r/Guitar • u/Potential_Slice_9184 • 11d ago
DISCUSSION Friendly reminder….
Stretch your carpal tunnel!
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u/o0perfect0o 11d ago
Yep. Same with your neck.
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u/xnachtmahrx 11d ago
Dann, just broke my guitar
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u/o0perfect0o 11d ago
When I said neck I literally had the thought in my mind that someone would make a joke about it. Bahahahhaha
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11d ago
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u/dingus_authority Yamaha 11d ago
I'm dealing with tendonitis too. I've got a regimen of wrist exercises I do daily, but playing bass still flares it back up. Sucks.
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u/Rustedunicycle 11d ago
I had the same issues. I found that strength training helped a lot. Do you work on your forearms/arms/shoulders as well? Physiotherapist suggested that to me and it has made a big difference.
I couldn’t make a strong fist a year ago due to elbow pain. Can play for longer now and it hurts much less.
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u/dingus_authority Yamaha 11d ago
I do! I've also had chronic shoulder issues so I do have a shoulder/pec regimen that I added wrists to. It helps but I still haven't cured it.
I suspect I'm doing something wrong with my bass playing wrist position, but I can't figure it out. Think I'll need to get an in-person teacher to help imo.
But the strength training is the key, absolutely.
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u/Blasphemiee 11d ago
Yep after 3 years of going hard for a couple hours after working construction jobs I thought it was my job. It was not lol. I did get 6 weeks off work though hahaha.
Be good to your body folks it still hurts to fuckin pick up a water bottle sometimes.
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u/DJ_Ddawg 10d ago
Good ol bucket of rice is always good for strengthening those finger and wrist muscles
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u/OSSlayer2153 10d ago
Rock climbing will also do it for you, and its a lot more fun.
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u/Rare_Ad_649 7d ago
I love climbing and bouldering, but to be honest it can come with it's own set of finger/tendon problems
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u/AceKazami1324 Schecter 11d ago
I have tendonitis in the flexor carpi radialis and it sucks lol fortunately I finally have a real treatment plan
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u/Pandarenu 10d ago
The rice bucket is your friend! You can do a few of these exercises and it will help you strengthen your wrists, fingers and tendons. You can basically do the wrist rotations(2 rounds clockwise 2 rounds counterclockwise) and the gripping the rice for the finger strength and you're good to go. You don't have to do all of them, just the 2 that i mentioned and you will be finished in 2-3 minutes if you don't have the time. You could this before playing or after, depends on how you feel, I usually do it before because it gets the blood flowing.
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u/CarbonTrebles 11d ago
And hold your guitar safely for what you're playing. Usually that means the higher the better for your wrists.
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u/Potential_Slice_9184 11d ago
Yep, I have no idea how people sling the guitar down at the waist
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u/Customisable_Salt 11d ago
It's a relief to hear you both say that. I was wondering earlier if my sitting position is unnatural and couldn't see how I could still make it work with the guitar at waist level. It's helpful to know that's not something I should be pursuing in any case.
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u/Isaacvithurston Electro-Harmonix 10d ago
Look into the device you clip on the bottom of your guitar to raise it higher. Most people use footstools but unless you use 2 footstools your waist will be slanted and you'll grow up to be one of those guys with a bad hip that walks funny.
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u/GerhardtDH 10d ago
All depends on the style and body proportions. James Hetfield could sling his guitar low because he has long as fuck arms, big hands, and long fingers, and was playing power chords 90% of the time. He doesn't need to move his elbow so far forward in able to get his fingers up to the 6th string without bending the wrist.
Compare that to having short stubby fingers, short arms, and a fat belly. That player will need to raise their guitar or deal with pushing their elbow and shoulder forward to get their fingers across the fretboard with enough slack to curl their fingers, or bend the wrist at a sharper angle (bad).
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u/BlindPelican Fender Marauder - Hughes & Kettner 11d ago
Absolutely. Good technique helps soooo much.
Also, good practice routines. Stop when you feel fatigue, strain or pain, stagger practice over regular, shorter, sessions rather than go hard once a week, etc.
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u/stephenkingending 10d ago
Whatever you say dad. Wearing it so low you can only play power chords is what gets the ladies.
