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jaymzHal
Silver Member
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
 Posted - 06/04/2009 : 00:51:17
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Lately I've been having some intense stiffness and pain in my wrists and hands that have prevented me from playing much. I've been to the doctors and he wasn't much good, just did a few tests and just said to come back if it doesn't get any better... 
So obviously I have no idea what the problem is, any ideas for how to remedy the situation? I know that Yngwie Malmsteen recommended bananas as a good source of potassium when he had tendinitis, any other suggestions to get me off the painkillers and back on the guitar? |
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DeFrag
Moderator
USA
3409 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 01:09:45
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Lots of fluids, anti-inflammatories, & rest.
Then ease into carpal-tunnel/isometric exercises. |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 02:25:57
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| I have been there man i have had carpel tunnel surgery on both hands.It a bad feeling for a guitarist. But the best thing to do is to lay off the guitar for awhile about a week. and stretch the hands and wrist out, before you start to play.It took me about a year to recover for my hand surgery.I play lefty so i decided to get the lefty done first. i figured to get the picking hand done cause if it went bad i would not get the right done(Fretting hand).But it went well my hands were in good shape cause of guitar so within about a month of surgury i was playing again.I will never play as good as when i was 21 but i am about 90% there, which is still better then most guitarist.But give them hands a good stretch before play.Now is a good time to think about your playing.It is better to use your knowledge now, instead of faster is better approach.Let me know if there is anything i can do to help. I got a few exercise that might help |
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tunghaichuan
Bronze Member
USA
77 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 02:32:22
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If your doctor is unable to help you, you might try yoga and/or acupuncture. I've had good results with both.
The key to acupuncture is finding a good OMD. It took me two or three tries to find a really exceptional doctor. Depending on what condition the acupuncturist diagnoses, he/she might recommend acupuncture needles, herbs, and/or qigong exercises.
Yoga is good for keeping your body stretched out and helps you to relax. Again it is very important to find a good teacher.
tung
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FrenchBOSS
Bronze Member
France
68 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 02:34:20
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| And watch your position, it's important to have a good one to prevent pains like tendinites and else |
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natthu
Gold Member
Australia
756 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 10:22:21
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JaymzHal, that sucks man, but don't worry you're not alone...
I'd have to agree with what Zerksies is saying. I haven't had carpel tunnel (thankfully - it sounds like a nightmare), but I have had quite a bit of bad luck with my fret hand (almost made the decision to switch to a lefty).
I had surgery on my fret hand to remove a chunk of metal (work accident) in which I lost feeling in my middle finger for about 3 months. I couldn't play and my hand cramped up a lot. I found stretching and simple/light hand exercises to be an excellent way to give my hand a head start to improvement.
I also managed to crush my pointer finger (same hand) by slamming it in a car door when I was young (before I played guitar), fortunately I no longer have major problems with it but I found I used to have to recognise when to stop playing and to ease gently back into it.
To put the icing on the cake - my thumb and pinky are both double jointed. This makes playing guitar a bit harder and causes some cramping.
So my only not-stuffed-in-some-way fret finger is my 3rd...
It sucks not being able to play much but you have to be patient...
Another thing you might want to try is playing bass. I find that bass (although similar) stresses slightly different muscles and gives my hand a break from some of my guitar cramp.
Hope you recover soon mate |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 17:06:42
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Jaymz,
sounds like you have trigger points (muscle fibers that have twisted like twisting up a rubber band). these restrict circulation, pinch nerves, and store toxins.
both of my wrists and hands have tendonitis, arthritis, and cartilage/ligament/tendon/nerve damage but the majority of pain flareups actually come from trigger points.
if it is trigger points, stretching only helps a little bit as over-stretching will tighten the knots.
i would recommend exploring some massage therapy (even if it's just you massing your own hands/forearms) before doing anything serious. most doctor's don't recognize trigger points. if you dig into your muscle and find some knots that feel like tendons, just work on massaging that area or applying direct pressure to that spot until you feel it start to release. there's usually 5-15 layers you will have to get to release. once they have released, stretching is 100x more beneficial. |
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jaymzHal
Silver Member
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 23:27:07
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Thankyou for the responses everyone. I've been doing what DeFrag has advised for the last couple of weeks (pretty much what my Doctor advised, maybe it should be Dr Defrag not Dr Bob  ) and things are a little better, but the main problem is maintaining my wrists at a constant angle, even a shallow one with a very short strap rather than the punk rock "guitar by the knees" approach still causes my discomfort after a few minutes. I normally play with a short strap anyway and so I hope it's not just bad posture, and my elbow positioning was drilled into me by my guitar teacher when I first started out. It's a good point though FrenchBOSS, and I think a lot of guitarists could benefit from better positioning. I'm glad I'm not alone in this, and going off what everyone has said I'm sure many of you have had it a lot worse than me!
