Okay, a couple days ago while practicing my snare I hurt my shoulder. What I did I have no clue and my drum instructor can't figure out how I hurt my shoulder playing my snare either. Has anyone else ever hurt their shoulder while playing? If so, how did you do it and what did you do to your shoulder? Maybe it will help us figure out what I did wrong.

It may be from too much moving in your shoulders....I can't really say anything about it, but some causes could be bad technique, too much arm movement, or maybe its from wearing the drum, and its just now getting to you.

Were you wearing the drum or was it on a stand? I have Bursitis in my shoulders. It's kind of like Tennis Elbow. (Pretty painful) It might be that. What kind of pain are you having? Bursitis feels like a dull pain with a burning sensation, and is a weak form of arthritis.
I also know quite a few drummers who have injured their Rotator-Cuff while using too much arm while their carriers were on. And if that's the case, I would definitely go get it checked out. That can cause MAJOR problems.

If it's coming from the top of the shoulder, it could be from wearing the drum (if you were) or too much arm movement. If it's coming from the side of the shoulder, it could be that you were too tense. Chances are that it's not bad, but I'm no doctor.

only shoulder problems that I have had are from the carrier(and weight of drums) restin on a bone and diggin into a bone in the back. I've had a few injuries with my arms from too much playin and alot a lot of swellin, I just took a break for a while.

as said before, probably too much arm movement. I'd say give drummin a break for a few days. if you're still havin pains, go see a doc, could be serious.

I wasn't wearing my drum I'm not to that point yet I was just playing with it on my stand. It might be from too much arm movement I never thought of that. Or I was thinking it might be from playing too hard I could've pulled something. I'll ask my instructor tonight about that. I've decided to take a few days off from playing until the pain reduces. To answer the question of where does it hurt, it hurts between the top of the shoulder like straight up from where the armpit is and down the arm about three inches.

That is very strange for it to hurt way up there, when you should just be feeling something in your forearms and wrist atleast. In fact, *acts like he's playing a snare drum* that part of your body where you say it hurts shouldn't even have any movement.

its rare but ive seen it happen. its hard to figure out what you have done with out knowing exactly what part of ur shoulder and the type of pain. if you are playing to hard it is possible to strain your shoulder muscles. the stress travels up the arm into the shoulder and thats where it ends. more then likely its just a muscle strain and a few days rest from playing will heal it.

the bigger problem is something in your technique is causing the problem. when u fee better i would show your instructor exactly how you were playing. so he can make the needed adjustments. good luck

I've hurt my shoulder playing 5th bass, but that's for obvious reasons. But I know sometimes something can be wrong with the carrier and it will dig into your back, and it will hurt.

little off topic trickshot...besides she wasnt wearing the drum when the injury happened

Ohh...I see now, I only read the initial post, my bad. So no, Ive never heard of anyone hurting their shoulder from just playing. Thats strange...

My instructor tries and corrects my technique whenever he sees me doing something incorrectly but I don't remember exactly how I was playing that day I only know I was playing fast and hard which is probably what caused the injury but I'm sure my next lesson he's going to concentrate on finding out what I've done to cause this. Especially since he doesn't even get how I hurt my shoulder where it's hurt playing the snare. To answer flamtap's question currently I cannot play; not until it feels better or I find out what I did wrong at least. I tried to practice earlier today and lasted about two minutes if that before I almost screamed from the pain. So no, currently I cannot play but I should be able to again I doubt I can never play again. I hope I can still play anyway.

Okay, I have found out what I did wrong to cause my injury. I've been playing with my arms instead of my wrists and it caused my shoulder to rub against the socket. I am now learning to play with my wrists and even though my shoulder still hurts when I play it doesn't hurt very much any other times so it's getting better. Just thought I let you all know what i did wrong.

It could also be that you're not used to holding your arm up (if it's your right arm(Traditional)) If that's the case, as you play more your deltoid will develope and not hurt so much after awhile.

That's exactly what happened to me Snare-One...It's really not a pain though, you get very tired up there very fast though.

But in response the initial post, I have that same problem right now I think. I went to a doctor and the problem lies in my rotator cuff. Some of the muscles tore and stretched out. I might also suggest that one reason your shoulder hurt so bad is because most times, it's when you sleep on it wrong. My doctor said the wrong kind of pressure on your shoulder while you are sleeping can really mess you up. He said you won't even notice it until later in the day when you start to have fatigue in your body.