Hip hurts - Ouch

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Ritual

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I just started playing drums. I bought a kit in December. I find that if I don't rest my right heel down on the bass pedal my hip gives out. This is really weird... I've never had a problem with my hips before (knees - yes... hips - no.) It got real bad when I went for a walk in the snow around xmas and since that night it hasn't been the same. I no longer use only the ball of my foot to move the bass drum pedal. While this works out okay I really miss not being able to put a lot of weight on the pedal and hit really hard. There's nothing like pounding out my frustrations on a drum kit. I get the feeling like I'm chasing away bad spirits when I hit the drums.... that may sound crazy but thats what it feels like.

I guess my question is... how often do drummers normally lift their heel off the bass pedal when drumming? Is this an issue that lots of people deal with? Am I doing something wrong? I've tried adjusting things like sitting position, distance, and angle but nothing changes the fact that if I don't rest my heel on the floor/pedal my hip just gets amazingly screwed up. I don't mind a little pain (actually works into a weird reward cycle if 'normal') but something in my head tells me that this just isn't right. Because of this, when I lie down I get a 'cold' feeling going through my hip like when the blood gets cut off (I think that might be what it is.)

Thanks
 
ok. Good drummers use heel up and heel down technique for accenting bass drum patterns so yes it is used a lot. if you are using a round seat then they have been known to cut off the blood suppy to your legs causing you to spasm and kick out involentary. simple solution go to see a doctor - sounds as if somethings wrong with you. if you've tried diffrent positionings then thats very good. Many drummers don't experiment so well done! i'd imagine you've decided on useing the most comfortable positioning so again i cant see it being caused by bad possitioning.

go see a doctor, thats all i can say. hope it helps. any more questions just ask.

ps. please forgive the spelling - my fingers are sodding frozen after a gig so its hard to type. lol.
 
It could be your just playing to hard. It took me some time when I started playing 38 years ago to get my body to get used to the pounding it takes being a drummer.
I also found out the hard way that playing as hard as you can isnt good for anything. Its bad on gear sticks cymbals and most inportant your body.
At 48 I had to quit casue of carputunel and hearing loss. I need hearing aids now and have just put off getting them cause of vanity. When I was young no one ever heard of getting hearing protection or not playing so hard your joints ache after every gig. It may seem cool now but in a few years you will look back and think differant. Try playing softer, and protect your ears cause good hearing aids are much more exspensive than a good set of drums.
As far as your legs go I dont know maybe try raising your throne some, and make sure your pants are not to tight.
Oh and I never put my heal on the pedal only the ball of my foot. And I never where shoes when I play, Sock only.
Good luck with your playing.
 
OK,

I play with both the ball and heel of my feet - and thus my feet spend a lot of time in the air.

It used to bother me a lot until I got a new throne - it's the tama HT 741 Ergo-Rider Throne with Backrest - it's a cut-away seat and the backrest is adjustable.

I play with my leg only slightly bent - which makes elevating the foot a whole lot easier.

My 1st guess would be the throne you're using - so maybe you want to start there.......

If this doesn't solve it - it's very possible that you have a pinched nerve that causes you the pain you're experiencing - and a trip to a medical professional (i.e.: a chiropractor) is in order.

Rod
 
dont just sit behind the kit and play hard, take some time to warm up first. most of the injuries i recieve when playing come from when i dont have the time/space to warm up. start soft and easy and work up, you'll be able to go harder for longer eventually.

Herm...i have alot of respect for you, and everything you said is 100% correct.
 
As a 52 year old with 47 years of playing and 37 years of almost non stop gigging, I've suffered some back problems. knee problems and serious heaing problems, but never a hip problem Candidly, I have a hard time understanding how pedal technique can cause serious hip problems. While playing heel down may help your hip problem, it sounds like you have a significant enough issue (likely caused by things other than drumming) to consult a doctor.

I'm old school and I never went to doctors (I would just rub dirt on it). Hind sight being 20/20 if I would have gotten proper treatment for some things earlier I would be in better shape now.

The old cliche' "If I would have known I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself" holds much truth.

herm - I put off the hearing aids for vanity reasons also and I finally broke down and got some 2 years ago (once I hit 50 I figured there was nothing to be vain about any longer) - I had no idea how much I was really missing. I spent years smiling and nodding to questions I could not hear.

If you do get aids (it's one of the smartest things I've done in recent years) get good ones. Mine cost over $1500 each, but they are digital and each one has a 9 band "equalizer" - so I can have the audiologist dial in the "best" frequencies for my needs. I spent alot of time determining which frequencies I needed for music, etc (vs. simple conversation).
 
Stretch and warm up before you play. Do stretches for runners. It will clear up, promise.
 
Thanks for the replies and any forthcoming. I will pay attention to what has been said.

One thing that was misunderstood though (prolly on my bad) is that I play really hard all the time. That is not the case. I'm in a place where I'm obliged to make as little noise as possible and for that reason amongst others I play softly 97% of the time. Even so... when I play lightly the issue is still a very big deal. I'll still lift the heel and give full weighted whacks occasionally but most of the time I don't. Even with a light style the hip thing is bad. It really is really weird. It's not a sharp pain like a pinched nerve.... it's a dull sensation that gets throbbingly bad if I don't do something about it. It feels like what I imagine it would be like if I relaxed all my muscles and someone pulled my leg out of the socket from beneath me. I've stopped sitting with my right ankle crossed over my knee because that seems to make it feel sorta the same way. I used to do meditation/yoga kinda stuff and stretching joints like that was part of the game but I've stopped such practices (as in the leg crossing thing.) I've never had a hip problem in my life until I started drumming.

And yes.... the hearing thing seems to be an issue no matter how soft I play. Even moderately loud playing leaves me with a ringing in my ears that makes me stop and take note. Plain headphones seems to take enough of the edge off to prevent damage but I hate the way it cuts off the sound (small price to pay I suppose in comparison to a permanent removal of sonic cognition.)

Those hearing aids are expensive... $1500 each?! Damn! Do they at least come with a VST or DirectX plugin? ;)
 
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