Question about sore muscles from marching band camp.. (read details please)?
Question:
Mostly from doing push ups from when I screw up a march which I think is bogus. They say "Push ups make you smart" and I think that's crap... I didn't learn how to read by doing push ups but that's another story. Also its not helping me get the march right at all it just pisses me off. Haha. I'm considering quitting because I don't like band enough to go through boot camp...
Anyway the part where the tuba/sousaphone is on my shoulder makes it hurt really bad considering I have a boney shoulder with a little meat.
So basically how do I relieve sore shoulders and upper arms? Also my hands are bruised and maybe a little burnt from push ups on the asphault parking lot that isn't smooth at all is there a quick cure for that? I really need to boost my recovery time so I can be at my best.
Thanks
Answers:
ooo i feel your pain, band camp can be miserable. granted i was the piccolo player and didn't have to carry around a 30 lb instrument, but i see where you're coming from. stretching out in the morning before you start may help with sore muscles somewhat, my junior year our director had us all doing stretches in the morning to loosen up our muscles to prevent straining anything. another thing you might want to try would be taking a towel or a large piece of foam or something equally squishy, and wrapping it around and securing it to the part of the sousaphone that comes in contact with your shoulder, that would compensate somewhat for your boney shoulders. regardless, band camp can be a nightmare, i remember my freshman year, our director told us on the first day of camp that most of our favorite high school memories would be from band camp and marching band, even though that seemed absolutely ridiculous at the time, he was right. my best friends were in band, and as marching season progresses, you'll be surprised how close everybody becomes. stick with it, the worse will be over soon!
If you have muscle soreness I would recommend a combination of Tylenol during the day when you have to practice and ice packs at night if they are bothering you. If the Tylenol doesn't work, try Aleve. If you have actual raw spots Vaseline works great to heal that up. Bruising will just have to heal with time. Think about some protective gloves.
Hopefully, the exercise will strengthen your muscles so you won't get so sore anymore! :)
Ahhhh, band days..I remember them well! Wow! you're a trooper, I always felt for the sousaphone players, i just had a sax. resting the shoulder would be great but isn't an option at the moment so we need to get creative. You could think about just some oral pain meds, and ice if you start to notice swelling or redness over the area. oh and you'll love this... some massage to your shoulder couldn't hurt! here's the creative part...we need to get the pressure off your shoulder. so if you've got a pillow case or a towel and some athletic tape you could fashion a pad to cushion the spot on your shoulder that your sousaphone rests on. fold up the towel or pillow case into a pad and securely tape it to keep it's form. you could tape it to your shoulder everyday or tape it to your horn (i'm sure selecting the fabric color to match that of your alma mater of course is the only way to go:)) If you wanna go more hi-tech you could buy some Dr. Scholls gel shoe inserts and cut them to size and attach them to your horn or your body as a cushion as well. Both these ideas are cheap and work in a pinch to get the pressure off and that's the important thing! Besides if you tape the padding to your shoulder, no one's gonna see it under your "awesome" uniforms! oh, i've seen numerous studies that it's learning to play the instrument that makes you smarter, not pushups. Do the best you can with the marching, push-ups aren't great for the wrists! no quick cure for your hands, just take care of them, maybe get some batting gloves and cut the tops off the fingers so you can play. Good luck, and stay in band...if anything you get free admission to the football games!
More Questions & Answers...