Ok...I'm gonna toss my $.02 in on this one. I haven't read the other responses so please forgive me if I add anything terribly redundant and as always, these are only my own personal opinions.

As a person who suffers from chronic lower back pain myself (as well as shoulder and neck pain due to a car accident back in '02), the number one thing I would recommend here is; proper posture! This is something that a lot of people in general and particularly guitar players for some reason never really pay any attention too...at least not while they're playing. I really became aware of this after my car accident back in '02...at the time I was playing more drums than I was guitar and I never realized just how much I truly tend to "slump" and "slouch" when I was playing. I was really a "power drummer"...never really focused on technique or anything, I just hit the damn things, hit from the shoulder and hoped like hell that it sounded musical! LOL!!! After the accident and 4 months of pain killers followed by 4 months of physical therapy, I really had to "re-learn" how to play the drums and really had to learn technique and such. As I started getting back in to it, I really became aware of "posture"...if I was slouching behind the drum kit, I could only play for about 20 minutes or so and my back & shoulders would -really- start hurting. So even to this day if I'm sitting there playing, I really have to keep reminding myself (or having my wife remind me) to "sit up straight...shoulders back...etc., etc.".

As I learned this with the drums, I became (painfully) aware of it with guitar too. Again, I find myself really "getting in to it" and I end up using really horrible posture...very often I need to remind myself "stand up straight, shoulders back, feet firmly planted...balance", etc., etc., otherwise yea...my back starts hurting after only a short time. If anything, it's usually the pain that "reminds me" to stand up straight! LOL!!!

The truth of the matter is that most people really tend to have very poor posture and it's really amazing how many people simply don't know how to even lift heavy objects properly...that whole lifting with your legs and not your back thing (like a guitar amp perhaps?). Also look at the number of people who use computers and just "slump" behind the keyboard while they're surfing...that just wreaks havoc with your lower back muscles. Don't even get me started on the proverbial "couch potato" mentality! LOL!!! These are things that unfortunately in today's society most people never really think about let alone really pay any attention too...and a lot of us really end up paying for it as we get older.

Now next to that, the second suggestion I have to offer is simply "exercise"! Ok...I admit it...I'm a lazy bastard. I really -hate- doing stretches and exercise but I've found that my physical therapist was absolutely correct. When I do my stretches and exercises, I'm not nearly in as much pain as I am otherwise. There -are- fairly low impact back exercises you can do that do certainly help with back issues...but you do have to do them every day...it's not one of those "do the exercises for a couple of weeks and everything is fixed"...you have to keep doing them! Ham string stretches are also a HUGE thing too...as my therapist told me, more than 80% of people with lower back issues also have very poor ham strings. Just doing ham string stretches alone makes a really huge difference to me...and at least this is something I can do while I'm standing there having my morning cup of coffee .

Yes, things like a wider guitar strap or even a lighter guitar will certainly "help"...as do muscle rubs, those pain patches, sitting instead of standing, etc., but to me this is nothing more than treating the "symptoms" and not the actual "cause" of the problems. If you really want to be reasonably pain free...I'm sorry to say it but exercise and proper posture are simply your best bet. I know that's a bit homeopathic, but it's true...your body, including your back, is only as good as the way you take care of it.

Peace,
Jim

No Mike. Lamenectomies <sp?>. Basically, removing the bulge from the disc where it is pressing against the nerve and closing the disc back up. I'm still flexible and can do all the work I used to do... just a little slower these days.

I think nothing of stacking firewood or shoveling snow for a few hours... well... to a point, I am 56 years old.

I can ride a motorcycle for over 1,000 miles in a single day and have no problem with that... no more than anyone else would. Heck, I can out ride many guys a lot younger than me.

These days... a lot of the problem with my back... is the problem with my front! I am in great shape! ROUND is a shape!

The pain Martian is referring to is Sciatica which is a good friend of mine as it is always with me.I have 4 herniation's in my spine and have gone through everything possible but surgery. I refuse to get surgery because everyone I know who has had it is still in pain. Bottom line is once you blow your back out kiss a lot of things goodbye. So when someone talks about the weight of a guitar it does not pertain to me because I have played seated for the last decade.

Outside of little fixes, are you in decent shape? Strength and conditioning work should help with fatigue and weakness.

