Hand Precautions, Avoiding Bad Playing Habbits

[darkr_reaver]

So I was playing with my girlfriend the other week and she began to complain about a pain in her hand anytime she barrs a chord too long. I've heard it said before that holding the neck and fretting it the wrong way can cause serious damage to a player's hand... So I thought I would post this up and ask you guys some questions...

1. What exactly happens to your hands if you play the wrong way?

2. What are some things you do to avoid straining and damaging your hands when you play?

3. Stories are always awesome... What has happened to you?

Anyways, post up and add anything you feel neccessary. Also, I wanted to post this up now because I am starting to feel a pain between my knuckles which tends to act up after playing, is this something serious? I'm thinking it is, but I'm not sure what it is...

 

[05jrock]

I get a bit of numbness up the forearm from my elbow(at the funny bone) right up to my hand,My pinkie,ring finger and the meaty part of my palm go numb.
I have to stop and stretch my arm and fingers an rest for a few mins.
I don't play guitar much now,Maybe pick it up once a week for an hour.

Been to see a doctor about it and had acupuncture sessions which helped short term.
The doctor told me it could be partly caused be bad fretting technique but I have been doing the same type of work for almost 15 years working with my hands which would have contributed to the problem.

I would suggest that you see a professional about it,Don't just leave it thinking it will go away.
This kind of problem can cause you grief,not just with playing guitar but with everyday tasks.

 

[4nd3h]

I think an important piece of advice is to never try to out-play an ache. If your hand starts hurting, stop playing.

 

[ext1jdh]

Pain is your bodies way of telling you to STOP. If it's painful then you need to adjust your technique. Try moving the guitar to a better angle. Check this site for ideas on technique.

I also get numb-hand. This has a similar cause to carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis, and should be addressed immediately otherwise it can cause permanent damage to the nerve. I find that I'm gripping the neck too tightly when this happens. If I loosen my grip then it tends to go away. If you're having to grip very tightly to prevent buzz, get the guitar set up properly as the action may be too high for chording.

YMMV, and I'm not a doc so don't sue me.

 

[R8R6Ben]

if you bend your wrist too much you can also develop cysts in the fluid there... and they do suck... luckily after you drain them a few times and work on fixing what you were doing wrong they seem to go away

 

[Weaver]

pain in the fingers is normal when playing guitar, but don't bend your wrists and arms into pretzels man. thats all realy

 

[dazzypig]

I watched a couple of vids about this and the main rule seems to be that bending your wrist and then trying to move your fingers around in a complex fashion can cause you real problems.

Your hands should ideally come to rest in a relaxed way in the position that you play in, forcing them to go into uncomfortable positions (like, say, wearing your strap too low or too high and trying to play around it out of style not comfort) can cause some serious issues, not least of which is carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which I believe is to do with the small passage in the bones in your wrist the tendons that move your fingers run through getting smaller and causing major issues that can sometimes be irrepairable.

There is a device that you can use to combat this though (I use one for general arm and finger strength for playing anyway) called the NSD Powerball, which is a small mechanical gyro that you rotate with your hands. By letting your arm hang loosely down by the side of you while your sitting down and rotating the ball slowly it actually builds strength in the main CTS areas and can combat any onset of the condition.

CTS is a real big problem with finger-style bass players as many (myself included before finding a lot of this out) tend to rest their wrist on the edge of the body of the bass and create an extreme curve to get their fingers into playing position. This is a double no-no as far as technique is concerned as not only are you creating that awkward curve as mentioned earlier, but you are physically adding pressure to the wrist by resting it on the bass too. (although I still see tons of guys doing this, many pros too, who never seem to have any trouble at all).

Main thing is to try and find a way of playing that is comfortable for you, but will also mean you can still play in 10 or 20 years + time.

Hope that was relatively helpful,

D

 

[ReadingOwls]

Go to the Doctors or GP, they can sort it out. Also, warm up very slowly otherwise your playing suffers, so does your hand.

 

[White94RX]

I don't have any problems playing. My only tingling and numbness comes in both hands after cutting my grass and weed eating everywhere. The dang vibrations of that weed eater are killer after about 15-20 min.

 

[MorganPeline]

Avoid tension!

