop practicing until i surely know what the cause is.
Here's a practice video i took about 5 months ago, don't know if it's any use but i guess you can see how my hand moves when playing.
That is the technique i always use, a variation between wrist and finger movement (except for heavy snare hits, when the whole upper arm is in motion). I don't do rimshots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKeocAe-R4
 
Sometimes? I would argue MOST of the time.

But something like this should definitely be x-rayed or even put in an MRI.

Do you have statistics to back this up? I ask because misinformation in a thread with a child talking about an injury is irresponsible.

To the OP, please seek medical attention and then depending on the outcome get lessons from a qualified instructor. You may think you have good technique and you very well might, but it is nothing to mess around with.
 
Not the best angle. But it looks like your grip is bad. Looks fine before you start playing. But the thumb crimps on to the hand. You need to see a hole that you can stick a drumstick in when looking at the thumb side of your hand. Your pointer finger and thumb create a semi-circle opening for a proper grip position.

When the thumb touches the side of your hand, it closes the capillaries in your hand, causing issues. And it does not have to be tight against the hand to be bad.
 
I'd take it easy for a few weeks, and then I'd really try to change stuff up in your playing if you feel like it's technique related. I couldn't really tell in the video. I was fortunate because my teacher emphasized good technique more than anything. If you are already feeling pain now at 5 years in, then think about when you'll be 20 years in, or 50! There's a pretty good studio drummer named Paul Leim that had really bad hand problems due to drumming, read about him and what he did to fix it and stuff. As for going to see a doctor, I don't know. I don't want to be that guy that tells you not to go see a doctor, because if you feel like it's serious enough then you definitely should. But if it only hurts while you're hitting the drum a certain way, I'd bet it's just a slight technique issue. Let us know how it all goes and good luck
 
Pics to look at. Open thumb and closed off thumb. That's it.
 

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