I have been on drumline for almost a year now. I have experianced some back pain, but only during learning sets in winter drumline. I have gotten used to the weight of my bass and I am not feeling any pain anymore. During rehearsal one day our instructor told us that that we should get a back-brace if we think we are going to have back problems. (His spine got really messed up and he had to wear one his senior year.) I don't really want to pay a lot for something I might not even need. I was wondering if this is really a good investment or if I don't really need to buy one.

I know a lot of people who have back problems; the biggest reason, that I've noticed, is that they're not taught to stay as upright as possible while carrying their equipment. Stretching will always help. No matter what the activity, stretch out!

Back braces wouldn't hurt, but don't rely on them to be the ultimate cure.

I have Scoliosis. Which is a curve in the spine. Mine's not servere, but it's pretty bad. it's hard for me to stand correctly, and it hurts to carry a snare sometimes. But I've marched tenors and fourth bass as well. And Tenors have given me the least amount of problems..? lol.

There is a reason that employers require employees that do a lot of lifting to wear back braces: the potential of injury. Once a back injury occurs, it never seems to totally go away.

To avoid back problems, stretching and correct posture are a must as OU110Snare said, but you must also maintain a strong core through stomach and lower back exercises.

My best suggestion to you about back problems would DEFINITELY have to be the body bridge. I've had a little less than a year's experience actually playing on a marching snare. My first year and a half was mostly concert, and my junior year I played bass during marching "season," which consisted of homecoming and ONE competition where we played the same show--it only had three sets. What I'm getting at here is that I'd never really had to carry any marching percussion for an extended period of time--at least until July of last year.

That's when I went to the Sounds of Summer percussion camp (which is what got me really into marching percussion) and spent about five hours with a snare drum on. Afterwards my back didn't hurt in the least. I felt great, which surprised me because so many others were complaining about having to carry the drums for so long. The only reason I could think of about why it wasn't hurting me was the fact that I was doing body bridges every night. Along with hindu pushups and hindu squats, it makes for one hell of a workout. The pushups mostly work on your upper body and the squats on your lower, but the bridge really targets your core like no other exercise I've ever seen. My back was lean and very cut, I was in the best shape of my life (not anymore, I've since gone the route of laziness and partying) and my neck was stronger than I ever thought possible.

http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm

Go to this website, read every word, memorize the exercises. Try them yourself, I guarantee that you'll see improvement in any back pain. Hell, that guy is in his 60's and even he does them!

Sorry for taking so darn long to get to the point, it's 5:20 in the morning and I'm far too wired to sleep...typing comes easy in a mood like this ^__^

that back brace might be nice, but I don't think it's something you should rely on. As a bass player, it's especially important to stand up straight as much as possible. I know how easy it is to lean back, but it'll mess up your back in the long run.

If you really think that you're messing up your back, I'd talk to a chiropractor and see what they have to say.

Like everyone here is saying, stay as straight as possible, and stretch a lot... and then stretch more. Our drum tech last year was a man names Greg Perkins... (Was it Greg, or something else) anyways, he marched tenors all his highschool years and from there in phantom until he aged out. And then became an instructer. I swear to god, he should be the poster child for arthritis. He has like 3 worn disks in his back, carple tunnel syndrom, arthritis in his wrists, elbows, and knees, the list goes on and on. We wanted to push him over one day to see if he would shatter on impact But anyways, he constanly stressed marching correctly as to not screw up your body and made us stretch so much that we felt like rubber after every practice.

better safe than sorry man. i've marched tenors for a year now and i've had significant changes in my spinal pattern. i also have scoliosis. witch doesn't really help. at this point, extra strength tylonol and icy-hot patches are my best friends.

It's better if ask for advices from a medical doctor 'bro. Don't wait too long or it'll late. Back bone is ..kind of terminal for nerves from another part of our body, if it get hurt, it can affecting other part function. (...right?!)

Yes you should wear a back brace. You should also go to a chiropractor at least once a month for general check ups. I have broke my back 3 times(1 marching incident 1 golf-cart incident and the last is another story by itself). Get a brace from some type of doctor. You shouldn't need one with the steel inserts so a fabric brace should be what you need. You only have one back so take care of it while you are young because that is the only back you will have.