Wrist pain

moster78

OK, I never had this problem when I played acoustic, but sometime last week while playing on my electric my wrist started bothering me, most likely from the increased motion of my fret hand going up and down the neck. I've since tried taking it easy with my playing, but the pain has persisted. I've tried icing it, heat, advil and a prescription anti-inflammatory (one the perks of your mother working for your doctor!) and nothing has done the trick so far. I realize I should probably take a break from playing for a few days and give it a chance to heal, as much as that sucks. I was just curious if anyone else had experience with this or could give me any pointers or exercises or anything to help. Thanks in advance everyone!

the unseen

maybe try a different position/height for your guitar.

your fret hand could be in a new position with the electric compared to how your hold the acoustic and maybe you are working those muscles different.

just a thought.....

JofZ

Do you play sitting or standing?
Do you warm up? As silly as it sounds, you can really hurt your self if your not warm before playing.
Have you seen a doctor?
Pain killers will mask the injury allowing you to further the injury and maybe prolong healing.
If something hurts whether I am lifting weights, playing basketball, tennis, you name it, I STOP. This is your bodies way of telling you something is wrong.
Personally it sounds like some tendenitis which can be treated and will go away. You should see a doctor, get a script for a PT and get some stretching excerises. It will go away.

moster78

I usually play sitting, but I think I aggravated it by trying to stand and play.

I don't really warm up before hand, maybe just mess around for a few minutes before getting to what I want to play. What kind of warmups do you do?

No on the doctor visit, but if it doesn't get any better in the next few days I definitely will. Like I said, I'm trying to take it easy and stay away from playing things that involve a lot of motion up and down the neck. I'm going to give it one more shot today, and if it keeps on hurting I'm going to stop entirely until it heals.

JofZ

moster78 wrote:

I usually play sitting, but I think I aggravated it by trying to stand and play.

I don't really warm up before hand, maybe just mess around for a few minutes before getting to what I want to play. What kind of warmups do you do?

No on the doctor visit, but if it doesn't get any better in the next few days I definitely will. Like I said, I'm trying to take it easy and stay away from playing things that involve a lot of motion up and down the neck. I'm going to give it one more shot today, and if it keeps on hurting I'm going to stop entirely until it heals.

You just did a bunch of troubleshooting
Standing places your wrist in a different position, one that you weren't used to. I am sure your pain is going to go away.
I warm up with basic scales for my fingers, and I always move my hands and wrists around before picking my axe up. Rolling your hand, and repeating it will help circulate the blood. Scales however are the best way, I run through them and it helps me warm up, play better and avoid injuries.

moster78

JofZ wrote:

You just did a bunch of troubleshooting
Standing places your wrist in a different position, one that you weren't used to.

I had a feeling thats what did it. Crappy thing is I was just getting to learning some good stuff in my lesson, like solo techniques such as bending. I'll just have to put it on the back burner until I'm 100% again, and stay away from standing and playing for awhile. Thanks!

JofZ

moster78 wrote:

I had a feeling thats what did it. Crappy thing is I was just getting to learning some good stuff in my lesson, like solo techniques such as bending. I'll just have to put it on the back burner until I'm 100% again, and stay away from standing and playing for awhile. Thanks!

You have to remember that you are building muscle in areas that you didn't have before if you are new to guitar. Over do it like any activity and you pay a little. I don't think you have much to worry about, but if it doesn't get better with ice in the next few days go see a doctor.

moster78

JofZ wrote:

You have to remember that you are building muscle in areas that you didn't have before if you are new to guitar. Over do it like any activity and you pay a little. I don't think you have much to worry about, but if it doesn't get better with ice in the next few days go see a doctor.

Thanks. The odd thing is I was fine on an acoustic for months. I think trying to play standing up, along with the extra motion up and down the neck did me in (damn rock riffs!). I tried playing earlier today with just some basic open chords up the neck, without moving my wrist too much and it was no go. Time to put it down, as hard as that is and let myself heal. If its not better by this time next week I plan on making a doctors appointment.

brain of c

hire a guitarist and take up lead vocals.


don't hurt yourself.

moster78

brain of c wrote:

hire a guitarist and take up lead vocals.


don't hurt yourself.

Can't sing!

And this too shall pass.

Pearl Jam and toast

the unseen wrote:

maybe try a different position/height for your guitar.

your fret hand could be in a new position with the electric compared to how your hold the acoustic and maybe you are working those muscles different.

just a thought.....

seems likely to me.

hate to have it be arthritus

brain of c

moster78 wrote:

Can't sing!

And this too shall pass.

since when did that matter?

moster78

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

seems likely to me.

hate to have it be arthritus

Me too, I'm only 26.

not4u

it means your becoming a better guitar player. The same thing happened to me, i thought it was never going to go away, it lasted so long. No Pain No Gain. It'll go away and your wrist will become stronger. just taker easy for awhile, and don't completely put the guitar down. use this time to 'think' about the guitar.

who's_pearljam?

What you're doing is bending your wrist farther than you did when you sat with your acoustic. Definitely take a bit of a rest, but you also want to evaluate the way you hold and play the guitar!
When you're standing with your wrist at a 90 degree angle to your arm, you're straining everything the wrong way, and it'll come back to haunt you.

The principle is to keep your wrist as parallel to your forearm as possible, and to use as little pressure on the frets as needed. When you start grinding into those barre chords and new bends, you're using muscles that you haven't used before, and stretching tendons and ligaments that haven't done that before, and usually pressing harder than needed on the strings.
You want to consciously think about how hard you're pressing your fingers into the frets. Lighten up on your touch until you're using as little pressure as possible
Try pulling your guitar higher towards you neck, and tilting the neck a little more vertical. It ain't exactly a rock and roll posture, but to practice, it's totally needed.
I played standing on stage for years and had wrist troubles, but I went to someone who taught the "Alexander Technique". What it involves is evaluating your posture and balance and how you hold your instrument, or tool, and they show you all the stuff you're doing wrong and reposture you.
You learn to relax your shoulders and elbow, too. That tension transfers into wrist and finger pain, too.
I recommend it highly. I learned about it when I was playing and studying with Fripp a long time ago.

