Home › Forums › Discuss Anything But Politics › Hands giving me problems at night from playing.
- This topic has 13 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by Gary Boats’Blues..
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August 16, 2017 at 1:10 pm #77850
Just curious if any of you have hands that are numb and are in pain at night from playing? I know that after so many years of not playing I should take it a bit easier on my playing but I am enjoying it so much that it is hard to not play during the day. I know that it is cords causing the problem I will have to practice lead every other day I guess? Do you think that it might be Carpal Tunnel causing the problem? Thanks for any info that you might have,
Gary.Boats'Blues.
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August 16, 2017 at 1:32 pm #77852
Hi Gary, it depends on which part of your hand is causing you some pain. I know on the few occasions when I haven’t played in a while my finger tips will sting, that is until I get back into playing regularly and the small calluses start to mature again. So, I suppose it also depends on how long your break from playing regularly was. Playing barre chords can often strain the tendons at first until you gain the strength required, it’s about taking it easy at first and building up slowly, again it’s about how long your lay off was. I know a few pals that have experienced Carpal Tunnel problems but unfortunately none of them play guitar so I couldn’t comment on that.
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August 16, 2017 at 2:31 pm #77856
My hands go numb sometimes when I am playing the guitar so I give it a minute and play something different and it usually goes away.I also get hand pain from time to time and have trigger finger which comes and goes.But its just too much fun playing,so unless my hands fall off my guitar will be played.
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August 16, 2017 at 3:11 pm #77862
I am with you guys about playing until my hands fall off. It was around twelve years of not playing and I am doing barre cords with regular cords. The main fingers that are giving me problems are the small and ring finger but the whole hand is involved in the numbness and pain at night. I will give cords a break every other day because the goal is to have fun and build my playing. I picked up a used Fender Squire Strat and it is a sweet guitar for lead but I am still fighting bending the strings as I should and the finger tips get sore but that is just par for the course at this stage. I could put 9s on it but I need to build the hands and fingers so might just keep the 10s unless you guys think that I should go to 9s. I do work on the lessons like EP 074 around two hours at a time and anyone wanting to learn some Eric Clapton leads that lesson is tops in my book, so I might be pushing it for this early in playing again but worth it to me. Thanks for the replies,
Gary.Boats'Blues.
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August 16, 2017 at 3:19 pm #77863
Hi Gary,
Sounds like it might be Carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by compression of a sensory nerve that passes through the wrist. Classic symptoms are numbness/tingling or burning sensation in the thumb, index, middle and half of the ring finger on the palmar side of the hand and includes the same distribution on the back side of the hand but only to the first knuckle. Symptoms may not include the entire region and, perhaps only the finger tips but, definitely, only in the fingers mentioned. Symptoms can occur at most times, during periods of overuse or, often, just during the night. Sometimes pain can extend further up the arm.
It is an overuse syndrome, more typically of keyboarding, but guitar playing can definitely do it. Symptoms can be worse if combined with other overuse of your hands and by positions that tend to put your wrists into extension, ie. bent backwards, like prolonged driving or a sleeping position. Having the wrist bent backward in sleep is one reason why the symptoms are exacerbated during the night.
You can try using a carpal tunnel splint found in most pharmacies and wear it at night or most of the time when symptomatic. It prevents extension of the wrist. Otherwise, give it a rest and decrease active playing time. Great time to study music theory! There are medical and surgical interventions if it becomes a real problem. Good luck, it’s pretty common and I bet very common in guitar players that put in a lot of time playing.
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August 16, 2017 at 3:27 pm #77865
Gary,
Just saw your new post. You can have an ulnar nerve syndrome, as well. This will involve tingling in exactly the 1 1/2 fingers not affected by the carpal tunnel but on both sides of the hand. This is theoretically caused by compression, entrapment or irritation of the ulnar nerve at the elbow, ie. the funny bone. It’s not clear to me why guitar players would get this but I experience it, too. Can only advise rest for this and if it’s a real problem, follow with your physician. I know there are surgical alternatives for this one, also. You may well be experiencing both.
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August 16, 2017 at 6:17 pm #77882
Yes, I feel when I bend too much especially, I don’t stop playing but slow down, back down off the lessons that demand strenuous bends .. so much to learn and so late in the game as usual lol
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August 16, 2017 at 6:23 pm #77884
Gary,
Just saw your new post. You can have an ulnar nerve syndrome, as well. This will involve tingling in exactly the 1 1/2 fingers not affected by the carpal tunnel but on both sides of the hand. This is theoretically caused by compression, entrapment or irritation of the ulnar nerve at the elbow, ie. the funny bone. It’s not clear to me why guitar players would get this but I experience it, too. Can only advise rest for this and if it’s a real problem, follow with your physician. I know there are surgical alternatives for this one, also. You may well be experiencing both.
