And I would like very much to help you get lasting relief from the pain or injury that’s sapping your quality of life. They are ‘chronic’ injuries that often take many weeks – but more likely months – or even years to build up and to begin causing pain. The … Can You Keep Playing Tennis When You Have Tennis Elbow? So what's a guitarist to do? For complete prevention, invest in an occasional massage by a professional massage therapist. Why? Many times this is due to static tension and excessive bending of the wrist. ), Why Wearing A Brace Is The Wrong Approach, Learn more about the Tennis Elbow program here, Learn more about the Golfer’s Elbow program here, Learn more about my approach to treating Tennis Elbow here, Learn more about my Golfer’s Elbow approach here, Overcoming ‘Piano Tendonitis’ – Hand, Wrist And Elbow Injuries, Learn more and join the Tennis Elbow program, Learn more and join the Golfer's Elbow program. This column will expand upon a specific type of injury, cubital tunnel syndrome, which affects mostly the inner side of the forearm and the pinky side of the hand. Primary Sidebar. I’m new to the guitar. It … Most of the time a full stop is recommended for at least 1-2 weeks until the pain goes away. Hi everyone. In a long run it can cause: wrist and hand injuries finger joint pain finger pain thumb pain I guess i sit very wrong and have bad technique, since i am learning by myself. Pianists and keyboard players too often struggle for years with painful, disrupt... Overuse Injuries of the elbow are all-too-common among all kinds of cyclists, in... Is swimming helpful or detrimental to Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow? Typically, the person notices that flexing the forearm tends to irritate the symptoms. give yourself more frequent breaks (about a 10 minute break after every 45 minutes of playing) during rehearsing or practice times. Even though I hammer preety much the whole day i have never had tennis elbow on the right hand, but A year ago I fractured my arm a bit bellow the elbow and feel that the muscles or tendons in some places are still tight. I started to play guitar again about a month ago and started getting pain quite quickly. There was some good exercises listed in Guitar Player magazine for dealing with training for the oppositional forearm rotation that occurs when playing guitar. And here’s where you can learn more about my self-help programs if you want to learn the best techniques from me, through video lessons: And if you happen to live in Marin County (or fairly close by in the San Francisco Bay Area) I may be able to help you in person, at my clinic in Corte Madera. If you are a fan of music, you will enjoy this design. The flexor carpi ulnaris muscle attaches to the inner part of the elbow, and its function is to flex the wrist and laterally deviate the wrist to the pinky side. If you have Guitar Tendonitis then you know the ache, pain, and fatigue that comes from playing with hand, wrist, and forearm pain. None of it is particularly hard, but the pain is sharp and in the forearm, not the wrist, although that of course does get sore once in awhile. Conclusion: The position of your fretting hand is important for … Smart Bass Guitar is an online bass guitar … Pills, ice, braces, shots and creams will not do it. Tension buildup is quite common among first-time guitarists. A small tunnel forms in this location, and the nerve becomes surrounded on all sides. This is what makes these injuries so damn insidious! Wrists - Wrists are a very common area of pain for guitarists. Try to rest your right forearm by laying it on the guitar, and always remember to move your wrist loosely, whitout any tension, instead of moving your forearm when picking or strumming. by Timothy J. Jameson, D.C., C.C.S.P. My bio, Your email address will not be published. A simple device made of material and Velcro, a bit Like a tourniquet. This could lead to a permanent disability in your forearm and hand - not what a guitarist needs. Give yourself at least six to eight weeks to heal. This syndrome will usually only involve the ring and pinky fingers, since these fingers receive their nerve supply from the ulnar nerve. How CrossFit Can Put You At Risk For Golfer’s And Tennis Elbow. Welcome To Smart Bass Guitar. Thank you so much for this article. by roberto (london, uk) hello there. This is also why bending the forearm will worsen the complaints. A common problem among both acoustic and electric guitar players is the development of left forearm pain. All of which takes effort. A common problem among both acoustic and electric guitar players is the development of left forearm pain. Awareness is the first step to tackle the pain. By far the best for pain relief is a clasp that fits over my forearm just below my elbow. Both other responses look correct -- you may be straining, and it could be due to the size of the