Do you have this problem?

[mhhudson15]

Just a bit of background-- I normally practice for about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours a day, and the first hour and a half or so is good... but then I get this really bad pain in all of my back. Every muscle gets terribly sore and won't go away for a few hours after I'm done practicing. I have really good posture at the piano, I sit pretty straight and try not to arch my back too much, whatever. I've tried sitting on a pillow but that doesn't help either. Any suggestions?

[hardy_practice]

For starters try blocking up the back legs of your stool by an inch or so.  That will duplicate the shape your back is whilst standing.

[pianoman8]

I would recommend go to your local office supply store, like staples, or whatever chain is near you and buy one of the wheely chairs with the big cushion on the butt and back. Do no get one with armrests on it. Practice in this chair. It takes about a week do get used to. If you don't like the first chair you try, keep looking until you find one. It took me a couple tries. Hope I could help, let me know if have any more questions

[faulty_damper]

You do not have good posture.  You're sitting too upright which causes tension in the back muscles.  You should sit higher and slump over a bit.

This is more slumping than I mean, but he's probably at a cadence in this picture.

[pianoman53]

Do you practice those 3 hours, straight? Most of the science suggest that you should take a break after about 15 minutes, just to clear your head a slight bit, and stand up for a while.

[indianajo]

I walked home from school during my piano training, carrying school books without a backpack, resting one edge on my waist and holding the other.  I never had pain in my back muscles.  In those days backpacks were for boy scouts or soldiers on hikes, not school  children.  Weights in a backback strengthen the abdomen muscles, more than the back muscles. You don't need that.  
I suggest you walk for a half hour or more, four times a week. Keep your head up straight and your back erect while walking.  
After you have done that for a week, carry weights, progressively heavier.  Start with 1 lb weights and work up to five or ten. Hold the weights to your side.  
This will build up your back muscle strength, without undue strain on the spine.
There are also machines you can use at a gym.    
I've been having back muscle pain playing organ, the holding of both feet up while I wave them around does cause it I suppose. I've been using a machine at the gym to strengthen those muscles.  I sit up straight with my head up at the painless piano. I lean forward more on the organ where I have to reach for the upper manual and controls with my short arms.  
If you get any tingling or numbness  in legs or feet, see a physician.  That can indicate pinched nerves from improper form.  

[mhhudson15]

Do you practice those 3 hours, straight? Most of the science suggest that you should take a break after about 15 minutes, just to clear your head a slight bit, and stand up for a while.

Yes, I practice straight without breaks. I've never really tried to take a break because my schedule is just that tight... I'm up until 1 usually, 12 on a good day, as it is... and if I take a break I lose my train of thought, like if I'm trying to improvise on something.

[skryabyn]

If you want to drop 200 bucks, drum thrones are great for long periods of sitting. Check out the Rock n Sock Lunar.

[Bob]

Work on posture.  Keep practicing.  You adjust.  It goes away.

[louispodesta]

Yes, I practice straight without breaks. I've never really tried to take a break because my schedule is just that tight... I'm up until 1 usually, 12 on a good day, as it is... and if I take a break I lose my train of thought, like if I'm trying to improvise on something.

Here he goes again with Thomas Mark.  My coach's book is "What Every Pianist Needs To Know About The Body," which is known to practically every piano department head of any university in the U.S.

It is a very easy to read handbook, which should be kept by the piano in order to check yourself periodically.

As far as sitting at the piano three hours straight, my comment is just keep it up Bubba, and in no time you will be manifesting all kinds of orthopaedic ailments that you never had before.

The first thing that I do in the morning is a light stretching exercise by hanging myself over the edge of the bed.  It is the last thing that I do before I go to sleep.

Do you not realize that the time of day you are practicing is when you spine is the shortest?  And, by sitting in one position for that length of time just makes it that much worse.

How much time would it take to get up from the piano every 20 minutes, and then lie on the floor and gently, gently do a slow "snow angel" to loosen yourself up?  Please, give it a try.

[j_menz]

How much time would it take to get up from the piano every 20 minutes, and then lie on the floor and gently, gently do a slow "snow angel" to loosen yourself up?  Please, give it a try.

That would certainly give the audience a good giggle if you did it in performance. 

[future_maestro]

Are you tensing your shoulders?

Try relaxing them.

[louispodesta]

That would certainly give the audience a good giggle if you did it in performance. 

I have psoriatic arthritis and if I don't loosen up at the beginning of the day, and stay loose the rest of the day, I am in chronic pain.  This player is in a tense situation when he begins his practice session.

Therefore, if he doesn't take overt steps to mitigate the problem, he won't have to worry about what happens on stage because he will never get there.  At the rate he is going, he is well on his way to having chronic arthritic back pain.

If you have a constructive better idea, we would all be glad to hear it.

[mhhudson15]

I've been getting up earlier and practicing some before school, then doing an hour at the school since I have a free block, and an hour at home, and it's much better breaking it up like that. Also, thank you pianoman8 for your chair idea. It helped a lot as well, especially since we already had a chair like that at home. Thanks guys!

[ryankmfdm]

 Sounds as though you've more or less resolved this problem, mhhudson15. However, I'm still gonna throw this out there:

 There's a very respected physical therapist, Dr. Kelly Starrett, who maintains that under no circumstance should anyone ever remain seated for more than 45 minutes straight or so, regardless of whatever activity is being performed whilst seated. I'm pulling this from his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, which has a sort of silly title but is, in my opinion, one of the best fitness books ever published. You can see how acclaimed it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-Preventing-Performance/dp/1936608588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398805869&sr=1-1&keywords=becoming+a+supple+leopard

[j_menz]

I'm pulling this from his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, which has a sort of silly title but is, in my opinion, one of the best fitness books ever published.

Leopards play piano? 

Some pieces require sitting for longer than 45 minutes. Not a lot, but some.  I don't like the hard and fast rule, though there is some merit in it as usual practice.

We smokers are astonishingly good at this particular discipline as a rule, as we spend 5 minutes standing (outside in the sleet and snow) every hour.

[louispodesta]

Sounds as though you've more or less resolved this problem, mhhudson15. However, I'm still gonna throw this out there:

 There's a very respected physical therapist, Dr. Kelly Starrett, who maintains that under no circumstance should anyone ever remain seated for more than 45 minutes straight or so, regardless of whatever activity is being performed whilst seated. I'm pulling this from his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, which has a sort of silly title but is, in my opinion, one of the best fitness books ever published. You can see how acclaimed it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-Preventing-Performance/dp/1936608588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398805869&sr=1-1&keywords=becoming+a+supple+leopard

This is a very valuable contribution, in my opinion.  However, we must remember that we now know that the OP, during his day, is not standing, he is sitting.

Therefore, my recommendation on stretching should be interpolated to apply to the OP's entire day.  That way, his original practice schedule might work out as planned.

[outin]

We smokers are astonishingly good at this particular discipline as a rule, as we spend 5 minutes standing (outside in the sleet and snow) every hour.

You have snow down there???

Maybe I should just start smoking again... My doctor gave me a long lecture on how I MUST learn to take breaks instead of sitting for 2-3 hours in a row. Time just flies when there's something interesting going on

[j_menz]

You have snow down there???

I import it for (melo)dramatic effect.

Maybe I should just start smoking again... My doctor gave me a long lecture on how I MUST learn to take breaks instead of sitting for 2-3 hours in a row. Time just flies when there's something interesting going on

I suspect the lecture he gives you if you do will require you to defy the one he has given you.

[outin]

I suspect the lecture he gives you if you do will require you to defy the one he has given you.

Maybe I just don't tell her