Guitar playing posture

[Nebulous]

The last 8 months I've been working on relief for my lower back pain, but when playing guitar sitting down (ie, practicing studiously) I can't seem to stop it from hurting. 30 minutes of playing is ok, but in that time all I've done is warmed up.
The obvious answer is "play standing up", which I agree with for playing, but for practicing it just isn't practical.

I've tried playing with the guitar on both legs, feet raised, etc but at the end of any worthy practice session I still get a sore back, sometimes lower, sometimes upper.

Has anyone experienced this or have any advice based on years of pain free playing?

 

[AD Chaos]

A good chair is just as (if not more) important than the guitar itself for comfortable practice. Get a nice one for office work, and detach (or just don't install) the arm supports.

 

[Ermz]

I think it has less to do with posture in this case and more with managing your back pain in general. Maybe invest in an ergonomic chair that will alleviate said pain, and do daily exercises to work your back out and get it back in shape, so to speak. Your back shouldn't hurt when playing guitar sitting down, regardless of how you do it.

 

[John_C]

idk, my back can sometimes hurt when i play guitar, but then if i focus on sitting up a bit straighter and relaxing a little more then it goes away. Posture is very important!

 

[Barnacle]

I have terrible sitting and standing posture. I'm 192cm tall and always always slouch.

With my mum being a physiotherapist she always noticed my bad posture at the computer and now I have one of these for my main computer chair, it helps with the posture and support a bit. But mostly makes you aware of how your back/spine is positioned which is always good.

http://www.obusforme.ca/obus_forme/sit/the-obusforme-lowback-backrest-support.html

Though it does feel more natural to lean over/slouch whilst playing guitar.

I probably should stretch/yoga/exercise but I'm lazy as shit.

 

[kev]

My bad lower back has been solved from going swimming once every week, give it a go dan!

 

[RedDog]

Headbang more.

 

[Nebulous]

I think it has less to do with posture in this case and more with managing your back pain in general. Maybe invest in an ergonomic chair that will alleviate said pain, and do daily exercises to work your back out and get it back in shape, so to speak. Your back shouldn't hurt when playing guitar sitting down, regardless of how you do it.

That's just it though. I've been going 8 months strong with working out, and it certainly provides short term releif to my back. As soon as I play guitar though my back gets all tense, even if it's after one of my workouts.
I've bought a chair which is really comfortable to sit in. It supports my back and keeps me relaxed, but I can't play guitar in such a seated position.

The problem I face when sitting in a chair to play seems to be that parts of my back having knots in it, which then get worse as I play.

My bad lower back has been solved from going swimming once every week, give it a go dan!

I've been told this so many times now I really should listen to it. I kind of figured everyone else meant to do it like 3 times a week, not just once though. That makes it more attainable for me.

 

[professorlamp]

Get a footstool for guitar, ended my problems.

 

[GarethSE]

I used to go swimming once a week from about age 7 til age 15. I miss it, I should really start again.

 

[muckypup1]

I've never gone swimming before :/

I've got reasonably good posture but i still get back ache after sitting down playing for too long

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Personally, I find it most comfortable to lean back while playing guitar, so my solution for most casual playing is to put the guitar between my legs (classical-style) but put my left foot up on my practice amp (a little over 1 ft high) so I can lean back in my chair and RIFF, 'tis quite comfy (though for any serious practicing I'll use my guitar footrest and sit up straight, though I find that gets tiring, since sitting up straight requires the constant tensing of your lower back and abs, there's no way around that - but I figure when relaxing and just playing, better to lean back than lean forward!)

 

[midget donkeys]

I agree with this I keep my left knee raised up with a book or something under my left foot. I think this tends to keep my spine straighter when sitting and playing.

I feel your pain man. I could write a book on lower back pain. I have back flare ups about ever four to six months that sometimes end up with me in a VA hospital getting shit injected into my back. Then I go home and put my face in a pillow and scream for a couple hours.

If you have health insurance I recommend going to a physical therapist to learn how to properly stretch and strengthen your back. Nothing else has taken away as much pain for me.

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah I'll be going to a doctor sometime this year about my back. On a positive note my back seemed to be fine after some recording today, so I may have found a good seated position.

 

[riamac]

I guess that there is a right way or posture to play with guitar in a nice way. I just hoped that you would be able to really get things work out on that one and make it really good looking. But for beginners, sitting would be a nice start!

 

[Ensi]

Sorry if this is hijacking but rather this than a new thread.

I bought a new kickass chair about 2 months ago, and when using my PC it's great!

But for guitarplaying it sucks, I get a bit of lower back pain and it feels so unnatural to play (maybe because i'm used to my other chair).

Playing sitting in my bed feel sooooooooo much better. I just can't entirely "reach over" my guitar when sitting in the chair, and it feels like i'm slouching way more than I should. I have my woofer as a footrest.