learning pain

[feralkid]

Hi, new to the forum but have been following closely for awhile. Was just wondering if anybody else has had any pains in their wrist and thumb area. I have been really pushing myself for months in practice and now i think i may have damaged my hand in the process. Playing the guitar now is uncomfortable and it's really starting to worry me

[billkath]

Repetitive strain.
Try adjusting your hand, arm and holding position. Changing the position can really help.
When I get pains I usually swap to a different sort of guitar for a few days-an acoustic, or a different electric.

[Drumbler]

Take a week or two off.

Rest.

What's your hurry? Believe me there is no hurry.

[251Tele]

Originally Posted by Drumbler

Take a week or two off.

Rest.

What's your hurry? Believe me there is no hurry.

+1

[derek]

In addition to what the fellas have said, you might consider taking an over the counter anti-inflammatory. The other thing I would suggest, is if you are not taking lessons, to get in front of a good teacher, and have him analyze your technique and posture. You could have developed some bad habits that are contributing to your pain.

This is something I don't think we pay enough attention to. None of us want to have to go thru surgery for trigger finger, carpal tunnel or the like, so a bit of attention to posture/technique can make a difference latter on, or perhaps in your case, now. Good luck with it.

[Drumbler]

I've had trigger finger surgery so you want to avoid that.

Since then I'm much more careful with my hands. Opening things, tearing paper, etc. You have to watch it.

My finger surgery was over $10,000. Fortunately I had insurance.

Use common sense.

As Derek suggested, take Ibuprofen or something like that until you feel better.

[feralkid]

thanks guys for the advice, i think i have been over extending my fingers and twisting my wrist in the process trying to do exercises. I should be properly warming up and taking it slowly. Will slow down and take some time off for a bit. I must say I have never heard of trigger finger but it sounds nasty. thanks again

[coolvinny]

To the OP, please provide more details so you can get commensurately more detailed advice.

I injured my arms from a combination of things in February (guitar was a major contributor though). I'm still not recovered in my left (fretting hand) wrist area and in fact I have a referral to see a sports medicine specialist coming up (in Canada, you have to get a referral from a general practitioner first). During this time, I've seen several general practitioners, a physiotherapist, and have done much research on my own.

It is likely that you either have tendinitis or tendinosis. Tendinitis is a primarily inflammatory condition that usually resolves within 2 weeks; treatment consists of REST, REST, REST, REST, ice, and often anti-inflammatories (although some say it takes a long time for over-the-counter anti-inflammatories to work, so for short-term tendinitis they may not be worth the trouble). There's like a 99% recovery rate for tendinitis - pretty high.

Tendinosis is much more of a problem and that is what I seem to have. It takes MONTHS OR YEARS to fully recover - assuming one ever does fully recover as the recovery rate is apparently about 80%. Tendinosis is usually NOT inflammatory. In fact, that's part of the problem since the lack of inflammation seems to lead the body to not bother healing it. Anti-inflammatories would thus seem to hinder healing if you have tendinosis. After an initial period of rest, some activity is helpful as it promotes healing. Eccentric exercises have been shown to help this process. However, you're not ready for that stuff yet if you only recently had pain. You need to focus on rest. Consider "contrasting" aka hot/cold water therapy - it can't hurt and it might help.

As you can see, no matter which one you have, you should REST for the next 2 weeks. After that time, try a little (no more than 20 min at first; no more than 30 min at a time NO MATTER WHAT for at least a month from when you get back into it) and if the problem persists, post again with the following information (in addition to anything else that seems relevant at the time):

So, do you have inflammation? When do you get pain? Any numbness? Does it hurt from other stuff? Which side of your wrist? Do you type a lot? How long are your practice sessions? Do you take breaks? Do you wear your guitar high or low? Do you often play with a bend in your wrist (often done on a min7 chord played on the low E, D, G and B strings)?

Start with 2 weeks of total rest. Put your guitars in their cases, lock the cases, and put them in your closet. Work on a theory book and listen to CDs.

If I'd taken 2 weeks off when I first felt like maybe I fried my arms (a weekend of 7 hrs per day after a week of 3 hrs per day), I'd probably be 100% by now. It's 4 MONTHS LATER! Don't be an idiot like I was. All it took for my injury to escalate was one week of playing ("only" an hour a day) when I should have been completely resting instead.

Also, if you type a lot, invest in a Kinesis Contour keyboard.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and have zero medical training.

[shoome]

+1 to never underestimate a tenosynovitis. I have had a chronic tenosynovitis 7 years ago because of overextending while haveing a wrong technique in my picking hand. It took years to recover. You should trust in coolvinny and just give it a break... try it again in 2 weeks, if you still have (even the slightest) problems, give it a week more. Don't try to fool yourself (like I did back then..).