Zentropa: I looked up trigger points and found that i was getting a twitch response when applying some direct pressure. I also seem to have higher blood pressure (veins standing out in my hands) when it hurts, did you experience anything similar? I'm sorry to hear of your guitar playing problems as well, I've read about it in the past. Did any method in particular help?
Natthu: Interesting advice on the bass, I've been trying to avoid playing anything for a little while (although typing probably isn't doing me much good!) but I could try playing some mandolin to see if a different approach helps at all. Again though, I'm sorry to hear of the various hand injuries you've had!
Tunghaichuan: I've been tempted by acupuncture in the past for other aches and pains but I have had difficulty finding a recommended one nearby. As for yoga, I've had back pain in the past that yoga has helped, maybe it could be worth a try again. My girlfriend does a lot of yoga, maybe I'll go along with her next time
Zerksies: Man, Carpal tunnel is my worst nightmare. A friend of mine has it and i wouldn't wish it on anyone. I will follow your advice though. When I feel up to playing again I will focus on playing expressively rather than with any speed and I'll let you know how I get on!
Thanks again for all the replies everyone, hopefully things will start to improve soon  |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 00:50:47
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| glad to help man |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 01:56:06
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quote:
Zentropa: I looked up trigger points and found that i was getting a twitch response when applying some direct pressure. I also seem to have higher blood pressure (veins standing out in my hands) when it hurts, did you experience anything similar? I'm sorry to hear of your guitar playing problems as well, I've read about it in the past. Did any method in particular help?
yah. i've had several major arm/hand/wrist injuries including one dislocated wrist in my left arm and 2 dislocations of my right wrist both caused by hyperextension... as well as a blown right elbow (3 times) and torn rotator cuff on my right shoulder (5 times), a badly dislocated middle finger on my right hand (from punching a pole) and a sever cut on the pad of my index finger on my left hand.
what you are experiencing is exactly what bothers me chronically. basically, you naturally develop trigger points in certain areas but you develop new ones (and make the existing ones worse) by injury, trauma, repetitive stress, etc.
medically, i've done basically everything except surgery... physical therapy, medicines, etc. but the only thing that i've found that helps in the long run is massage therapy (and/or acupuncture to help the same problems). most carpel tunnel syndrome is caused by a tightening of the tendons and nerve pinching due to triggers (constrictied motion of other tissues, restricted ciruclation, nerves, etc.). the surgery they perform for carpel tunnel is to cut a tendon to reduce the pull of the restricted tendon. the downside is that it never relieves the trigger points (which is often why you'll hear about people having carpel tunnel surgery 2-3 times on the same hand) and it also creates new satellite triggers from the trauma of the surgery.
because of this, if i were you, i would treat surgery as a final option if everything else fails.
however, even with extensive massage therapy you still need to adjust your habits to help keep triggers away. making sure you get enough potassium/magnesium, staying hydrated, stretching daily, especially before/after playing, doing some self-massage after use, using heat/cold to help with muscle tightness, etc. there's no real permanent solution but you can at least alleviate the pain.
it's shocking how many toxins get stored up in trigger points. i haven't had any extensive massage therapy for a while but when i first had it done, you can expect a day of diarrhea and having to pee like 20 times in the aftermath. |
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jack
Platinum Member
USA
1418 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 16:24:50
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| I always make sure to stretch before playing. I mainly do a bunch of windmills with both arms and some arm stretches before playing, otherwise I cramp up sometimes. Don't know if that will help you in your situation though, but I just thought I'd mention it cause some people look at me funny when they see me stretching my arms a bit like I am getting ready to lift weights or something, but it really helps... |
Edited by - jack on 06/06/2009 16:25:16 |
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DeFrag
Moderator
USA
3409 Posts |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2009 : 01:59:42
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| I use some of them defrag great to warm up with before i play guitar |
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August West
Bronze Member
USA
137 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2009 : 03:11:54
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Find a better doctor, preferably an orthopedic guy. Without knowing what the problem is you can't treat it properly. I had bad left wrist pain for a year or two that I assumed was carpal tunnel. Advil didn't work, wrist braces only helped a little, etc. Eventually I got an MRI and x-rays and it turned out to be a "ganglion cyst" which is a fluid filled sack in the middle of all the little bones in your wrist. The treatment is either surgery or else trying to drain it with a needle and to refill it with steroids.
The point is that what I assumed the problem to be was wrong and until I got it checked out I never would have known. I really think you need a better doctor. |
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jaymzHal
Silver Member
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2009 : 16:31:01
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Hello All,
sorry for the slow reply and thankyou again for all your wonderful feedback. I moved house a couple of weeks ago and do not have internet access yet. However, I have good news.
After a couple of weeks of not playing and doing the recommended exercises I think I can tentatively say things are back to normal...
I still have some pain when playing for extended sessions but things are much better.
I'm still taking things slowly but I hope to have put this behind me! |
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2009 : 00:01:32
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| hope it works out for you |
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Topic |
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Guitar pain?
