Upper Back Pain

Hi folks . I've been experiencing extreme back pain whenever I play my guitar either sitting or standing . I don't know if it's my posture as as I try to sit or stand straight as much as possible.

I have tried adjusting my strap numerous times but I still get back pain. I'm wondering what I could be doing . Could I be positioning the body of my guitar wrong ?.

I often seem to have the body of my guitar right in the middle of my stomach.
I think the problem might be the weight of my guitar even though its a cutaway hollow type but yeah perhaps I'm not distributing the weight properly.

This is really getting on my nerves because as soon as I try playing I am literally getting pain within 10 minutes and as a result I have to stop.

I'm going to see my doctor this Tuesday and see about getting some x-rays just in case something might be wrong with my back.

Are your muscles tense while playing? Do you experience back pain during any other activities, or just when you play guitar?

Nope my muscles don't tense up at all . I can easily fret a few notes and chords . Granted I sometimes have to position my hand.

As for when doing other activities I've never had this problem. Playing sports
lifting things etc etc . I still think it may be the way my guitar is position or perhaps there could be a problem with my strap.

But yeah its' really frustrating when you wanna play for like even 30 minutes and often have to quit within like 5 :(

Think about booking in for a chiropratic adjustment. It maybe all you need. Is there also a possibility that you haven't been lifting correctly?

You should definitely consult a physician about this, but my $0.02...

It may be only temporary. Perhaps you strained/pulled your upper back slightly. Not enough to produce constant pain, but enough to make it "fragile".

Try giving it some rest for a week and see if it improves.

Try proping up one of your feet on a couple pf phone books, pieces of wood ect. (nothing higher than that). I have had 2 major back surgeries and that is the way I play. It will really help.