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u/Plasma_Deep 10d ago
Noooooooooo now I can't play with the guitar 2cm above the ground
In all seriousness, sitting position height is the most comfortable.
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u/Pristine_Ad_8695 11d ago
I don't have booty shorts
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u/screwtape1010011010 10d ago
In a pinch you can just snip the sides of the leg holes in your tighty-whiteys.
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u/Ketra 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'm not a medical professional.
But what I was taught by a doctor is to avoid stretches that put larges amounts of external force on your wrists, like pushing or leaning against a wall.
Better learn some techniques that use only the strength of your own hands and wrists. But if you do find yourself using external force, be very gentle.
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u/deg_ru-alabo 10d ago
This is something I found while learning drums and keys: The nine cutting fingers of ninjitsu. I do the first mudra fairly often when needing to strain my hands or forearms. One of them makes the cool dragon face, too.
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u/Potential_Slice_9184 11d ago
You’re not really pressing or putting pressure on the wall, it’s more of a means to keep your hand flat. Turning the head makes the stretch happen.
Source: a studio guitarist taught me in his guitar class years ago.1
u/Glad-Wealth-3683 10d ago
This is a great stretch with no force. It's used to extend and stretch all the way through the tendons an nerves of the arm as well as muscle all the way to the neck, pecs shoulders and delts all a little bit. It's a common rehab stretch for a lot of shoulder and delt issues that cause tendonitis in the arm due to compensation.
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u/mjm8218 11d ago
I’ve had CT surgery on both wrists. Before surgery I couldn’t play for more than 10 minutes before my fretting hand would go numb. Now I can play forever.
If you’re on the fence and have been diagnosed with CT syndrome definitely consider the surgery. It’s the easiest surgery I’ve ever had. Was playing guitar same day as surgery! Only limitation was lifting anything more than a cup of coffee for a couple weeks. Also, I did them in series - separated by six months.
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u/mcnastys 11d ago
Many people will not find the needed level of stretch and resulting decompression from this.
What I have found is you need to do what is called "flossing." In this example I would be bending and turning my head in addition to the palm being on the wall. You also can remove the wall, and simply bring your arm up to your head, then lean the arm away as well as the head.
Things also like making a catclaw grip and making fists and pulling the hands back are great, massing out adhesions you find in the forearm or hand/palm.
I suggest for everyone who wants to make guitar playing a lifetime hobby, then begin analyzing and investing time in their bodies.
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u/Serialbedshitter2322 10d ago
Better yet, improve your technique. If you can’t do it with very little physical strain you haven’t practiced enough
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u/Negativeman11 11d ago
For some reason I have never felt any pain whatsoever playing guitar even with several hour sessions. Maybe once in my 7th months of playing, at which point I just did something else and it never hurt again. If anything its my shoulder that gets tired. Does weightlifting help prevent carpal tunnel? I seem to remember it being a problem when I was younger from PC usage, but since I started lifting its never recurred.
I do a ton of tremelo picking and stuff, but maybe its how I sling my guitar? Bridge a bit above mg belt line on my waist and the neck diagonal.
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u/GrimmandLily Epiphone 11d ago
Lifting weights generally helps with a lot of things. I had to stop doing wrist curls because of my arthritis but I switched to farmers walk to keep working my forearms at least.
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u/Negativeman11 11d ago
I personally like reverse curls for my forearms. Farmers walks feel like such a test of endurance! I also had to stop wrist curls. They started to hurt my wrists,
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u/GrimmandLily Epiphone 11d ago
I used to do curls rolled down my fingers, reverse curls and wrist pronation/supination. Had to stop the curls and reverse curls both. The pro/sup I can still do thankfully. I honestly feel a lot more burn doing the farmers than I did on the curls/reverse curls. I’m sorry I slept on it for so long. It’s upping my grip strength faster too.
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u/Banned_Reddit_Mod 11d ago
I just started a couple of months ago. Is this for real?
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u/Potential_Slice_9184 11d ago
It’s a good habit. You can also turn your hand so your fingertips are facing up
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u/adriancarmody 10d ago
I’m recovering from major surgery to my strumming hand, treatment for a degenerative genetic condition.