When you practice much, never forget to make a little break every 45-50 minutes for 2 reasons.
1st: your ability to "save" learned stuff will drop to a point where your brain needs a rest.
2nd: your arms, hands, fingers(, shoulders) need to build up muscles and you should not overextend your sinews.
(Those explanations are the short versions, I know, but you can trust me...)

Another thing is, always do warm-ups when you go for a longer practice-session. Do stretches and all that stuff... what I personally like in addition to stretches before practicing is massaging my hands AND fingers under warm water. This supports the blood flow(?) in your hands/fingers.

Hope this helps a little to prevent future injuries.

[gordon]

derek gave you a good tip, find a teacher that can correct your technique. he will tell you how to keep your left hand relaxed, as it is probably too stiff when playing. that is of course when your pain has gone away..

[feralkid]

Thanks again guys for the advice, especially coolvinny. My pain seems to be concentrated in the wrist below the thumb area. I also recently noticed a slight tingle throughout the hand which i think maybe a nerve problem. Will head to the docs this week and get it checked over. Guitar has been put away untill further notice. I have a great teacher but to be honest we never went over this kind off stuff only because it never was a problem. Although it's going to be the first thing I ask him next time.

Will let you know how I get on, thanks again guys

[Jazzyteach65]

Originally Posted by feralkid

Hi, new to the forum but have been following closely for awhile. Was just wondering if anybody else has had any pains in their wrist and thumb area. I have been really pushing myself for months in practice and now i think i may have damaged my hand in the process. Playing the guitar now is uncomfortable and it's really starting to worry me

STOP IMMEDIATELY!
last year I overworked myself by practicing, teaching and playing with a combo, and ended up tearing my rotator cuff. Now I've been going to physio for a while, and have to take treatment. It has limited my playing time-ALL BECAUSE I DIDN'T STRETCH AND EXERCISE BEFORE PLAYING!

stretch your thumbs.

Listen to this guy, he knows what he's doing and is a legendary teacher (he taught Buckethead)

YouTube Video

and do the following:
Just like Derik said: technique is critical. I had to go to a teacher well after I had been playing for 15 years to get my technique corrected

[coolvinny]

Indeed, technique is important, but at a high level the technique things to focus on are:
- try to minimize tension; and
- try to keep a straight wrist.

Playing with a bent wrist is bad for the tendons running through your wrist.

You mentioned that you get some numbness - when? Often people get this first thing in the morning after they wake up. If that's you, then get a wrist brace and wear it while you sleep. The numbness is due to your median or radial nerve being compressed by tendons or tendon sheaths, and a wrist brace will keep your wrist straight so that this compression is somewhat reduced.

[larry graves]

Originally Posted by feralkid

Thanks again guys for the advice, especially coolvinny. My pain seems to be concentrated in the wrist below the thumb area. I also recently noticed a slight tingle throughout the hand which i think maybe a nerve problem. Will head to the docs this week and get it checked over. Guitar has been put away untill further notice. I have a great teacher but to be honest we never went over this kind off stuff only because it never was a problem. Although it's going to be the first thing I ask him next time.

Will let you know how I get on, thanks again guys

It's practising, nothing else. I've been down that road, heavy strings don't
help. I was advised by my doctor [a guitarist] to use lighter gauge strings,
which I did. You don't realize practising day after day is like running every day, you wake up and find you've got shin splints, been down that road too, you have to stop running, but not walking. I also stopped practising and just concentrated on playing tunes, when I felt like.I'm cured,and using heavier gauge strings again [12s] but still only play tunes.
Other guys on the forum will have their own methods. Decide which one
works for you. You don't have to give up the guitar..LG.

[gordon]

i don't think this has been said, but make sure your guitar is well setup. i got mine done 3 months ago and it makes a world of difference, when speaking of tension. this is overlooked often

[Aristotle]

Some of the classical guitar organizations and workshops include seminars on injury avoidance. These can wander a bit into the yoga-zen, mystical-Eastern, one-with-your-tendons kind of a thing. Such training ofte starts with sitting "properly."

Don't want this to be taken as a cure for any specific problem, but for the left hand, I found that practicing for a while without using the thumb really helps one get the sense of how little pressure is needed, especially on electric. You'll find you can even do hammer and pull excercises without the thumb. Really helped me. I think excess squeezing is a potential source of wrist strain.

I also favor a long course of study through the Shearer excercises or something similar to work out all the left hand combinations, tensions and stretches.