The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar [Primary text for The Principles System] - $29.95 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

 

[Justin_Case]

I don't have any problems playing. My only tingling and numbness comes in both hands after cutting my grass and weed eating everywhere. The dang vibrations of that weed eater are killer after about 15-20 min.

Look at adding foam tape to where your hands rest, and good gloves will help too.

 

[River]

<snip>Main thing is to try and find a way of playing that is comfortable for you, but will also mean you can still play in 10 or 20 years + time.<snip>

That's it.

Follow the trail blazed by others, but you have to find what works for you. How you hold the guitar, your choice of string gauge and neck thickness, even your strap have to be what works best for you.

I paid a lot of money for a guitar with a very thick neck, and if I listened to the "tone is in the thick neck" and "you'll get used to it" stuff instead of the pain in my wrist, I don't think I'd have a long playing future. I'm getting that puppy shaved.

 

[Sirzach]

The only pain i experience is playing bar chords for too long. The pressure makes my wrist tired, and sore, but no real pain.

Then again, i play any other chord and lead guitar parts with my thumb over the neck and my wrist straight, so I guess i'm not hurting myself.

 

[Maestro and the Muse]

I paid a lot of money for a guitar with a very thick neck, and if I listened to the "tone is in the thick neck" and "you'll get used to it" stuff instead of the pain in my wrist, I don't think I'd have a long playing future. I'm getting that puppy shaved.

And this is exactly what you should do (listen to your body). My situation is the opposite of River's, where my tele's neck is too thin, and so when I hold on to the neck for chords, the palm of my hand comes too far in, causing pain when playing for a long time. As a result, I'm switching it out for a v neck. I'm finding v-necks to be the 'holy grail' of comfort to my hand, though I'll err on the side of thicker necks instead of thinner ones if I have to.

Maestro

 

[dubyatf]

I've found my R7 and Nocaster (both have thick necks) have about my favorite neck profiles of all my guitars. My hands are largish - but not huge - by any stretch. I've grown to like the thicker necks. I've also been playing my son's thinnish-necked Strat lately and get cramps quickly with that neck profile.

 

[River]

I've found my R7 and Nocaster (both have thick necks) have about my favorite neck profiles of all my guitars. My hands are largish - but not huge though by any stretch. I've grown to like the thicker necks. I've also been playing my son's thinnish-necked Strat lately and get cramps quickly with that neck profile.

My problem with the thick neck is E-shaped barre chords on the fifth fret and below. Anything else and above there I'm fine. If I kept my thumb in "correct" classical position behind the neck for everything else, I'd probably be fine with it. But I've tried, and that ain't happening in this lifetime.

 

[dubyatf]

My problem with the thick neck is E-shaped barre chords on the fifth fret and below. Anything else and above there I'm fine. If I kept my thumb in "correct" classical position behind the neck for everything else, I'd probably be fine with it. But I've tried, and that ain't happening in this lifetime.

Yep - my left thumb is usually planted virtually along the center-line of the neck. OTOH, hooking my thumb over the top feels odd to me.

 

[River]

Yep - my left thumb is usually planted virtually along the center-line of the neck. OTOH, hooking my thumb over the top feels odd to me.

I have to switch from this:

to this:

My instructor used to all but smack me with a nun-ruler to get me to correct my open chord fingering - I just can't do it and play my style. Doesn't help seeing your idols having the same bad habits - including my instructor when he was gigging.

 

[Maestro and the Muse]

It's the wrapover that kills my hand on thin necks.

I used to have that habit under control as a bass player, but once I started playing guitar, that went out the window. Damn six-stringers!

 

[mudfinger]

Holy cow! My gf is eating right now, I'll have her take some pics of how I do. Back when I was rehearsing 4 hours per night, I got into some real trouble, and I don't think I'd be playing today if I hadn't gotten it sorted out.

One of the things I did was start doing the hand yoga described in Daim Batangtari's book "Hand Dynamics". I still do some of those "postures" when I'm idle or bored. I'd almost say that any stretching is better than no stretching, so long as it's not painful.

Last year, I developed a ganglion cyst from bad typing technique, of all things. But, I can literally play guitar for hours without discomfort; it doesn't hurt that I tend to play somewhat gently, being a fingerstyle disciple.

I'll get those pics up in bit. You're spooking me, Riv.