Can't apply pressure / no control w/ double bass any more. Nerve damage? Old age? 2 years going.

Yea, I drive like 2-3 hours every day and definitely feel the whole bottom of my leg get numb. I guess that's pretty common and contribute to it. I'm just kinda bummed 4 MRIs and a nerve test found nothing.

I work out 5-7 days a week. I walk my dogs for about an hour every day, do at least 50 push ups / sit ups / and planking, and then will build a few stretches prior to drumming. I also will use an electric massager and foam roller most nights for stretching.

Edit: I'm actually pretty excited for my massage Sunday. It'll be my first one pretty much ever besides when my mom needed supervision hours to become a massage therapist. I'm still unsure of taking the neurologist's route to do some PT or I might just start with the alternate route of massages and maybe chiropractor.
 
Yea, I drive like 2-3 hours every day and definitely feel the whole bottom of my leg get numb.

I think you found your culprit.

The human body just wasn't designed for the repetitive things we do in modern life. And for me, I found working out preventing it from getting worse but never did anything to make it better.

My MRI never revealed anything either. PT never did anything.

Lots of massages, not sitting at a desk, and finally finding a good chiropractor (after trying numerous ones) are what did help.
 
I think you found your culprit.

The human body just wasn't designed for the repetitive things we do in modern life. And for me, I found working out preventing it from getting worse but never did anything to make it better.

My MRI never revealed anything either. PT never did anything.

Lots of massages, not sitting at a desk, and finally finding a good chiropractor (after trying numerous ones) are what did help.
I'll try all those buddy and appreciate your help! I bought an Aeron chair just to assist with having to sit so much. I'm trying to be more aware when driving as well. I'm going to start getting regular massages and visit a chiropractor to find alternative advice! I might also go to PT and will obv continue my exercise regiment / emphasize on regular daily stretching.
 
Hey all,

I'm at a loss and have been trying everything to get back on track with double bass. I'm 32 and have been playing drums for 27 years. Never had any issues like this. I'm actually feeling tingling in my tibialis and top of my foot (think it's extensor digitorum longus muscle) right now after playing today. There has never been an injury or pain - just tingling and inability to apply pressure with my weak (right) foot - I play left-handed.

About two years ago, I noticed struggling to play double bass in songs I could once play with ease. Usually, I could warm up and always play up to crazy double bass songs like As I Lay Dying - Nothing Left. Once I was able to work up and play Nothing Left, my legs were warmed up to play almost anything for the rest of the session. It seems like it was a steady decline but I'm having trouble playing 140bpm at a click now. There's no control and I feel like I cannot apply any pressure to the pedal with my right foot.

I play dw9002 pedals and always have (outside of trying to replace them with trick dominators for six months to see if it were dead pedals). I was able to play trick dominators up to 200bpm but still felt unnatural, so I went back to a new pair of dw9002. With both pedals, nothing felt right since two years ago.

I've tried all settings, replacing beaters, switching positioning of pedals, moving around drums, messing with throne height, practicing steady BPMs to warm up, tuning bass and resonant, etc. The only thing I hadn't tried is buying a new bass drum. Nothing feels right and the simplest patterns now feel like I'm fighting to even make contact with my right foot.

Is this nerve damage? Should I see a neurologist to check this out? I've done stretching and all that to no avail and just can't seem to have stretching or warm up benefit my playing any more.

Here is a video playing Nothing Left without much issue from two years ago for reference:

Here is a recent video of my trying to work on my right foot:

Here is a video of me playing Lamb of God's - One Gun, which used to be a joke to keep up with that double bass but you can clearly see I can't even play it any more:

TL;DR - Am I getting old? Should I see a neurologist for nerve damage? Should I do more technique practice? I cannot apply any pressure / have no control when I play double bass any more and have tried all settings, adjustments, throne height, etc.


Thanks so much in advance!!!
I feel for you. I am way older than you. But good luck and hang in there.
 
You need to take a break! You did the right thing going to the Doctor. Maybe try some lessons. It could help to be assessed by a pro. Bad habits over the years can cause real damage. Pinched nerve, maybe?
 
Hope it's ok to resurrect....and see if anything was found on this and also to share mine.
About three years ago I divorced, moved into a new house and had room to have drums again after about five years of not having space.
I opted to buy a decent electronic kit (TD-27kv I believe) so as to not immediately drive new neighbors crazy.
Got on, had a blast with it for a few months...then things started to go badly. I decided I wanted to learn heel up . I had always been a heel-toe double stroker (lol) and was darn good at it. Had plenty of control, timing, power and several fellow musicians referred to me as "Bonham foot." (No blasphemy, I asked that they not lol) I still retained the majority of this through the years; only endurance and absolute peak speeds were down.
THHENNNN very quickly I was unable to play even a basic punk beat. Not my thing but I used it for practice sometimes.
I've since gone back to heel-toe but have not yet been able to recapture my prior technique. Up or down the front of my calf seems to go "stupid" and locks me up for both. I've done near everything I can think of to remedy this but honestly at this point my heart is broken. I've loved playing for decades and loved music my whole life. My unreliable foot has destroyed the rest of my playing with it because when it doesn't work as expected and my ears don't hear what my brain was commanding, everything else falls apart.
If anyone responds I'd love to go through the particulars but will list a few of the many conspiracies I've come up with lol:
Floor in the basement is at a slight grade.
I tried to go too quickly in heel up, got tight as a result, and can't manage to undo the "training scars."
God didn't appreciate my love of playing possibly blasphemous bands...lmao. I played a lot of "gospel" too though so....offsets? ha
My pedal is too old.....just kidding. Equipment doesn't matter this much. I had lightning doubles on any pedal and could place them wherever at will.
Gremlins, gnomes, witches, nerve damage, old age (36), a stroke, COVID, mental illness, spinal disorder, my job, air quality, Butch Miles, Danny Carey, Chris Adler, Satan, God, Buddha. :(
Sorry for the long post. This is the most frustrating thing of my life and I'm not an easily "triggered" (get it?) person.
 
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