wrist pain and other pains from playing

[revelation2012]

I am a right handed player and in the last month am devloping a sore right hand. It feels like it in from the wrist down to between the right thumb and index finger. Mostly the in the thumb area where it meets the carpal bones in the wrist. Could this be the intial developments of carpal tunnel?

What can I do to help this not develop. Am I holding my guitar and or flat picking hand incorrectly. I tend to brace my right hand with my pinky in the pickguard. I know this should not be done but I learned as a kid with the banjo and my instructor tought me to do this. So this habit has carried over.

Are there streatches I can do or corrections and or adjustments I should make with my picking hand?

I also am having tnsion between my shoulders and neck and wondering if I need to make adjustments with the guitar strap as well.

Any experienced players who have encounterd these issues and can make any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreiciated.

[AndrewG]

Sounds more like RSI in your hand to me; CTS is much more common in the left, fretting, hand. Pain in your shoulders is all about posture and adopting a comfortable playing position. If I play with my Tele seated on my right leg I eventually feel pain in my right shoulder, because my arm is thrown back too far for comfort. Swapping to my left knee shifts the guitar to a position closer to if you were wearing it on a strap. Your left wrist should be as straight as possible to eliminate strain.

Next, it's imortant to consider warming up your hands before you play-stretching your fingers, clasping and unclasping your hands, just as an athlete does before exercising or an event. Being of a 'certain age' I find my joints are increasingly affected by cold, and running my hands under a hot tap before I play helps.

[revelation2012]

Thanks. I am almost 45 so things probably are getting stiffer than I realize (perpetually 18 in the brain here)...

I also find sitting with the guitar on the left knee relieves the pain you mention.

I will play around with the positioning of the guitar and stretch before playing. Is there a rule of thumb for guitar positioning with the strap in a standing position? Also seated for the matter.

Thanks.

[Wrong-Note Rod]

could be RSI (repetitive stress injury which often leads to tendonitis).

carpel tunnel often manifests itself with numbing of the fingertips. Do you experience that?
Pain is often tendonitis or other RSI related problem

I've got what they call FCR tendonitis, the FCR tendon runs from the elbow to the wrist and connects at the base of the thumb, and I often feel pain in the wrist directly below the thumb.

stretching beforehand is always good, ice or heat therapy is always good, posture is important, guitar position while you're playing is important, and going to a sports doctor might help.

Some suggest a chiropractor.

[revelation2012]

Originally Posted by Wrong-Note Rod

could be RSI (repetitive stress injury which often leads to tendonitis).

I've got what they call FCR tendonitis, the FCR tendon runs from the elbow to the wrist and connects at the base of the thumb, and I often feel pain in the wrist directly below the thumb.

What you describe is exactly what I am experiencing.

[Controller]

I have had great success with cranial sacral therapy and vitamin B6. But each person is unique and responds differently. Try to find someone who has had long term success treating these things.

Good luck.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by revelation2012

Thanks. I am almost 45 so things probably are getting stiffer than I realize (perpetually 18 in the brain here)...

I also find sitting with the guitar on the left knee relieves the pain you mention.

I will play around with the positioning of the guitar and stretch before playing. Is there a rule of thumb for guitar positioning with the strap in a standing position? Also seated for the matter.

Thanks.

We're all built differently but my rule of thumb is for the headstock to be roughly level with my left shoulder, both seated and standing with a strap, thus keeping the left forearm and hand straight.

If it stops hurting you're doing it right!

[Wrong-Note Rod]

Originally Posted by revelation2012

What you describe is exactly what I am experiencing.

FCR tendonits? Its a bitch. Mine's in my fretting hand and makes playing barre chords an issue. I got around it by teaching myself to play partial chords and let the bass player carry the bottom.

