Shoulder pain: how much relief does a smaller body guitar really give?

[AgentKooper]

I've been playing a dread regularly -- just about daily -- for the past three years. In the past couple of weeks I've started experiencing some right shoulder and arm pain. I'm looking at ways to improve my playing (and workstation) ergonomics, but I've also been reading a lot here about people downsizing from dreads to smaller bodied guitars seeking greater comfort/pain relief.

My question is this: how big of a difference can downsizing make, comfort/pain-wise? My dread is 4.5 inches deep and approx 15 1/8 inches wide at the lower bout. I tried to research specs for various body sizes and found this on the Martin website: http://www.martinguitar.com/features.../sizetype.html.

I know that's just one manufacturer (though I did see some similar numbers for Taylors as well), but I was struck at how little difference there seems to be in size, even at some of the smallest models.

I like everything about my dread. I wouldn't be averse to giving it up in order to prolong the life of my shoulder and arm tendons, but I question whether reducing the depth and width of my guitar by a half inch, give or take, is going to matter much. And there doesn't seem to be a way to find out without playing a smaller body guitar for a few months.

[jpd]

Here's a thought....if you're playing the Dread sitting down, stand up with a strap. Also, do daily shoulder rotation and stretches like baseball pitchers do. If you try it out you'll find the comfort and strength of your shoulder and arm reach increasing. Hope it helps out for you.

[Earl49]

I too have issues with dreadnoughts. My right shoulder was injured in a motorcycle accident years ago, further aggravated by a fall while skiing. If I play a dread for more than a few minutes (strumming, guitar on my right leg) it puts my shoulder in a bad position and hurts after just a few minutes. Your options are:

• move it to your left leg instead of your right leg
• use a strap and let the guitar center on your body
• get a smaller guitar like a OOO or GA size

I basically use all three options these days. But any two of them will help a LOT. The first two are the easiest to implement, although it may take a while to get used to the new position. The tighter waist of the OO or OOO size actually puts the center line of the guitar body lower, and takes some pressure off your shoulder with a more favorable position. Obviously, I have assumed you have the dreadnought on your right leg, which is common.

Do something however. An orthopedic surgeon once told me that if a *joint* (not a muscle) still hurts 5-10 minutes after you've stopped doing the activity, you need to do something different before you cause permanent damage.

[MBE]

How are you sitting? The left leg, classical guitar position is more shoulder friendly in my experience than the right leg position.

I find dreads intolerably uncomfortable on the right leg.

As for size, I absolutely feel the difference between my 16" jumbo and 14.5" lower bout OO, and 1/2" of depth is also very noticeable comfort wise in my experience.

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by jpd

Here's a thought....if you're playing the Dread sitting down, stand up with a strap. Also, do daily shoulder rotation and stretches like baseball pitchers do. If you try it out you'll find the comfort and strength of your shoulder and arm reach increasing. Hope it helps out for you.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've started doing those things and am hoping for a good result. I had a bad case of tendonitis about ten years ago and it resolved completely with physical therapy (a lot of stretching), so I'm hoping for a similar outcome this time too.

[Rod Neep]

This topic comes up often.
How you sit to play.
Simple as that.

These two photos tell the whole story. One of them is going to cause you pain.

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I too have issues with dreadnoughts. My right shoulder was injured in a motorcycle accident years ago, further aggravated by a fall while skiing. If I play a dread for more than a few minutes (strumming, guitar on my right leg) it puts my shoulder in a bad position and hurts after just a few minutes. Your options are:

• move it to your left leg instead of your right leg
• use a strap and let the guitar center on your body
• get a smaller guitar like a OOO or GA size

I basically use all three options these days. But any two of them will help a LOT. The first two are the easiest to implement, although it may take a while to get used to the new position. The tighter waist of the OO or OOO size actually puts the center line of the guitar body lower, and takes some pressure off your shoulder with a more favorable position. Obviously, I have assumed you have the dreadnought on your right leg, which is common.

Do something however. An orthopedic surgeon once told me that if a *joint* (not a muscle) still hurts 5-10 minutes after you've stopped doing the activity, you need to do something different before you cause permanent damage.

Thanks for the suggestions. Also, I didn't consider the difference in waist size, which makes a lot of sense.

[RustyZombie]

Adopting the classical way of holding the guitar could help with shoulder pain, along with a number of other benefits. I wish I switched myself a long time ago.

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by Rod Neep

This topic comes up often.
How you sit to play.
Simple as that.

These two photos tell the whole story. One of them is going to cause you pain.

Great illustration! I'm working on improving my playing posture (and working in some standing) for sure.

[rmyAddison]

It certainly comes down to individual physical problems, but at least in my case (I'm 65, arthritis), playing dreads for any length of time started to hurt (I've been playing since the 60's), and switching to OM/000's has worked like a charm.

Can't speak for anybody but myself, although my playing gang of older folks also show up with a lot more small bodies these days, and there were times years ago it would have been nothing but dreads.

The other good news, again personal, I have come to love the sound of OM's, my friends leaves a very fine custom shop HD-28 Madagascar in my studio and I barely touch it, my OM's give me all I need musically..........

[Rosewood99]

Seeing a lot of good suggestions about how the OP can play the Dread
without as much pain but I'm still curious about his original question. Would an OM or parlor do much for him in that regard if he didn't change anything else?

[Kip Carter]

Both of my main guitars are dreads.

I have a chronic arthritic condition in my left shoulder (chording arm) that took me out entirely from playing. It was so bad that I had to have help putting on a shirt or jacket. I still have issues with it but not nearly as bad as it was at one point.

What has made it so I can play today is that I changed my diet (gluten sensitivity that promoted tendon inflammation, inflammation cause irritation to the arthritis, arthritis inflames the tendon making it worse) and tired to eliminate sources of gluten and minimize simple carbohydrates as much as I could. More fruits, and vegetables (kale in smoothies too). Coupled with use of anti-inflammatory drugs and modified playing posture.

I can play sitting or standing but if I sit I always use a foot stool. I make sure I am not bending my wrist any more than absolutely necessary and will shift between legs to rest my guitar on.

[random works]

I went to an OO size from a dread, then to a parlor, then to an OM. I switched to the classical position also. I cannot abide any deep body guitar, sounds great but slays the shoulder. The OM is fairly shallow and I can play it for hours with no pain. The parlor is shallow and really small and I can play it as long as I want. It also has a bevel which helps


I did not think lower bout thickness would affect things so much.

[duff beer]

Hit the gym and build some muscle. Not only will it help improve your posture, but the added muscle will add some "padding" to your shoulder as well as make the guitar feel lighter. My bass weighs 10 pounds, which is twice as much as my guitar. Having some muscle mass allows me to jam with one of my bands for 5-6 hours at a time without experiencing shoulder fatigue.

[billgennaro]

I guess it really has to do with what sort of injury you have. Many have gone to smaller bodied guitars to compensate for shoulder pain. But I have a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder and the size of the guitar doesn't seem to matter. It feels the same with all sizes.