[jaredowty]

I've seem to hit a dead end in my guitar playing. No, I haven't ran out of things to play (FAR from it), I'm not frustrated from learning theory, I'm not sick of playing guitar or music in general in any way possible. It's my fucking wrists/hands...they've been bugging me for so long but now it's to the point where I'm really pissed.

I plan to be a pro musician as a career, so as you can probably guess, this inability to even play is killing me. It started around a year and a half ago, when I noticed my hands were getting a little bit more cramped than usual. But, of course, like an ignorant dumbass I kept playing hard without warming up, for hours on end with my band and by myself. My technique also wasn't the best in the world, so that's a huge part of where I'm at now. I've taken numerous breaks throughout the last year of practicing/playing guitar, and I probably haven't practiced over 2 hours a day that whole time. I went to a specialized hand doctor and I was diagnosed with tendonitis.

So, for about 10 months, I've been taking anti-inflammatories, including a prescription (and ibuprofen whenever my script runs out). I ice my hands nearly every day, I've switched to lighter string gauges, and I've tried to lessen the amount of strength I use while fretting and picking, as well as maintaining good posture and position. I've also done a ton of research on improving my diet and on what I can do to cause the tendons less stress. Still, the problem persists. After a month of NOT playing what-so-ever, I picked up the guitar (my 6-string, since the 7-string's bigger neck probably doesn't help matters) last night after doing numerous stretches, with my hand fully loose and warm. I went through very simple, incredibly slow, and easy to play stuff (I eventually worked my way up to "Ode to Joy" at a moderate pace). I took breaks throughout, massaging and all of that good stuff. After about half an hour, my left wrist was hurting like it never had before. Fuck.

The good news is, I'll be seeing a neurologist in mid-January. After that, I'm hoping to get some cortisone shots in the appropriate areas (I heard that really helps). But, until then, there's no guitar playing....

Are there any of you with similar experiences? Any advice? Also, what should I do for my guitar playing when I'm not playing at all? Any good ways of studying theory? My life pretty much depends on my guitar playing...

[mefrommiddleearth]

see a doctor immediatly if you get peristant pain in your hands and keep playing your liable to seriously injure yourself and outright fuck your abillity to play.

Ok read your post properly yeah your probably gonna need some serious work on your hands hopefully doesn't come to surgery.
damn man you can't go doing that to your hands if you want to be a pro muso your gonna have to look after them

[NewArmyGuitar]

Check out www.ironmind.com. They have a lot of hand strength and hand health products.

[jaredowty]

Originally Posted by mefrommiddleearth

damn man you can't go doing that to your hands if you want to be a pro muso your gonna have to look after them

Yeah, once again, I was too ignorant to know what I was doing to them (I'm only 16 now). I wish I could turn back time but now there's nothing left to do but take as good care of my hands as I can.

Originally Posted by NewArmyGuitar

Check out www.ironmind.com. They have a lot of hand strength and hand health products.

Thanks dude, I'll check it out.

[includao]

To prevent these issues I do bodybuilding and i'm fully aware of my technique mechanics.

[Durero]

Make sure you read Learning The Classic Guitar - Part 1 by Aaron Shearer.
He had severe & permanent damage to his hands and had to give up a classical guitar concert career, but he ended up becoming a fantastic & innovative teacher because of his research into his own injuries - a must read!

Also essential is Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar by Jamie Andreas. Both these books give detailed and effective guidance on how to increase your awareness of muscle tension and eliminate it from your technique.

[jaredowty]

Originally Posted by Durero

Make sure you read Learning The Classic Guitar - Part 1 by Aaron Shearer.
He had severe & permanent damage to his hands and had to give up a classical guitar concert career, but he ended up becoming a fantastic & innovative teacher because of his research into his own injuries - a must read!

Also essential is Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar by Jamie Andreas. Both these books give detailed and effective guidance on how to increase your awareness of muscle tension and eliminate it from your technique.

Thanks dude, I'll be picking those up with my Christmas money.

[Drew]

I will write you a book on this as soon as I get back from taking a walk with the parents - I had tendon issues in the past, and researched this stuff extensively.

[Drew]

Ok...

First, your case sounds way worse than mine ever was, and you'd been playign a lot less. So, let's start with non-guitar stuff - do you have wrist pain anywhere else in your life? How much time a day do you spend in front of a computer? Is there anything else you could be doing that would hurt your hands? I got into trouble partly because of the guitar, but partly because I was spending a lot of time in front of a computer using a mouse and writing papers. Worth being aware about...

Second, you know this by now, but marathon practice sessions are a bad idea. 15-minute sessions, then take a five minute break to relax your hands and stretch them out.

Then, playing posture... You say you're paying more attention to it, but just how good is it? Honestly, at first, you want to throw looks to the wind and strap your guitar high enough so that when you're sitting, the guitar's resting comfortably, and when you stand up, the guitar doesn't go any lower. You'll look like a dork, but you'll be able to play.

Also, what's your thumb position like? there's two primary positions, "classical" position with your thumb behind the neck, and "blues" with your thumb over the top. Honestly, while classical gives you better reach, it's also much worse for your wrist. The blues posture on the other hand doesn't let you stretch as much, but is pretty effortless for your wrist. The secret is to learn to switch between them smoothly - watch some videos of Joe Satriani playing, his technique is flawless in this respect.