It may help if you wear the guitar a little higher. The lower you drop it the more strain on the lower back.

Hi gldfshkpr: I've noticed there's many here with back issues, of which I am one.

I don't think you mentioned: is this lower back pain you are suffering or more around the shoulders? Wide straps are good for sore shoulder/upper spine stuff, but if it is lower back pain that might be far more serious and I'd recommend talking to someone professionally about it.

If you've never had significant back problems before this could be the very beginning of something, and if so now is your golden opportunity to do something about it before it gets worse. I so wish someone had given me a headsup like that in time!

And regarding weight making a difference: a while ago I was chatting to a very experienced and well respected guitar tech and he mentioned that he only uses vintage type tuners on his own guitars just because they are a tiny bit lighter than modern ones. That is a sign of how much difference he thinks it makes - or at any rate how horribly bad his back is!!!

Cheers - C

The 1st thing I did after getting a spinal fusion in 95 was get rid of my 78 ash bodied Strat that was over 10lbs the next thing was to buy the widest strap 3 1/2" and watch my posture,no slumpimg or slouching.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

My opinion on back surgery is that even though positive results are around 50/50, the resulting trouble beats nerve root damage by a mile. Ask me how I know.

I play mostly sitting down because I have chronic pain from my neck to my tail bone and legs. I have had a C 6/7 discectomy and fusion, Harrington rods in my thoracic spine and am now in need of a laminectomy at L5/S1 with assorted other protrusions along the way. I simply can't hang a guitar around my neck anymore without dropping like a sack of potatoes.

I get to play for about 30 minutes before my hands go dead numb/weak due to the nerve root damage suffered from waiting too long to have the neck surgery. The pain (radiculopathy) never manifested in my arms like it was supposed to, instead it radiated up to my head causing me to continue to wait for arm numbness/pain for too long. The point is, if your Orthopedist is recommending surgery, get a second opinion and if that doc agrees, do it. After a point, therapy stops helping and delaying only increases your chances of permanent damage.

_________________
60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

Man! after reading some of what y'all are going through it makes me feel better....not really.
Arthritis is what's killing me,every joint in my body hurts,what bothers me most is my hands and wrists are getting stiffer and it affects how I play,playing the blues takes on a whole new meaning.
The Strat makes life more comfortable,I wouldn't hang my Les Paul around my neck anymore for any length of time.

Yeah, I started having back problems a few years ago, when I was about 56, then I got sick (cancer) and went through surgerys and then chemo and that masked the back pain. Now it's starting to come back and a little, no....make that a LOT worse, so I'll be having that checked out, but I have some PET and CT scans coming up and one thing at a time. I've had xrays and an MRI a few years back and they said it was just arthritis? Probably from lugging all that heavy gear around for 20+ years in roadbands?

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

When I was playing in a band years ago, i owned a 1980's Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst that weighed a TON. I also own a 1974 Ibanez LP Custom 2350. I used the Ibanez for gigs because it was lighter than the Gibson by several pounds and sounds great. I, like a fool, sold the Gibson LP Silverburst cuz I rarely played it for gigs. ( 4-45 minute sets with the Gibson and my back was aching) I figured that I would get another Gibby in the future. Never seen another Silverburst since, what an idiot I was for selling it!!

30+ years of bad back speaking:

Play at home, sitting down and change position often; 'have 3 seatings choices in home music room.

A Soundseat is really really really nice and used a bunch, but won't solve everything. Vary heights on it for long sessions.

Treble pickup at belt buckle position, headstock just about shoulder height when you stand

Excellent, wide, padded strap with Straplocks

Best of fortune.

It's maybe not the prettiest guitar, but it sure is comfy!

_________________
60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

If it makes you feel any better, we once had a bass player that used a chain as a strap for his bass. A chain, not a plastic chain but a real chain....

_________________
1997 - Fender Big Apple Strat - Sunburst
1998 - Fender Big Apple Strat - Candy Apple Red
1999 - Fender Big Apple Strat hardtail - Aqua Metallic
2000 - Project Strat
2009 - Fender Telecaster Deluxe 72 RI
(2) - Fender ProSonic Combo Amp

What's that thing got.... 30-31 frets?!?!