I
play an acoustic guitar for a Church choir, and I may be on my feet
with a jumbo acoustic guitar across my shoulders for hours for
rehearsals and Mass-performances. After a busy Easter season,
I woke up to feel a significant pain at my upper back and
chest. On seeing a doctor, it was discovered I had a slipped
disc in my back, which was caused by continuous stress on my back with
carrying the guitar, and my turning left and right when playing the
guitar and overseeing the choir.
Much rest and physiotherapy ensued, and with no guitar over my shoulder
for many weeks, I was eventually fine. However, I also
discovered that the long term remedy was NOT to support my guitar with
a guitar strap that was fastened onto the two ends of the guitar body.
(Butt of the guitar to the heel of the neck)
Rather, I had the strap fastened
to the butt end of the guitar, and the other end to the tuner end of
the neck under the strings behind the nut. The pressure on my
shoulders was significantly relieved. I think with that way
of wearing the strap, it was not putting focused pressure on my left
shoulder, but rather more evenly across my back. I have not
had problems with my back or the slipped disc since.
So, this is something worth considering if you need to play with a
large and/or heavy guitar, standing for prolonged lengths of time.
Regards
Mark Huang
Hong Kong