this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
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i know this is weird and let me know if this is off topic, but i have trouble walking properly after playing the guitar.

i play guitar sitting down with the guitar of my right leg, and with my legs crossed. most of the time its ok but if i sit there for long enough, when i stand up i cant lift my right ankle properly. its only in my right ankle and my brain thinks it has already been lifted so my feet drag on the floor. this has happened once before also after playing guitar but largely went away after one day of stretching.

do you think it cuts off the blood circulation or its just because i sat for too long(although it has only happened after playing)

i dont practice/play particularly hard since its just a hobby but i like watching youtube while practicing boring stuff so it could add up to over an hour.

have any of you also experienced this problem?

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[–] reversedposterior 13 points 11 months ago

I would re think your seating posture. You're probably trapping a nerve or something which means your posture is not relaxed. Also consider alternating between sitting and standing especially if you're playing electric.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Just for the sake of science, try and sit cross legged like you normally do while practicing but without the guitar. And for the same duration too, of course. How does your leg react? And what if you do it with the other leg on top?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Have you never had your leg fall asleep before?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

but "falling asleep" is when it feels like static buzzing through it when you move, not limp and numb idk.

@[email protected] how does it feel?

[–] ArbiterXero 9 points 11 months ago

That’s after you cutoff blood flow, not pinched a nerve.

Different things being pinched

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No, that's the waking up. And even that's not always tingling, it just depends on the specifics of how exactly you got your limb to fall asleep.

If your leg fell asleep the "move, god damnit" signal does not make it to the muscles in your leg. Since the muscles for movement are one "section" up and the nerve is pinched in the knee you can still move your thighs/upper legs (moved by muscles in the ass) and the lower part of the leg (moved by muscles in the thigh), but not your ankle (moved by muscle in the calf, which are cut off).

[–] Jeom 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i dont get the tingles but my leg was pretty limp and weak after standing up(after playing)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I think there is nothing you can do but wait and sit differently in the future, if it bothers you that much. If you feel pain, or your impediment persists longer than a few minutes you should change your seating position, and potentially ask a doctor. But if it's only a bother, because you can't move your leg for a while it's not anything dangerous.

I don't play guitar (got here from doom scrolling the front page), but I do like to sit on my legs from time to time. If I need to move (e.g. to pee) after sitting weirdly I do feel somewhat disabled sometimes, dragging my foot along the floor and having to use the wall in order to not fall over XD
But it goes away and doesn't cause any pain, so I think it's harmless.

[–] NielsBohron 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's because you're suffering from an overload of "toan," which, as all experienced guitar players know, is stored in the balls.

Source: /r/guitarcirclejerk