Lately I'm experiencing pain in my fretting hand, mostly when trying to do full bar chords. I know that body positioning plays some role in this. Always try to sit in as ergo a position as possible. Anyone else have any tips on how to avoid this via stretching exercises, or changes in posture, hand positioning.
Cath
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Playing an instrument always brings a risk for injuries, overstressed muscles, ...
Often pain in hands, arms or neck can be caused by a bad back-position. Also hypertension is a common problem: you get focused on the music and start pressing your hands, lifting your shoulders, your jaw freezes, ... Try to play and stop a sudden moment just to see if any part of your body can't move fluently (fingers, hand, head,...).
Stretching exercises: stretching head in al directions - hand open against a wall - standing strait and lifting arms as slow as possible and then down again also as slow as possible - standing with somewhat strait legs and bend so that your arms touch (or almost) the floor; make 8-figures with your hands.
When doing stretching, and when playing guitar, you should watch your breathing! This is the most underestimaded element of playing an instrument. That's why so many musicians try yoga, tai chi, qi gong... there you learn to breath en do things with no possible harm to your body. And that's what playing music should also be. Remember, it is as intensive as a sport, and you should still be able to do it 60 years from now, so be careful!
Good luck!
Woob
One thing I Have Done that Seemed To Help Is Use finger Weights When Playing Scales. Then The Chord And Note Positions Are A Little easier When You Take Them Off ,But They Help Strengthen The Hand And Wrist And Also Speed Up your Fretting
shardf
You could have carpal tunnel. You can try to stretch you hand by placing it up against the wall open the hand and lean into it, or put it down open handed on a table and lean into it.
check with a doctor, as it may be something else. You can also wear a brace you can buy in the drug store when you are playing in order to not put any more stress on the hand. It is like an ace bandage and has a little bar running up along the wrist. You can wear this at night, as that is when it usually is the worse, and it will help your wrist. I have carpal tunnel and that is exactly the way it feels. It gets better in the summer, and then worse in the winter, but with you, it might be related to your guitar playing.
Just mainly get checked by a doctor, they have tests for this, and then they also can check for other things as well. Numbness can also mean other things as well.
Anonymous
Strumming beyond the "lame 4/4" takes a lot of practice for most that learn guitar. I am naturally musical, but when I was learning, it was probably the hardest part of the basics to get down. Keep trying and you'll get it. Try strumming along with a song on a cd that is made up of chords you know and if you have one around, try strumming with the beats on an electronic keyboard. One point to remember is that strumming is more in the wrist than the arm. When people learn to strum, it's common to put way too much emphasis on the arm. Watch some videos of well known strummers and emulate them. I know you're frustrated, but it's a rite of passage all guitarists go through. xx
Anonymous
hopfully you not developing carpel tunnel syndrome. you should take some time off from playing, like 2-4 weeks. when you start again make sure you do adequate warm up exercises. they can usually be accomplished by doing scales for 15-30 min. slow to moderate.