guitar. Hopefully, before it causes you any real, significant damage and before it separates you from the guitar you love to play (or NEED to play because it’s your livelihood! From my perspective, it takes diligent, focused, hands-on therapy to accomplish this. Another common thing that causes wrist pain is when you are trying to play barre chords, you spend a lot of time pressing hard on the guitar. Symptoms include pain or weakness in the shoulder and arm, tingling or discomfort in the fingers, or one or both arms that tire quickly. First, the cause of your guitar tendonitis is most often just tight muscles that have gotten tight from the repetitive motion of playing the guitar. i use the fingering technique on the right hand, and out of the blue after a 3-4 hours from the last practice session i started having pain on my right forearm … You start getting desperate and throwing more things at it: You may start wearing a brace or splint of some kind and tying to rest – moving as little and doing as little as possible: Eventually, you realize you’re stuck – In what I call The Tennis Elbow Triple Trap! Do you tend to notice a pattern or weakness in any specific back/shoulder muscle groups? Then I tried practicing that this morning and my forearm … It’s not uncommon for guitar players to suffer from a variety of problems, including tendonitis (an inflammation of the tendons) and carpel tunnel syndrome (when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist, leading to pain… This syndrome is probably not familiar to most guitarists, so I'll discuss the typical pain … Thankkkkk you. Then you might be pressing too hard on the guitar … If the nerve already is being pinched, the stretching is going to amplify the symptoms. As I stated earlier, this syndrome typically affects guitarists in the left hand (for right handed individuals - the opposite would apply for left handed people). Appreciate any insight on that. The pain can travel downwards towards the pinky, and can be accompanied by tingling or numbness sensations to the pinky side of the hand. Tendonitis is common among tennis players, golfers, pitchers, swimmers, jumpers, and … I would love to see your videos about self help and massage for early stages. Click here for finger pain … 1. The ulnar nerve becomes stretched upon flexion of the elbow. The good old icing can be very beneficial when our goal is to … ?” It’s twofold: So, you can reverse the process that’s causing your injury and pain – IF you treat it the right way!…. Ice. There is one particular guitar in my collecion that seems to aggravate this more than the others, and happens to be the one I was playing a lot for about 6 weeks before I noticed the pain. I’m a Neuromuscular Therapist in Corte Madera, CA (Marin County). Improving Your Hand's Stamina Adjust the action of your guitar’s neck. When muscles get used a lot in the same way … Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If we dissect the playing of a simple bar chord, we would notice 1) contraction of the thumb against the underside of the neck of the guitar, 2) a counterbalancing contraction of the opposing fingers on the top fretted side of the neck, 3) bending of the fingertips to push against the strings, 4) flattening of one finger against the neck to form the bar (usually the first finger), 4) maybe some stretching of the pinky to reach a higher fret and 5) flexion of the wrist. Always try conservative measures first, such as chiropractic, physical therapy, massage therapy, or acupuncture. Forearm pain only from playing bass guitar. This is the main symptom. (These kinds of injuries are actually notorious among stringed instrument players – including both professional and amateur / hobbyist players of the guitar, violin and cello. Pain in the left shoulder from strap strain and in the right shoulder because of arm … I’d previously read that having pain in the tips of your fingers was normal - I do have this, but it’s quite minimal and certainly manageable. However, some injuries are more pain than they’re worth, especially if they prevent you from playing. If you are getting a lot of tension in your wrist, forearm, even your thumb. Here’s more info about me – my bio, “creds,” etc: Allen Willette, Marin Neuromuscular Therapist, […] (Although, guitarists probably suffer these injuries even more! It doesn't really matter how long you've been playing, bad habits don't always (or even … While fretting notes on the guitar, your fretting wrist … i regularly play bass as an amateur every day for a couple of hours. So one day she decided that the woodpile had to be re-stacked, and proceeded to do so, without feeling any pain… Filed Under: Health Tagged With: bass guitar forearm pain, carpal tunnel bass guitar, forarm pain while playing bass guitar, Forearm Pain Playing Bass, wrist pain while playing bass guitar. — OR Help You Rehab It? The flexor digitorum profundus