Hello,

Has anyone out here ever experienced occasional  neck or shoulder pain after playing the violin either on occasion. Reason i ask is because I have been experiencing a somewhat chrinic pain in the back of the neck/shoulder. Some days and times it is worst than others but it is never so bad that it prevents me from playing or functioning.  It feels like it is definately muscular because it is more like a soreness if I stretch my neck or hold my head in an awkward position or put strain on the neck. It is also on one side, namely the side on which the violin is held.

Here's the catch. I never played with a shoulder rest or any kind of shoulder support. Since I was a kid I always played with only a chin rest. When I hold the violin I tend to bend my neck forward to lock the violin in place between the chin and the collarbone. I tend to suspect I am craning my neck forward and placing too much pressure on the chin rest and resulting tension on my shoulder, neck muscles making them chronically sore. Indeed, if I press my neck forward and downward I can feel it when I release that tension.

I was thinking of trying to simply not play the violin for a week or so and see what happens. But I would hate to give up the practice.  Of course in addition to seeing a chiropractor or specialist I am also considering a shoulder rest or some sort of shoulder support as well as trying to improve my playing posture overall.

Has anyone else experienced pain, discomfort resulting from playing your violin or viola and, if so what steps did you take to correct the problem ?  I understand this is quite common among many players and is sometimes tricky to correct.