JohnJohn, I removed the left arm on the computer chair cause i t was defintely the reason why my left arm was soar ( the arm was restricting blood flow I guess.. had all the symptoms you mentioned because of years playing in this reclining puter chair.. I feel relief on the left elbow now after couple weeks without that chair arm in the way. Pretty sure that was the problem I mentioned here several weeks ago.
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August 16, 2017 at 7:20 pm #77892
sore not sour lol ..yes the arm rest in the computer chair was the problem over long term ..had pain in left arm.. actually want to sit upright but I lounge back in a recliner puter chair most time i sit too. (not recommended) lol
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August 16, 2017 at 8:49 pm #77895
Gary, If you think it’s bar chords maybe take a look at how you are playing them. If you are tilting the guitar back so you can see the fretboard problems will occur. Are you holding your elbow to close to your body? Is your wrist placed in such a way that you can properly arch your fingers? All stuff that can cause pain, especially if you aren’t as young as you use to be.
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August 16, 2017 at 11:31 pm #77907
I want to thank all of you for posting on this. I thought that Carpal tunnel was involved but not sure and the Ulnar nerve didn’t occur to me at all. I am also going to have to look at my form while playing also as Chuck mentioned because I have never paid attention to it. Also the point of wearing a Carpal tunnel splint at night might keep the wrist so that there is less nerve entrapment while sleeping. I have been working very hard on my bends to the point that the fingers get sore because for me I need a lot of work to get the pitch right on the bends but it is coming along. You guys are right that I am going to have to pace myself a little more and I hope that changing from cords one day to lead the next day hopefully helps. You all have some very good points and I am going to read through them again tomorrow and list them to see if I can decide how to improve the situation. It is a good time to study music theory and research some songs to do and print them out.Thanks to everyone for your help,
Gary.Boats'Blues.
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August 18, 2017 at 5:32 am #77996
Guys! If it hurts, you’re doing something wrong! Listen to your body!
I gather many if not most of us are getting on in age — if you’re over 50, then you need to accommodate your body. Don’t force your body to accommodate the guitar.
But yes, playing guitar is an excellent way of developing a repetitive stress injury. So be careful.
I think the first step is to examine your playing position and attitude. Pay attention to what you’re doing — your muscles should be relaxed. All of your muscles. Not just your hands and wrists, but your elbows, your shoulders, your back, your neck. Too much tension and/or poor posture in any one of these could be enough to cause the symptoms you describe.
Adjust your playing time. I understand the feeling that you need to make up for lost time — but, if you’re over 50, you should also be able to set aside your ego a bit, and recognize that it just ain’t gonna happen. So do not play for hours on end (which a kid can still do but we can’t). Instead, take frequent pauses. Also, take entire days off from time to time (once a week) — this gives your body the chance to recuperate AND your brain the chance to incorporate what it’s been learning.
Try a different size guitar. I discovered a few years back that I simply can’t play larger size guitars. They cause me to hunch too much, extend my shoulder too much, causing all kinds of weird problems. I now exclusively play smaller instruments — my Steinberger, my banjo, and my Gretsch banjo guitar.
Lastly, if the only exercise your get is playing guitar, you’re doing it wrong. You need to keep your muscles in shape. Your muscles will help protect against repetitive stress injuries. (But don’t go all cross-fit on yourself either… I’m interested to see what will happen to those crossfit people’s bodies in 30 years’ time!)
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August 22, 2017 at 9:25 pm #78426
Bar chords will do it for sure, just pace yourself, no different with any other exercise routine your body tells you when you need a rest. I recently cut my fingernails too short for my right hand finger style.. so I regret i cut so short that I felt my finger tips hurting doing fingerstyle which i nomrally use my nails inside of my finger tips. I don’t like a thumb pick,, but anyway i still play but can’t wait for my finger nails to grow back.
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August 22, 2017 at 9:50 pm #78428
You guys are sure right about giving the body and the mind rest. I have an office chair that I play in most of the time and it is comfy but I can only play so long until the back is hurting so have to get up and try to walk it off. There are times when I practice too long and I pay for it but with the way my body is I pay for everything that I do. I am learning to play in short burst throughout the day and I switch guitars when I need to. A big guitar gets me also and I don’t get to play it as often as I would like. I was having hand pain at night and still some numbness so have slowed down on to much time doing bends and working on alternatives to full bends. Nothing replaces a full bend but some times I just fret one higher and do my bend. I am not a kid anymore for sure but love playing so much I am staying with it but listening to the old body and thanks,
Gary.Boats'Blues.
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