attaches to the medial elbow and inserts into the tips of the fingers. By releasing your muscular tension and adhesions, strengthening your weakened muscles and tendons…, And doing everything you can to stimulate healing and regeneration in your tendons if your injury has progressed to the point of damage (which is typically degeneration / Tendinosis.). Pain may be felt over the thumb side of the wrist. With constant overuse of these muscles, they can become inflammed, or actually form "microtears" at the attachments to the elbow. Since the ulnar nerve passes between the muscles that perform flexion of the wrist, bending of the fingertips, and lateral deviation of the wrist (used in stretching the pinky to reach the higher frets), you can see how a typical bar chord can affect the muscles surrounding this nerve. At first, it’s only natural that you tend to dismiss the initial, minor symptoms of these things – Maybe you simply ignore thoems… Maybe you start practicing less, assuming a little rest is all you need…, But it just doesn’t seem to resolve and keeps flaring up on you – And as the pain intensifies and gets more persistent it starts sucking the joy out of your guitar playing or even keeping you from playing at all…. But the key thing to keep in mind with these kinds of injuries, often referred to as Repetitive Strain Injuries1-RSIs is that they typically happen gradually, from the cumulative effects of stress and strain. Forearm. Guitar Tendonitis may occur if you play a guitar professionally or strictly for leisure purposes. The swelling involved can start squeezing down on the ulnar nerve, causing the symptoms mentioned above. The forearm muscles can be painful, and can lead to a misdiagnosis of tendonitis by an inexperienced doctor. If you haven't found your way to my self-help site, here are the links: Hi Allen, Step 3: Strumming hand ready to strum your guitar, perhaps holding a pick between your thumb and index finger. This syndrome is probably not familiar to most guitarists, so I'll discuss the typical pain patterns associated with it. Pain in the forearm is not always considered a threat to piano players, but it is very … Before when I played it, the chords only made my forearm a little sore after practicing it for 5~10 minutes. Brachioradialis pain and swelling Brachioradialis pain is usually a shooting pain in your forearm or elbow. Pain is felt in the wrist and can travel up the forearm. Let’s look at some common causes of … This column will expand upon a specific type of injury, cubital tunnel syndrome, which affects mostly the inner side of the forearm and the pinky side of the hand. But after trying to look up about it, I'm not so sure. We’ve rounded up the most common guitar … Now that you've survived the anatomy lesson, lets discuss in real life how these anatomical structures are affected with guitar playing. While both are typically caused by overuse and overexertion, tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons in your elbow and brachioradialis pain … It is important to understand the function of the muscles in this tunnel, because they have play a major role in the development of the syndrome. For the original article and over a dozen visit my Tennis Elbow Classroom: Full, Original Article on Guitar Elbow Here, “Repetitive strain injury (RSI) and associative trauma orders are umbrella terms used to refer to several discrete conditions that can be associated with repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained/awkward positions… Examples include edema, Tendinosis (or less often Tendinitis), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, De Quervain syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome… golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis), tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), trigger finger… etc.”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury, I'm a Neuromuscular Therapist in Marin County, California, specializing in Golfer's and Tennis Elbow treatment - as well as shoulder / Rotator Cuff injuries. What’s wrong with... 2. Thanks Carla, © 2020 Body In Balance - All Rights Reserved, Treatment For Guitar Elbow ‘Tendonitis’ And Similar Instrument-Related RSIs, More and more Anti-Inflammatories (Very bad idea), Topical treatments like creams and liniments, Maybe even a Cortisone Shot (which would be a terrible mistake! Often times, when practicing guitar, our upper arms and shoulders may hurt. When you begin to play your guitar, all of the tiny small muscles in your fingers all the way up your forearm … Of course, if you’re a professional musician, you’re likely well aware of this!). We’ve all heard the saying ‘no pain, no gain’ – and playing the guitar can come with its fair share of pain! When we have body pain during our musical practice, it can deplete our enthusiasm and motivation, leading to less progress and general enjoyment.