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Hello!

Sorry if this is the wrong forum or if there's a duplicate already, I'm new to this network.

So I recently started marching band. It's been about three weeks now and it's great, but my left arm / hand has been kind of numb for the last week or two. Typing is a bit hard, and practicing piano or cello is next to impossible. It's not like it just falls asleep - it gets worse when I play for a few hours but then when I take it off it goes back to how it is. I was wondering if there are any remedies for this? Will I just get used to it?

Also, I'm not exactly sure where to set my tuba. When I march and try to lift it with my thumb it doesn't really work, the weight is too much on my left sholder which makes it hard to march and play because it bounces off my right hip. If I rotate it any more, I can't reach my mouthpeice. Should I just add some more bits or is there something else I can do?

Thanks for the help, sorry if I wasn't very clear!

Wow.. that is literally the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Want one so bad

Also thanks for the advise, goodgigs, I guess I'll see if I can find any good pics.

What we were taught was to hold on to our right angle bit (the neck, I guess you call it?) with our left hand and then pull up the sousa from our body using the tumb thing so it didn't bounce against the body.

When I started playing souzy as a freshman in high school, thirty-eight years ago this month, I had some shoulder pain and numbness until I 1) built up my physical endurance, and 2) learned how to wear it properly, as set forth in the following threads:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=61223&p=510379&hili ... ne#p510379" target="_blank" target="_blank
download/file.php?id=4179" target="_blank" target="_blank
and especially
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53557&hilit=sousaph ... ng#p457777" target="_blank" target="_blank
including the reference to the Marine Band manual.

Edit: I just found this video, by the U. S. Army Field Band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RR-DUJv6cs" target="_blank
Sousaphone pedagogy is discussed at the 22:00 mark.

Hmm, okay. Interesting video - the Army Field Band has some pretty good content.

Now, how do I center the sousa so that I can play and march with it and not get nerve damage? Do I want to use two bits so that I can rotate it to where the weight is "centered" on my body?

KiltieTuba wrote:

coolguyxp wrote:Hmm, okay. Interesting video - the Army Field Band has some pretty good content.

Now, how do I center the sousa so that I can play and march with it and not get nerve damage? Do I want to use two bits so that I can rotate it to where the weight is "centered" on my body?

What brand of sousaphone?

We use Jupiters. Pretty crappy ones.

I'm not a doctor, but I recognize the numbness symptoms from my own shoulder injuries. It sounds to me like you've got a pinched nerve at or near your shoulder.

You really need to see an orthopedist about this injury. This is not something your body can 'get used to'. Nerves don't heal the way that muscles do. Only a doctor can tell you what the remedy will be.

In the mean time, If you notice the numbness coming back, stop doing whatever it is that you're doing with your left shoulder. If you keep going too long with pressure on the nerve, the numbness will last longer and longer.
For me, the numbness was a result of a separated AC joint (upper shoulder) and rotator cuff (internal muscle) tear. I have re-injured that shoulder a couple of times, the last time the nerve damage kept my left hand numb for about 2 weeks.

You should also tell your band director about this issue.

coolguyxp wrote:... but my left arm / hand has been kind of numb for the last week or two. Typing is a bit hard, and practicing piano or cello is next to impossible. It's not like it just falls asleep - it gets worse when I play for a few hours but then when I take it off it goes back to how it is. I was wondering if there are any remedies for this? Will I just get used to it?

KiltieTuba wrote:..

??

NCSUSousa wrote:I'm not a doctor, but I recognize the numbness symptoms from my own shoulder injuries. It sounds to me like you've got a pinched nerve at or near your shoulder.

You really need to see an orthopedist about this injury. This is not something your body can 'get used to'. Nerves don't heal the way that muscles do. Only a doctor can tell you what the remedy will be.

In the mean time, If you notice the numbness coming back, stop doing whatever it is that you're doing with your left shoulder. If you keep going too long with pressure on the nerve, the numbness will last longer and longer.
For me, the numbness was a result of a separated AC joint (upper shoulder) and rotator cuff (internal muscle) tear. I have re-injured that shoulder a couple of times, the last time the nerve damage kept my left hand numb for about 2 weeks.

You should also tell your band director about this issue.

Yeah, we have booked an appointment with an orthopedist.

I talked to my band director about this and learned the pads were really old on the tuba, so what I'm going to do from now on is just use like a hand towel while we're practicing to pad my shoulder.

Thanks a bunch everybody for the help! I'm going to take a look at those pictures and see if I can learn to hold it better. Anyone else have any suggestions feel free to say! (Thanks again)

This should have been your band director's response:
"Please put down that horn and leave it alone until you are evaluated by a physician."

You are risking further damage by playing the horn. Get evaluated. Follow the physician's instructions for repair/recovery. Then worry about proper horn position when the time comes.

bighonkintuba wrote:This should have been your band director's response:
"Please put down that horn and leave it alone until you are evaluated by a physician."

You are risking further damage by playing the horn. Get evaluated. Follow the physician's instructions for repair/recovery. Then worry about proper horn position when the time comes.

Unfortunately, it's no different with most band directors than it is with most high school coaches, who, when presented with such, reply to the effect of, "Come on, you can work through it," or worse, threaten to cut a grade for not playing.

My solution was to wise up and just march baritone...sousaphone's a bitch. Your arms will get used to holding up the baritone within a few months, although it is awful at first.

TheGoyWonder wrote:My solution was to wise up and just march baritone...sousaphone's a bitch. Your arms will get used to holding up the baritone within a few months, although it is awful at first.

This does not present a legitimate solution to the question asked.

That being said: OP needs to follow the instruction provided earlier: seek medical attention regarding this.