When I first got hurt, it was like a lighting bolt, it didnt come on slowly... all of a sudden I coldnt even write without pain (I'm left handed but play right handed)

I went to all kinds of "medical professionals" that all disagreed with each other. All I knew is I couldnt even play and I had a band with a CD out and I was out of commission. I would have gone to a witchdoctor if I thought he could cure me. I read all kinds of books, spent hours online, the whole ball of wax.

Eventually I heard about this sports medicine doctor who had treated some famous musicians. He diagnosed FCR and immediately put me in a half-cast, a removable one that I wore during the day and it prevented me from moving my thumb at all. I stopped playing guitar completely for a good long time, months, I cant really remember how long.

He also prescribed a serious anti-inflammatory drug called Bexxtra, to knock down the swollen tendon. that has since been taken off the market. It worked over time tho. You have to be very careful with all the anti-inflammatories, as they will work and make you feel better, but they have a nasty cumulative effect on your digestive track.

Since then, with his help and a LOT of experimenting on my own, I found a solution that helped me personally - all the exercises prescribed by all the doctors were nothing but trouble for me. I switched to lighter strings (I play 9s now) and custome all-parts necks with fatter necks, altho not too far, and gigantic frets. This combination allows me easier string bending and I dont have to work my fret hand as hard.

I also limit how much time I can play, I dont play near as much as I used to.

tendonitis is permanent damage, there is no reversal, there is only pain management. get yourself to a doctor to be sure.

[tele_jas]

My guitar raises up just a little more every year because of my left wrist pain. I can barely play with it bent too much anymore, it has to be almost straight (still a slight bend). I can see over the next few years that I'm going to have to have my guitar so my wrist is perfectly straight.

I'm pretty sure it's tendinitis. I've had steroid injections and wear a wrist brace every night..... It just isn't getting any better. I have good days/weeks and bad ones. I'm 39yrs old and pretty sure I hyper-extended my wrist about 7 years ago carrying a 125 pound amp with my left hand/arm.

Hope this doesn't discourage you...... Just take care of yourself and try everything you can to find something that works.

[Mechanic]

Newish player, late in life here. My pain is in the deteriorateing last pinky joint of my fretting hand. Trying to staighten the wrist and pinky is helping. Playing time is being limited to try and keep the finger working. Keef is my idol. Wish I was a tenth as good.

[guitar dan]

I've had issues with my left wrist also. First carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), then later, a ganglion cyst. CTS problems started about 12 years ago and I've managed it all his time. I thought I would have to quit playing guitar at the time.

Here's what helped me (some of the same advice already given):
1. flextend exercise glove- http://www.flextend.com/
It looked like a gimmick, but I took a chance on it and it definitely helped. Our arms use mostly flexor muscles and not extensors...Just like an alligators jaw is super strong to close, but weak to open. The glove exercises the extensors.
2. chiropractor- I found one that specialized in extremity adjustments. He adjusted my wrist and elbow as well as my neck/spine. He also gave me an exercise similar to the flextend:
--Place a wide rubber band around your finger tips. (over your finger nails)
-- Let your wrist hang down as if your arm were on a table and the wrist was hanging down.
-- Extend your fingers outward
-- With the fingers extended, raise your wrist.
You should feel the muscle on the top of the forearm (extensors) being worked. If this explanation is too confusing, let me know and I'll film it and put it on youtube.
3. Wrist brace at night. Arm on a pillow.
4. Warm water soaks before playing. I used to use Epsom salt although I'm not sure if that really did anything. The warm water made it feel loose and increased flexibility for a short time.
5. Play as light as possible. Turn your amp up LOUD. It will serve as a constant reminder to play lightly. There's also a book called "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar" that focused on playing tension free. This is very important to break the cycle. Otherwise, you'll continue to re-injure yourself every time you play.
6.Ergonomics- As mentioned earlier- raised my strap so I can play with my wrist as straight as possible. Dont playing anything that hurts. Play partial chords if neccessary. If you're home practicing on the higher frets, move the guitar to the other leg. I also bought a footstool and hold the guitar like classical players do... I think it is the most ergonomic way to play.
7. I agree about he mental aspect. I had to come to terms with the limitations that it created and focus on what I could do. Zen Guitar is a great book for this.

