[macalpine88]

i hope this is nothing serious but the past couple of days when i would start playing guitar my fingertips would start to feel numb. Is this anything bad? It just started getting worse a little while ago.

[Drew]

Yeah, it is. Numbness means your nerves are being pressured or pinched, a sign of, most likely, tendon swelling. Re-evaluate your playing position and practice regime, this could be an early indication of tendonitis.

...Or maybe you shouldn't store your guitars in the fridge anymore.

Seriously, I've fought off tendonitis in the past, it sucks. One week, I started to notice reduced mobility in my left wrist (my right could bend a few extra degrees), and then a week later, I had the beginnings of joint pai, which QUICKLY escalated. I had to quit near cold turkey for a month or so, and then spent a lot of time reading up on RSI and its relationship to guitar playing. Short term, make sure you stretch your hands well before playing, don't do drills for more than 15 minutes at a time, drink plenty of water, and maybe start taking an ibuprofen-based painkiller, as it's an anti-inflammatory, and see what happens.

If you want to talk about this, shoot me a PM and I'll send you my cell #, and sometime after work give me a call and we can talk...

-D

[macalpine88]

Thanks drew, im going to try and maybe stand up and/or play in the classical position and see if that helps. Ill let you know if it gets any worse,which i hope not because i cannot imagine a summer of laying around in my underware and watching the price is right.

[Chris]

I had tendonitis a few months back, it's brutal. Best thing you can do for yourself is to warm up - I never, ever did and as a result could barely play for months.

[Vince]

Watch your left wrist too. The guitar doesn't need to be hanging around your knees, either. If you hold your guitar too low, your left hand will have to bend much further than if you held it more upright.

[theunforgiven246]

yea i get it in my left wrist like about every month or 2. but then it disapates in like a week (cause i take it easy).

[Drew]

Originally Posted by desertdweller

The guitar doesn't need to be hanging around your knees, either.

So there, Chris! "Prog" playing position my ass!

[Drew]

Originally Posted by theunforgiven246

yea i get it in my left wrist like about every month or 2. but then it disapates in like a week (cause i take it easy).

Um, but you're still doing long-term damage... I mean, it keeps happening, right? Figure out WHY it's happening, and adjust your posture so that it stops. These are your hands - you only get one set.

-D

[macalpine88]

Originally Posted by desertdweller

Watch your left wrist too. The guitar doesn't need to be hanging around your knees, either. If you hold your guitar too low, your left hand will have to bend much further than if you held it more upright.

i play my guitar really high so i dont think thats a problem. I have never had any trouble in the 7 years i have been playing so i guess im not doing anything terribly wrong, Thanks for the help

:puke: these will be getting alot of use by me

[terrorsound]

oh yeah, the numbness!!! I do finger flicks, 3 to 500 before I practice, you start with all fingers extended, then make a fist and extend, repeat, etc..
Do them kinda fast with medium squeeze pressure.

I still do these for wrestling and martial arts, bigtime difference in strength, you can choke the hell outa somebody with ease!!!! umm, sorry, back to the subject..

After a while the forarms and wrists get really strong, playing fast becomes effortless, you'll need to stretch the flexor and extensor tendons in the hands afterward.. It gets the bones and ligaments into 'NATURAL' alignment before playing, also develop a light touch on the strings and don't bend your wrist to the point where you have to overcompensate for finger pressure on the strings. Pressing strings should'nt be that hard, fingers need to develop pressing independently and cleanly with little assistance from the wrist position, if not then this could mean the guitar is out of adjustment, high action or both. Hope this helps..