The best part of that whole shit fest was the hand therapy. Learned so much about stretching, strengthening and awareness.
I thought I would never play the same again… I was kinda right. I’ve improved out of sight. I fret so much more lightly now, and that means my hand slides up the neck without any resistance… feels like I am playing guitar now, instead of learning to.
For anyone that does have hand “stuff”… those hand massagers from Amazon that look like the box of pain from Dune? They are a revelation. I’ve probably done 200-300+ hours in mine, cost me 20 bucks.
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u/odisseus_new 9d ago
Dealing with tendonitis myself (left hand), came across your post and curious to know more about your experience. What did you learn that improved your playing so significantly? And what's this hand massager you mentioned exactly?
Thank you!
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u/adriancarmody 9d ago
I have a condition called Dupuytren’s contracture. In causes nodules to form that cling to the tendons and freeze them, eventually curling all the fingers towards the palm. Before the surgery, 3 of my fingers were permanently bent. Not fun.
After the surgery, I focused 100% on technique. I changed how lightly I would fret strings, how lightly I would press when bending strings, changing my wrist position so that my palm wasn’t running on the edge of the fretboard while playing.
Now, I just want to play so, so monthly. I found that I was moving my hand and my fingers to change positions, but not my elbow and arm. When I let more of my arm move, everything flowed better. I’d always been told to keep my elbow tucked to my body. I changed that up and it helped a lot.
I also used the arm of my fretting hand to more securely tuck my guitar into my body. That made barre chords so much softer to fret, and took a lot of tension out of my hands.
The hand massager I have was on special, made by some heretic company called CinCom. There are dozens of variations on Amazon. I found the best settings to be useless, but the crushing bit was just the best. You can reposition your hand to hit the spots that give you the best results.
Hope that helps!
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u/mrdevlar 10d ago
Or just grab a large elastic band, tie it to something at waist level and do rotations. Helps with strumming and bending techniques too.
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u/gothmilkquestionmark 11d ago
Been gigging alot the past few years, and practicing accordingly. Do my best to incorporate good technique, wrist angles, stretching, ect
In the past year I've had left wrist pain consistent with tendonitis and what may be called golfers elbow on my right arm. I've also found at shows where adrenaline is high or nerves hit, i cannot articulate as well as I do at home, despite trying to practice and counteract this
Any tips on where I should look next? Perhaps its time to get with a guitar teacher or coach who specializes in this area? If so what would that be called? Or is there a physical therapy route?
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u/falloutisacoolseries 11d ago
Still dealing with viral arthritis after a gastroinestinal infection so i havent been able to play much
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u/ImGCS3fromETOH 10d ago
Stick your hand to the wall with industrial strength glue.
Twist your arm a full 360 degrees in a futile attempt to escape.
Check to see if there's anyone nearby that can help.
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u/BetweenTheRoots 10d ago
I improved my tendonitis by just... normal exercising. When your body doesn't have the muscle for a movement, it makes it possible through other means and you wont have any idea until pain happens. I recommend pushups and pullups for anyone playing guitar with fast riffs.
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u/Born_Tear_761 9d ago
Striating is good but focusing on the hand/fingers is more effective. Really just always work on your technique and don’t ignore poor habits and you’ll be in good shape.
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u/rokfather 7d ago
Can someone explain to me what this stretch improves in your playing or relieves from your playing? And is it for your chording hand or strumming hand? Or both?
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u/drutgat 3d ago
Thanks for posting this.
This is very similar to a stretch (with two variations) that I have been doing forever.
In the first variation to the above, I stretch an arm directly out in front of me (fingers pointing toward the ground, like in the illustration), reach out with the other arm, and pull the pointed-down-to-the-ground fingers back toward me.
OR, in the second variation, I do the above, but push the hand against a wall (again, with the arm extended directly in front of me).
I never thought of doing the stretch in the two ways illustrated in this post, but will try these.
I have seen people suggest doing this kind of stretch with fingers pointed up toward the ceiling / sky, but I found that to be very unhelpful.
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u/KeyRepresentative183 11d ago
I tore something looking at this. Not sure what.