Here's a good resource:
http://www.musicianshealth.com/

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can do anything else to assist. Good luck and keep us posted.

Dan

[Chas63]

Interesting thread! I'm 66 years old and have been playing only about one year (not counting the slight amount of time that I picked on my brother's guitar as a teenager).

About 2 months ago, my left thumb began hurting at the base of the thumb. The pain was accompanied by stiffness in the thumb and hand. I played on in spite of the pain.

After a week or so, my thumb began clicking whenever I bent the last joint in the thumb. It's hard NOT to bend the thumb just in everyday activities. I tried taking Ibuprofen and doing a little less guitar playing, but there wasn't much improvement. Finally I went to a doctor and he diagnosed it as "trigger thumb". He gave me a cortisone shot in the base of the thumb. That was about 3 weeks ago.

Today, my thumb is a little better, but still not well. It still clicks some, but not as bad as it did. I guess I'm dumb, but I just can't give up playing the guitar even though I know it's not good for my thumb. I frequently wrap my thumb joint with 3 or 4 layers of masking tape. This prevent me from bending the joint and prevents further aggravation of the condition.

At times, my wrists feel like they are going start hurting too, but so far I haven't had any serious wrist pain. I try to do some stretching of the hands, fingers, and wrists several times each day and I think that helps some.

Oh well, I guess I'm not the only one who can't give up the playing of a guitar. I suppose that if it really got so serious that I couldn't do other things, I would probably stop playing for awhile until the condition improved.

I hope your condition improves. Good luck.

[Teleagain]

Chas63..

you can try a second shot..if the shots don't help you can have a small outpatient surgery called a trigger thumb release where they make a small incision, snip the band of tissue (pulley) where the flexor tendon binds up..local anesthesia, stitches in for a couple weeks, very good success/low complication rate. A trigger thumb shouldn't derail your guitar playing

good luck

[pdouds]

i have been having trouble with thumb spazms for a few years now. I was referred to this book, and if i actually do the stretching She recommends, it mostly goes away. it has targeted stretches for all kinds of conditions. Highly recommended!

Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries: A Self-Care Program
By Sharon J. Butler

[1955]

There was another thread recently about hand/wrist problems - read my posts there -maybe something can help!

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-...se-advise.html

[mlove3]

go see a physical therapist asap. I had similiar problems when I hit 40, stretches and accupuncture helped me.

[jefrs]

Bracing the hand with the pinky is a banjo technique.
Stop doing that immediately !!! <- 3x!

Practice thai chi regularly.
Seriously, this will alleviate most joint movement problems, plus it is a deadly martial art so no-one will accuse you of looking silly for doing it, not twice anyway.

Throw away the pick.
It locks the thumb in position and you can play perfectly well or better without it. Keep the hand/wrist loose. Elbow too for that matter, strum from the shoulder, keep everything fluid, minimum effort.

[jefrs]

Originally Posted by Controller

I have had great success with cranial sacral therapy and vitamin B6. But each person is unique and responds differently. Try to find someone who has had long term success treating these things.

Good luck.

I've had the chiropractor do this and it was like being tickled. It is not the same as reverse-phrenology where the practitioner raises lumps on you head with mallets.

There is a pressure point shown to me by my physiotherapist that does alleviate the tingle in the fingers (I have tennis elbow LHS).
Place your other hand under the affected elbow with the middle finger extended to touch the point of the elbow and thumb relaxed above.
Now trace the line of the nerve from the elbow, you thumb should be directly above the pressure point. It is in a small groove of the outer muscle (not the big groove between the muscles).
Press down, manoeuvre the thumb to where it hurts most and press down hard!

There is another pressure point in the shoulder muscle, but I haven't got a hope of explaining where that is.

Btw, all the exercises the physiotherapist shows me are thai chi, and the pressure points are shiatsu.