# sore freting hand



## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

My hand has been killing me, I have been doing alot of chording lately and my index finger freaks out at the lightest brush or knock into something. The funny thing is I have no pain while playing:confused-smiley-010


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## elindso (Aug 29, 2006)

Maybe speak to a Fizzio therapist. That sounds wierd.


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

SCREEM said:


> My hand has been killing me, I have been doing alot of chording lately and my index finger freaks out at the lightest brush or knock into something. The funny thing is I have no pain while playing:confused-smiley-010


Well then don't knock or brush your finger against things and keep on playing.


Seriously, Hope it gets better quickly.


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## -TJ- (Aug 28, 2006)

Happens to me too. I wouldnt freak out or anything, its probably muscle fatigue. I go through periods of mainly playing lead and the dreaded "shredding" stuff.... and when I go back to more chord based jazz playing my hands cramp up much more, and not while I'm playing, just after I'm done. 

I alleviated some of the pain by trying to keep better wrist posture while doing the chording, its helped a bit, but I still get the pain every now and then.


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

-TJ- said:


> Happens to me too. I wouldnt freak out or anything, its probably muscle fatigue. I go through periods of mainly playing lead and the dreaded "shredding" stuff.... and when I go back to more chord based jazz playing my hands cramp up much more, and not while I'm playing, just after I'm done.
> 
> I alleviated some of the pain by trying to keep better wrist posture while doing the chording, its helped a bit, but I still get the pain every now and then.


It's a pretty scarry thought, to have to stop playing for fear of nerve dammage, but you decribed my problem to a "T".

I'll just have to wait and see if it get's worse. :rockon2:


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

The cramps and soreness are like tj said from muscle fatigue. Sometimes after a good night the ends of my fingers are like they are on fire. Nerve problems are a little different, you'd feel a tingling sort of like when they go to sleep. I have had a compressed ulnar nerve since last feb, still waiting on the specialist appt. It had left my little finger and half of the ring finger without any feeling. It was scary but after going to a chiropractor and acupuncturist for the last three months a lot of my feeling has come back. Somedays better than others but playing has not made it any worse, actually sometimes it feels better after a good workout. If it's your fingers are sore and kind of burny then maybe your pushing them down too hard or a lot of big bends. Anyway hope you get a handle on it and get back into the swing of things... Good Luck


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## rippinglickfest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Hand Fatigue*

Stretching is VERY< VERY<VERY important............here's one I learned from one Dr Metro Kozak who used to be the strings prof at Cambrian College where I was for a while.
Put your hands on a chair (you'll be bent over) and turn your fingers toward your bent body keeping your palms flat on the chair. It helps if the chair is flat or use a stool of some sort. Now slowly (be careful) lean back again keeping your palms flat...........you should feel a stretch in your forearms. For your individual fingers turn your wrist on your fretting hand up and as far back it will go.........now stretch each digit gently encouraging them backwards with your other hand and hold for a few seconds and continue with the other fingers..........do the picking hand as well. Always stretch before and after you play
hope this helps
Ray


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## jimmy peters (Nov 29, 2006)

*Possible Solution*



SCREEM said:


> My hand has been killing me, I have been doing alot of chording lately and my index finger freaks out at the lightest brush or knock into something. The funny thing is I have no pain while playing:confused-smiley-010


 What is the action set like on these guitars? If the action is too high you are going to have to work much to hard to push the strings down, esoecialy on bar chords.
On any decent guitar your action should be between 1/8 and 3/16 from the first fret to the topnor last fret.
If the action is this low, try a lighter guage of strung.


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## mandocaster (Jan 11, 2007)

PaulS said:


> The cramps and soreness are like tj said from muscle fatigue.


Be careful! There are NO MUSCLES in the fingers. All movement is through tendons attached to muscles in the forearm. YES stretching before and during playing is important!!!!!! It limbers up the tendons and their fulcrum points. Soreness in the back of the hand is from those tendons which OPEN the grip fighting against the ones which ultimately get "trigger finger" or _stenosing tenosynovitis_. There is tons of literature on that condition.

I will eventually require injections or surgery to combat trigger finger, caused, I find out now, by not being careful to warm up before playing, and by playing mandolin, which scrunches up my hand unnaturally.

GET INTO GOOD HABITS NOW before it gets out of control!!


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Another thing to watch out for is to not have your guitar slung too low. If it's your index finger bothering you, one of the main compression points is in the wrist (carpal tunnel). Having your guitar raised helps keep your wrist straighter when playing chords and allows that tendon too move freely.

Like this :rockon2: 

Not thisevilGuitar:


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## mandocaster (Jan 11, 2007)

Lester B. Flat said:


> Another thing to watch out for is to not have your guitar slung too low. If it's your index finger bothering you, one of the main compression points is in the wrist (carpal tunnel). Having your guitar raised helps keep your wrist straighter when playing chords and allows that tendon to move freely.
> 
> Like this :rockon2:
> 
> Not thisevilGuitar:


....The old conflict between looking cool and still being able to play after 30 years of age.......

.....especially important for those who practise in a seated position (good) and then wonder, as the guitar bangs their knees (bad), why they can no longer play the lick they practised while sitting down. Sooner or later the ergonomy of the instrument dictates the posture, not the cosmetics.

Being able to play well will always win out over all that fluffy stuff.


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## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

This thread has got me thinking...lately the index finger on my fretting has been feeling kind of sore. I'm playing a combination of scale, licks and chords on an almost daily basis. Tonight I made a conscious effort to move my thumb to the back side of the neck rather than my usual half-wrap-gi-joe-kung-fu-death-grip. 

It was awkward as hell at first, but no discomfort while playing, and my fluidity actually seemed to be improving towards the end of the evening. Its amazing how little pressure is required to make decent tone.

I had pretty much resigned myself to the early onset of arthritis, but maybe my finger pain is just a symptom of bad left hand techniqueMaybe I should visit the doctor and ask for some hi-test anti-inflammatories to see what happens.


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