Also, believe it or not, you're better off with a thicker neck. In fact, Taylor was considering offering a "thick neck" option specifically for this reason. At the worst, while it hurt to play my Wizard-equipped Ibanez 520, I could still play my Strat without much discomfort. Again, it all comes down to wrist position - the thicker neck keeps your wrist more open, and open = relaxed.

Then, you have the basics down - cut caffiene (dehydrant), push water, alternate between a hot pack and an ice pack, etc.

Also, I took three weeks off and still had pain when I picked the guitar up - it'll take a few months for complete recovery, but after a month you should be able to get to a position where you can do a couple minutes a day. Believe it or not, tendonitis is a great learning aid for efficient technique, ;argely because if you DID have perfectly clean technique, you wouldn't have pain. So, jack your strap up, pick up your guitar with the thickest neck, and do maybe 5 minutes of 1-2-3-4 chromatics, slowly. If your hand position hurts, adjust it until it hurts less. Continue, not worrying about building speed but just regaining motion. My technique is way healthier today than it was when I first hurt my wrists playing, simply because it was a great feedback tool - when I wasn't playing with a good, relaxed wrist position, it would hurt. It's a strong incentive to get it right.

[jaredowty]

Originally Posted by Drew

Ok...

First, your case sounds way worse than mine ever was, and you'd been playign a lot less. So, let's start with non-guitar stuff - do you have wrist pain anywhere else in your life? How much time a day do you spend in front of a computer? Is there anything else you could be doing that would hurt your hands? I got into trouble partly because of the guitar, but partly because I was spending a lot of time in front of a computer using a mouse and writing papers. Worth being aware about...

I have slight pain at other parts during the day, if I stress out my hands/wrists too much (while lifting weights, writing papers at school, etc). I do spend a lot of time on the computer (which I really need to cut down) but not a lot of it is spent typing. I usually just scroll through stuff with the mouse (I'm not sure how damaging that is).

Second, you know this by now, but marathon practice sessions are a bad idea. 15-minute sessions, then take a five minute break to relax your hands and stretch them out.

Yep, I've done pretty good with that. When I start playing again, I'm gonna work my way up to my desired practice sessions. Even then, I'll take plenty of breaks...

Then, playing posture... You say you're paying more attention to it, but just how good is it? Honestly, at first, you want to throw looks to the wind and strap your guitar high enough so that when you're sitting, the guitar's resting comfortably, and when you stand up, the guitar doesn't go any lower. You'll look like a dork, but you'll be able to play.

Yeah, my strap is set pretty high, probably about how Petrucci has it.

Also, what's your thumb position like? there's two primary positions, "classical" position with your thumb behind the neck, and "blues" with your thumb over the top. Honestly, while classical gives you better reach, it's also much worse for your wrist. The blues posture on the other hand doesn't let you stretch as much, but is pretty effortless for your wrist. The secret is to learn to switch between them smoothly - watch some videos of Joe Satriani playing, his technique is flawless in this respect.

Before I paid any attention, my thumb was kind of all over the place. But once I started focusing more, I used the classical position. I've never experimented with the blues position too much, but if it really helps I'll give it a whirl, and eventually try and switch up the two.

Also, believe it or not, you're better off with a thicker neck. In fact, Taylor was considering offering a "thick neck" option specifically for this reason. At the worst, while it hurt to play my Wizard-equipped Ibanez 520, I could still play my Strat without much discomfort. Again, it all comes down to wrist position - the thicker neck keeps your wrist more open, and open = relaxed.

Two of my guitars have pretty thick necks (Strat being the thickest, Peavey V-Type a little thinner, and the Agile being a tad bit thicker than an Ibanez neck and also the thinnest of the three). I'll probably string up my Strat with some 9's and use that for a while.

Then, you have the basics down - cut caffiene (dehydrant), push water, alternate between a hot pack and an ice pack, etc.

Yeah, I've been icing my hands for at least once a day (and keeping them warm when not icing) and drinking a shit-ton of water. I don't drink any type of caffiene except for green tea, which is supposed to be a really good anti-inflammatory. Also, my diet in general has been improving, and I've been eating anti-inflammatory foods like fish, nuts, green veggies and fresh fruits.

Also, I took three weeks off and still had pain when I picked the guitar up - it'll take a few months for complete recovery, but after a month you should be able to get to a position where you can do a couple minutes a day. Believe it or not, tendonitis is a great learning aid for efficient technique, ;argely because if you DID have perfectly clean technique, you wouldn't have pain. So, jack your strap up, pick up your guitar with the thickest neck, and do maybe 5 minutes of 1-2-3-4 chromatics, slowly. If your hand position hurts, adjust it until it hurts less. Continue, not worrying about building speed but just regaining motion. My technique is way healthier today than it was when I first hurt my wrists playing, simply because it was a great feedback tool - when I wasn't playing with a good, relaxed wrist position, it would hurt. It's a strong incentive to get it right.

Yeah, I'm hoping this will all turn out for the better. I'm not going to start playing again until after I see the neurologist and give my hands a chance to have a nice long rest. Thanks a lot for the advice dude, it's greatly appreciated.