If you watch an old pro playing now,,, they don't have the guitar slung around the waist and parallel to the floor, like all those old movies. They have ALL gotten advice from therapists. When they're practicing, they're postured right, and if you watch them on stage,,, look at their hands.
We all have hearing loss and wrist problems,,, so it's best for you younguns to start right with good technique so I can sit in my rocking chair and listen to you 20 years from now!!

We spent tons of money on equipment, so really, I think a little extra time and money spent on keeping your body sound isn't that bad!


Now I forget what the question was!

Oh yeah,,, stretch a bit and warm up, like JofZ says, and run some scales, take breaks frequently, and don't stretch too hard at first.
You also have to remember that new positions are unfamiliar for the body, but sometimes they're not meant for the body!
This is true for most musicians. Instruments aren't usually ergonomic things. Pianists get carpal tunnel and tendonitis, violinists get jaw problems, clarinetists have hand problems, etc, and it's one of the number one problems and causes for early burn out for professional musicians.

Ok,,, end of lecture!

Have fun with that new 'lectric guitar!!! :cool:

not4u

who's_pearljam? wrote:

What you're doing is bending your wrist farther than you did when you sat with your acoustic. Definitely take a bit of a rest, but you also want to evaluate the way you hold and play the guitar!
When you're standing with your wrist at a 90 degree angle to your arm, you're straining everything the wrong way, and it'll come back to haunt you.

The principle is to keep your wrist as parallel to your forearm as possible, and to use as little pressure on the frets as needed. When you start grinding into those barre chords and new bends, you're using muscles that you haven't used before, and stretching tendons and ligaments that haven't done that before, and usually pressing harder than needed on the strings.
You want to consciously think about how hard you're pressing your fingers into the frets. Lighten up on your touch until you're using as little pressure as possible
Try pulling your guitar higher towards you neck, and tilting the neck a little more vertical. It ain't exactly a rock and roll posture, but to practice, it's totally needed.
I played standing on stage for years and had wrist troubles, but I went to someone who taught the "Alexander Technique". What it involves is evaluating your posture and balance and how you hold your instrument, or tool, and they show you all the stuff you're doing wrong and reposture you.
You learn to relax your shoulders and elbow, too. That tension transfers into wrist and finger pain, too.
I recommend it highly. I learned about it when I was playing and studying with Fripp a long time ago.

If you watch an old pro playing now,,, they don't have the guitar slung around the waist and parallel to the floor, like all those old movies. They have ALL gotten advice from therapists. When they're practicing, they're postured right, and if you watch them on stage,,, look at their hands.
We all have hearing loss and wrist problems,,, so it's best for you younguns to start right with good technique so I can sit in my rocking chair and listen to you 20 years from now!!

We spent tons of money on equipment, so really, I think a little extra time and money spent on keeping your body sound isn't that bad!


Now I forget what the question was!

Oh yeah,,, stretch a bit and warm up, like JofZ says, and run some scales, take breaks frequently, and don't stretch too hard at first.
You also have to remember that new positions are unfamiliar for the body, but sometimes they're not meant for the body!
This is true for most musicians. Instruments aren't usually ergonomic things. Pianists get carpal tunnel and tendonitis, violinists get jaw problems, clarinetists have hand problems, etc, and it's one of the number one problems and causes for early burn out for professional musicians.

Ok,,, end of lecture!

Have fun with that new 'lectric guitar!!! :cool:

sweet advise. you've changed my outlook. thanks.

moster78

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice. I played again for a little bit last night, maybe 20 minutes, warmed up with some scales and some open chord tunes, then moved onto some barre and power chords. I made sure my wrist was a parallel to my forearm as possible, which minimized the pain. I tried to practice bending, but it just wasn't happening, so I put it down and applied some heat to my wrist (which I also did before I played). We'll see how we do tonight with the same regimen, minus the bends. And just to be proactive, I made myself an appointment with my orthopedic doctor for Tuesday to get it checked out. Thanks again everyone!

chopitdown

moster78 wrote:

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice. I played again for a little bit last night, maybe 20 minutes, warmed up with some scales and some open chord tunes, then moved onto some barre and power chords. I made sure my wrist was a parallel to my forearm as possible, which minimized the pain. I tried to practice bending, but it just wasn't happening, so I put it down and applied some heat to my wrist (which I also did before I played). We'll see how we do tonight with the same regimen, minus the bends. And just to be proactive, I made myself an appointment with my orthopedic doctor for Tuesday to get it checked out. Thanks again everyone!

you may want to try ice after playing. apply it a couple of times. Use heat before you play. Also, it it gets bad you can try wrist splints at night to let your wrists "calm down". Stretching and strengthening (light) is prob not bad either.

moster78

chopitdown wrote:

you may want to try ice after playing. apply it a couple of times. Use heat before you play. Also, it it gets bad you can try wrist splints at night to let your wrists "calm down". Stretching and strengthening (light) is prob not bad either.

So I just got back from the doctor and after examining it, and an x-ray, the diagnosis is tendonitis. I guess I'm just working things that I've never really used before.

So, keep taking the drugs (if only the fun kind), keep icing it down, add in some grip exercises (already got the squeezy grip things) and a wrist splint at night while I sleep, and I should be on the road to recovery.