Today I’d like to discuss drumming-related injuries. These are common injuries that are preventable and it’s possible to work through these injuries while you continue to drum. I’m not a doctor and nothing I say is to be taken as medical advice. Consult your doctor for medical advice, but I’ve helped drummers work through these issues with proper technique and ergonomic playing.
The first four issues I group as repetitive stress injuries.
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1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
This is where there’s pressure on the median nerve of your wrist and usually results in you not being able to feel your hands or feel the sticks while you play. Your hands go numb.
2. Tennis Elbow
This is due to overuse of the tendons in your elbow where you feel a sharp pain.
3. Inflammation of the Thumb and the muscle just after the thumb.
4. Trigger Finger
This where the tendon in your finger becomes inflamed to the point where you can’t straighten it out.
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Drumming may not be the only cause for these issues, but the culprit drum wise here is excess tension. What I recommend for each of these is working on proper technique so you don’t overstress any part of your hands or arms. Work on holding the stick properly, utilizing your fulcrum and proper technique. This includes working on techniques like the Moeller stroke and finger control. And by the way, you can adapt these techniques for your feet as well to help avoid any muscle cramping and problems with your legs or feet.
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5. Lower Back Pain
6. Shoulder Pain
This has to do with your posture and positioning of your pedals, drums, and cymbals. Sit up straight and balance your weight so it’s not skewed to any of your legs. If your posture is off balance, your lower back has to do more work than necessary to keep you balanced. Bad posture and positioning can also cause shoulder pain if it forces un natural motions around the drums.
Sitting on a really good drum seat (or drum throne) is important. Look for ones that are stable and easily accommodate moving your legs. (I recommend Roc n’ Soc thrones).
Along with good posture and a good drum throne is an ergonomic setup. Setting up your drum set so everything is easy to reach and you don’t have to lunge to reach for anything.
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7. Hearing Loss
Specifically, tinnitus. That’s a ringing in the ear due to excessive exposure to loud sounds. In this case, music. Regret usually comes with experience in these cases. At first the ringing goes away after a day or so, but continued exposure to excessive volume will make the ringing permanent. Use some form of hearing protection (earplugs, in ear monitors, headphones) that you wear when you play or listen to loud music.
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When you’re young and inexperienced, you may not see the importance of wearing hearing protection or working on proper technique. But 15 years in, you find that you can’t feel your sticks or you have constant ringing in your ears that won’t stop. So make sure you set yourself up for success early on with proper practice techniques.