# Really bad pain in my fingering hand *Due to guitar*



## Philippe (Oct 12, 2011)

Hello everyone,

I would normally practice guitar for a couple of hours a day but starting about a week ago Iv'e been playing for about 10 hours a day working really hard on my rhythm playing and speed in general. I had to stop playing last night because there was pain in between my knuckles and I woke up this morning and the pain is still present. Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce this pain? Should I take it easy for a bit, do hand stretches, particular warm up exercises, take certain pills?

I'm looking for any advice that can help, I'm really motivated to improve my playing and I don't want this joint pain to be an obstacle in my goal to improve heavily.

Thank you everyone


----------



## orakle (Oct 12, 2011)

Dude 10 hours straight is completely crazy, you're overplaying and this is really bad for your articulations and muscles.

I would say, take a break, maybe 5-6 days without playing, doing really light stretches and applying some ice to sensitive areas for 12-13 minutes maybe twice a day.

Pills won't help curring the pain, however it's gonna hide it for a while if it's really too much.

You have to practice about 3-4 hours MAX a day, take some rest...tommorow is still there ;D


----------



## nojyeloot (Oct 12, 2011)

Sounds like tendonitis. Drs tell me to take a 2-3wk break (rest) when this happens, to settle the inflammation. 

10 hours is a terribly long time to punish your body, day to day. 

I recommend stretching WELL before and after you practice


----------



## ghostred7 (Oct 12, 2011)

These may look goofy....but are similar to ones I've used for years in either martial arts or general hand strength....nearly all of these are effective.

ergocise.com -- Wrist and Hand Stretches

Essential Hand Stretches For Guitarists - YouTube (less girly version)


----------



## steve1 (Oct 12, 2011)

while i respect your dedication, you should cut down the hours. stop playing now, and don't start again until you have fully healed, otherwise its going to be an ongoing problem.

Ibruprofen is good for inflammation. If you take pain relief dont forget that it only hides the pain, the damage is still there, so don't be tempted to play just because it doesn't hurt.

Hope you heal quickly!


----------



## 808 (Oct 12, 2011)

let your muscles heal


----------



## niffnoff (Oct 12, 2011)

10 hours a day is like doing weights over your size and your body can do it maybe once or twice. But then one rep and it's gonna basically reject it and you buckle. Your hand has basically now said STOP EET!

If your hand feels numb aswell, I suggest stop playing as it can last a few weeks (or even months) stretch your hand now and then but don't do nothing to harsh. You could really mess your muscles up. Treat them like a work out. 

Warm Up > Guitar 1 hour - 3 hours Max with regular intervals (2-3 minute) > Cool down (stretches, massage) 

Your muscles need to heal, so to get stronger for your next intense session.
You don't wanna be out for the count for doing somethin ST00PID!


----------



## Philippe (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks a lot for the helpful tips guys. What you guys said makes sense, it's the long run that counts so I'll do my best to stop playing when I feel pain and take breaks more often


----------



## F0rte (Oct 12, 2011)

Philippe said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I would normally practice guitar for a couple of hours a day but starting about a week ago Iv'e been playing for about 10 hours a day working really hard on my rhythm playing and speed in general. I had to stop playing last night because there was pain in between my knuckles and I woke up this morning and the pain is still present. Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce this pain? Should I take it easy for a bit, do hand stretches, particular warm up exercises, take certain pills?
> 
> ...



If it's your fingering hand, I would think yes; tendinitis.
Do you hold stress your hand when your playing?
Or I actually should ask, do you flex your hand when your playing? Rather than letting the guitar sit lightly? Or grip it a lot?

I used to have a bad habit of holding the guitar really tight whilst playing. This is a terribly bad habit and can result in hand deficiencies.

I would suggest a week or so long break until the pain has completely subsided, maybe a bit longer even can't hurt.

After you should work on letting the guitar sit rather than gripping the neck.

But, if this isn't you, then I'm not exactly sure!

Good luck and I hope your hand pain subsides!


----------



## troyguitar (Oct 13, 2011)

You can play for 10 hours but you have to work up to it slowly and make sure to develop an effortless technique. I envy you for having 10 hours of free time


----------



## Explorer (Oct 13, 2011)

Everyone's advice:



> *Stop playing for a few weeks so your body can heal.*



Your response:



Philippe said:


> Thanks a lot for the helpful tips guys. What you guys said makes sense, it's the long run that counts so *I'll do my best to stop playing when I feel pain and take breaks more often*



I'm going nuts recovering from hand surgery, but am not doing anything which will screw up my ability to play once I recover. 

