My Left Hand Is Killing Me
I was wondering if anyone else has played so much and tried so many things that the ended up hurting their left hands?? sounds crazy I know but I havent done anything else except maybe sleep on it wrong lol.
Just wondering I got up today and my hand was a little stiff and as the day went on it seemed to get worse I guess i over stretched it was trying to get my hand to cover more frets andyway just thought id ask.
oh ya my wrist is also kinda sore too.
Just wondering I got up today and my hand was a little stiff and as the day went on it seemed to get worse I guess i over stretched it was trying to get my hand to cover more frets andyway just thought id ask.
oh ya my wrist is also kinda sore too.
Comments
Don't play through the pain. Building and stretching muscle is one thing, but damaging bone, tenons and ligaments is not. We are all different. I'd have to see you play to really offer advice that will help you. Play sometime with other guitarists. I always got good feedback from other guitarists. One thing you will hear allot is to warm up and stretch, before you play. All the greats do this...because they learned how valuable it is.
I've never hurt my hand and wrist like you describe, but I do have some finger pain. That is more directly related to the fact, I treated my hand like cube steak, in construction for 30-some years. Right now, I have two fingers on my fret hand with black fingernails. I work with steel now. :?
Stupid is as stupid does.
Expect to get blisters on the tips of your fingers, expect these to burst and to watch the outer skin of your fingers gradually peel back down your fingers, even expect a little blood on the tips of your fingers if you carry on at your current pace!!!!
This will quickly pass and you will develop \"dog paws\" soon enough
ANY other pain is NOT GOOD so do not play through it
You may experience aches and cramp, similar to those following vigorous excercise, and these are all part of the process but the pain you are describing seems a bit more severe
Use time away from the guitar to work on the music theory
Also develop some excercise for a \"warm up\" - some of the runs that ILIACE posted in another thread are perfect
Good luck and don't forget that rest periods are important and there is plenty to learn away from the guitar itself that will improve your playing!
.......Really...this thread is just begging for trouble.
Anyhow like was said don't try to play thru the pain & realy injure yourself or something! let the hand get to feeling better. Then start in with a tad shorter practice sessions, & build up to being able to play, practice new stuff for hours without your hand,shoulder,back & stuff hurting. Be patient BUT don't loose your zeal! Just pace yourself a little more.
as the strings will be more pliable and my joints less achey. May want to try and do some isometric exercises. Some warmups on an acoustic before you start in heavy on an electric can be good also. Sleeping posture is also important if your waking up with stiff upper back, neck
and shoulders or numbness in your arms and hands. May need a new mattress to sleep on. How much you are on the computer can also be a factor with fingers and wrists. It could be one thing or a combination.
I find I have to be carefull about how much I use a screwdriver and use the mouse with my right hand which at work sometimes can be quite alot.
Ice and heat paks can be helpfull also.
I started massaging the hands before I play (see John Petrucci videos) and changed the guitar position from waist to more elevated to allow more arm action and not so much wrist heavy motion. For years it was cool to drop the guitar down but the long term damage reared its head years later.
I really use acoustic guitar quite a bit for hand strength and keeping the tips of my L hand fingers strong. L hand is not nearly as much an issue as the R hand, but comp mouse and guitar position/piano and drums have added to those issues.
I also like the idea of taking the \"down time\" to learn something related to your music. Maybe you could bang on the drums or tickle the ivorys of a keyboard as part of your practice. It would not only use different muscles in your hands, but you would also use diffferent muscles in your brain. The older I get, the more I appreciate well rounded musicians. After all, few working musicians ever become masters of their primary instrument and most of us just work on being the best we can be. I may not shredd like Kirk Hammet, play bass like Flea, or sing like Bono, but I manage to do enough things well enough to keep me playing in the band on the weekends. And remember to keep it fun. Pain is not fun and playing with pain is just stupid because you will hurt yourself even more.
By the way, I used to squeeze a small rubber ball about the size of a tennis ball several times a day to build up my hand muscles. The trick is not to over do it at any one time. You want to slowly build up good, strong muscles. Good luck.
I thought you would enjoy Guitar Pro
Everybody has great suggestions, it will be whatever works for you. Try to figure out which songs seem to do that the most and put them in between two songs that don't.
For instance, after I play the song from above, like to play a song that just has standard D, A, G chords that will rest my hand.
Its like any other muscle in your body, if you use it and exercise it often, the less problems you will have.
I realize this is an old thread, but thought I'd pitch in my experience with pain in case it may help others.
I've had pain with both hands, and solved it.
Here's how:
1) Use Topricin cream on the area of pain. It's unbelievably effective.
2) Stretch before playing - I stretch my fingers by alternating extending them fully for several seconds, and then clenching them fully (ending with extending). I then stretch my wrists gently (try to relax when you do this) by putting my hand out in a \"halt!\" position and then using my other hand to pull the fingers back on the \"halt\" hand. Then rotate the arm around so that the hand is in a cupping shape and gently pull the fingertips towards your wrist. Don't use any sudden movements when stretching, and don't stretch too much - just enough to feel a mild stretch.
3) Take frequent breaks while you're playing. Put down your guitar and walk around a little - shrug off any built up stress and re-stretch your hands a bit. It's the multi-hour non-stop playing that's most likely to induce a repetitive stress injury, especially if your body isn't accustomed to such treatment, or if you're not relaxed while you play. Speaking of relaxed...
4) Pay close attention to your body as you play. Are your hands or fingers clenching at all? Is any other part of your body tightening up? Watch for this and adjust your position and posture so that you can play in a more relaxed fashion.
|-3-3-1---3-3-1---4-4-1---4-4-1---4-4-1---4-4-1----3-3-1---3-3-1--
After we played it several times, both my hands felt like they were going to fall off. Perhaps part of the problem was that I played it on my Steinberger, which is headless and therefore requires more effort to keep in place, particularly with the left hand.
I'd prolly hang a couple fish sinkers off the first fret