Any guitar players with carpal tunnel?

[C/G]

Originally Posted by max cooper

So, here's a thought I had:

How about a short-scale guitar? The tension would be less with the same guage strings, right?

I always wanted a 325 anyway.



I'm making a list of all you guys' suggestions. Good stuff.

I have small hands and the Rics are perfect for me (I have a 360). Your theory could make sense.

[C/G]

Originally Posted by klaukholm

As a double bass player this happens to me regularly (daily?) somewhere in the 2nd hour of scales.
To manage the problem you should really take a page out of singers books and take a lesson with a well schooled player. Maybe a classical player as they often pay more attention to the mechanics and physical approach to the instrument.

I find that if you have tight muscles in the back it affects this problem a lot.

Stretch hamstrings and your major back muscles a lot.
Believe it or not what you feel in your fingers can have a lot to do with this condition.
Yoga has helped many a player with this problem.

I solve the problem by warming up daily for about 45-60 mins of fundamental playing (basics).

Hope you find a non surgical solution that works for you!

kindest,
Kjetil

Yes, surgery was my last resort and fortunately it worked for me. If you can avoid surgery then by all means do so, as it was quite a horrible experience. My doctor is a classical guitar player so he referred me to a good surgeon.

Stretching is good and working your hamstrings ect. will be great for the back and neck and arms. I did a short stint at physio after surgery and learned how everything is conencted and related to each other. If I have a pain in my neck or upper back, I stretch out my legs and the pain is gone.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by Colin Gaucher

I have small hands and the Rics are perfect for me (I have a 360). Your theory could make sense.

Here's the latest:

I switched from 013's on my Strat today; to .011's with a wound "G" (a .028 guage).

I really hate the sound and the feel. I can't do my percussive stuff, and the tone is totally wimpy. I'm guessing the reason guys like allencollins don't like Strats is that they've never used really heavy-ass strings.

All day at rehearsal I kept saying I was gonna just take up bass and teach some kid how to play like me.

Oh, shite. I'm gonna try not to complain too much, and I'm looking at this like I'm gonna relearn how to make the guitar sound cool.

Tenty-five years is a long time.

[Ski spiggy]

Alexander Technique has helped me for 20 years.
If I drop my posture though, I can hurt my fingers doing just about anything.

[lespaulismore]

Yup, I got it bad and it's very depressing to say the least. I have been playing for 22 years. Left hand, fret hand and I'm playing D'Addario 9.5s now. I do notice its more with chords as well. Single notes, not so much. Am willing to try the vitamin B and the yoga I guess at this point.

[PdotDdot]

I have had the surgery and it worked 100% with no downside. The surgery took about 5 minutes. The major pain from the surgery was gone within a month and the residual pain was gone within a year and I am talking just a dull dull ache from scar tissue.

I HIGHLY recommend the surgery. Find a good surgeon of course.

[benherron.rrr]

Hold on a minute.

I'm 22, fairly often my hands seem to cramp up often while driving, and my thumb and fingers loose strength, so much that I can no longer really hold on to a pick, and begins to hurt as I keep playing. I find that when playing guitar/piano I begin to lose the sync between my hands, and after a while I begin to lose accuracy in my movements, accuracy that I am well aware that I can achieve. Sometimes I wake up on a morning and have some form of numbness/ tingling in my hands, and when I try to apply pressure from my thumb to my hand it feels unnatural, sometimes feels frustrating as I tell my self to really clench down but I just can't physically get the power down.

Could I be suffering from this?

[PdotDdot]

That could very well be CT. I suggest going to have it looked at. Always go for a second opinion especially if someone wants to cut but as I stated, the surgery is simple, quick, and fairly common with extremely high success rates.

[puppee]

Which causes more injury, playing guitar or playing the piano?

I am considering mastering one instrument and from reading all these issues, it might be the piano I pursue.

I do feel that guitar does give me a sore hand compared to playing piano. Except with the guitar, it's mostly on one hand and it hurts more, especially when doing bar chords or funny shaped chords.

[PdotDdot]

This is something that you should discuss with a physician. It will partly depend upon your technique. Carpal Tunnel is generally cause by repetitive motion. Typing, Mouse Clicking, Piano, Guitar Playing and many other things can cause this ailment. I rather doubt there is a particular guide line as to whether playing piano or guitar is worse or better in regards to this infliction.

If you're experiencing any possible symptoms, have it looked into with your physician. If you want to learn to play an instrument, I suggest getting a good teacher and learning good technique because what ever technique you adopt will be with you for a life time. Many teachers do not fully understand the proper physics of motion so just because a guitar player is a great player does not necessarily mean the technique will be kind to your body. Research, research, research. Posture and ergonomics are important - more important than most think. When you're young, you're less prone to damage but as you age, years of improper motion can lead to injury that can and will hinder your ability to play or at least enjoy playing.

Please understand, I am not a physician. I have battled with Carpal Tunnel and Tendinitis so I speak from experience but it is my experience. Your's will be different.

[benherron.rrr]

This is really helpful, I always assumed that it was just pain from playing for lengthy periods of time. I had a fairly bad injury where I severely stressed the tendons in one of my thumbs, I always put at least some of the discomfort on the lasting effects of this injury.

I am self taught on the piano and whilst I had about 18 months of lessons playing guitar where I progressed very quickly I am mostly self taught on this instrument as well.

I definitely find playing the piano much less stress full, I imagine it is because my wrist isn't moving as much. Like another guy said, on a guitar its the more awkward chords that cause that seem to trigger the pain.