Having been in your place, I can tell you, if you don't let it heal, you'll regret it.

But... they're not my hands, and it won't be me who loses flexibility and dexterity through a bad decision like not letting the damage heal. 

Good luck with that!


----------



## Alberto7 (Oct 13, 2011)

^ What Explorer said is nothing but the truth.

Just stop playing for several days, possibly a couple weeks. Pain in your hands is your worst enemy. If you don't let it heal _completely_, then you will terribly regret it.

I honestly don't think that playing 10 hours a day can do you any good. You're just wearing your muscles out, and they don't have enough time to recover. Rest is as essential, if not _more_ essential, than practicing. Muscle memory builds up while your body rests.

Hope you have a good recovery with no side effects!


----------



## Philippe (Oct 13, 2011)

I try not to grip the guitar tightly because it doesn't feel comfortable and if I do my hand gets tired way to quickly. I started doing the hand stretches from the youtube vid and it seems to help. I will keep doing them regularly and I will be more careful of the strain that I put upon them.

For those wondering why I have some much free time its due to the fact that I am studying guitar so I can pretty much focus all my energy and time on it. 

Thanks again


----------



## InertSolo (Oct 13, 2011)

Why not use this time to work on things that don't require you to play your guitar like ear training? Seriously, don't think that you're something special and won't get yourself hurt if you play while there's pain specifically from Guitar practice. Not playing for a couple days isn't going to hurt you.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 13, 2011)

That pain might be what we call fatigue. You should try doing other things with your day like go on a walk, talk to a girl, watch some tv, put on some music and dance around... Something other than play your guitar for literally just under half your day.


----------



## niffnoff (Oct 13, 2011)

Konfyouzd said:


> That pain might be what we call fatigue. You should try doing other things with your day like go on a walk, talk to a girl, watch some tv, put on some music and dance around... Something other than play your guitar for literally just under half your day.



In short. 

Get a life 

Oh and stop playing guitar while your still in pain, until you are 100% pain free STOP . Being deadly serious on this point.


----------



## krovx (Oct 14, 2011)

I have wrist issues from years of martial art abuse and nerve damage, these help tremendously:

Sore Wrists and Guitar Playing - Guitar Elbows

Although...I think your particular problem is over playing, but if anyone has wrist issues, check this out! Doesn't get in the way of playing at all.


----------



## Gravy (Oct 15, 2011)

I cannot reiterate enough what everyone has said and stop playing for a little bit. I got pretty bad RSI a few years ago and stopped playing for an entire week. Looking back that wasn't really enough.

You probably don't have optimal technique either. You can play for 10 hours a day if you have a good technique and nothing bad will happen. One of the big reasons I got RSI was because I had a terrible seating position when playing, which then affected my arm/hand. It didn't make a difference until I really started to push myself and do a lot more practice.

If you're not warming up (at least an hour for 10 hours of practice) and taking breaks ever 45 mins/hour you need to start doing that right away. Even spreading practice into two chunks either side of your day may help.


----------



## Lagtastic (Oct 15, 2011)

Lots of good advice here, but here is something most people forget, diet!

Playing that much puts large amounts of stress on your hands and arms. I'm not saying change your diet completely. You don't have to give up the cheeseburgers, all I am saying is add some green veggies and a banana to your diet every day. A glass of V8 won't hurt either. Without the nutrients to repair itself and grow, your body will take much longer to recover.


----------



## Murmel (Oct 17, 2011)

Also remember that it's not really necessary to practice for 10 hours. Your body learns as it rests.


----------



## Dooky (Oct 18, 2011)

Perhaps instead of: "fingering hand" you should have said: "fretting hand". Haha, "fingering hand"... But seriously, I hope you're hand gets better. I'd give it at least a weeks rest. Similar thing happened to me back in the day and I tried to play through the pain and hope it would somehow get better, but it didn't. Needed a good week off and it came good again.


----------



## Philippe (Oct 18, 2011)

Dooky said:


> Perhaps instead of: "fingering hand" you should have said: "fretting hand". Haha, "fingering hand"... But seriously, I hope you're hand gets better. I'd give it at least a weeks rest. Similar thing happened to me back in the day and I tried to play through the pain and hope it would somehow get better, but it didn't. Needed a good week off and it came good again.



I think you are the only person who caught my joke haha, hence the "due to guitar" 

Iv'e been resting for a couple of days and doing a lot of the stretches hopefully it will pay off. Thanks again


----------

