Saving Your Hands: Tips for Guitarists to Avoid The Pain

Back in 1990, I was in the studio and pressed a little too hard with my left hand on a chord up the neck. Well to make a long story short, my left hand was never the same, as I was diagnosed with overuse and Carpal tunnel syndrome by a doctor who was eager to operate.

I did some research and found out that a Carpal tunnel syndrome operation could work but, could also cause permanent damage. The following article by Dr. Maghen reveals some very good tips to avoid the pain – something I wish I could have read way back when for myself:

Saving Your Hands: Tips for Guitarists to Avoid The Pain

“Music brings great joy to the world. But not without musicians paying a heavy price in occurrences of pain throughout their careers. Playing an instrument is physically demanding and practice and performing often require many hours a day in stressful positions that can cause pain, numbness, weakness, or lack of control in the wrist, hand, fingers, arm, elbow, shoulder, and neck. “Overuse injuries to the hand are a serious threat to all musicians, whether or not they play professionally,” says Dr. Yariv Maghen of Somers Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Group. “The hand is a very complex organ, with multiple bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and nerves. Repetition, fatigue, friction, vibration and awkward, static positions are all contributing factors to hand injuries in musicians.”

The most common repetitive strain injuries among musicians are tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Tendinitis, the swelling or inflammation of a tendon, usually affects the wrist in musicians. Overwork under conditions of high muscle stress leads to tearing and abrasions of the tendon and pain usually made worse by repetitive motion.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve that passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. It stems from excessively subjecting the finger and wrist flexor muscles to repetitive and/or static flexion. If the flexor tendons become inflamed, the swelling presses on the nerve causing progressive symptoms of numbness and tingling in the hand or fingers, pain, reduced dexterity and reduced grip strength.

Dr. Maghen says: “There are many more potential hand injuries that are related to playing an instrument, most of them caused by overuse, repetitive strain, poor posture and incorrect positioning of the hands, fingers and arms. Most can be treated effectively with rest and by correcting posture and positioning, especially if addressed at the first onset of symptoms. But if allowed to progress, these injuries can be physically, psychologically and even financially devastating to musicians. So preventing injury in the first place should be foremost in every musician‘s mind.” read more

When you are young, the tenancy is to think that you are indestructible – but that is not always the case. Prevention is key toward avoiding an injury. Dr. Magen continues to say that proper hand technique or as he calls it “positioning” is one of the keys. Another factor is “conditioning” as warm ups should be taken similar to that of an athlete – in other words, start slow.

Saving Your Hands: Tips for Guitarists to Avoid The Pain With An Injury.

Here’s some advice for those of you (like myself) that have already suffered a hand injury.

1. Green Leaf Vegetables: The specific vitamin that you are looking for is B6, as this I’m told will help with your tendons. The pill form say’s my “Holistic Guru” is not as effective of a delivery system to your body as the natural substance. You might think organic is hype but, it will contain more of the vitamins that you need.

2. Fresh Pineapple: Okay, the canned stuff won’t help either. Cut up a fresh one and have a couple of chunks each day. I’ve noticed this to be a big help.

3. Ibuprofen: I’m always afraid to take too much of this but it does reduce the swelling whereas Tylenol or aspirin won’t. You have to be careful not to overdo it on the guitar when the pain goes away. This could lead to further injury.

4. Hand Brace: Keeping your hand strait and not curled up (especially at night) plays a big role in recovering from hand problems.

When my injury happened, I was also doing a lot of painting and plastering- a counter productive move with my hand. “One or the other” was what my doctor told me. I had to make a choice… and it was the guitar. Maybe you will not be able to make that sort of choice and if that is the case, you may have to be extra careful not to strain your hand with either activity.

If you need any help or additional advice, please feel free to email me directly at Ampersandmusic@aol.com. I’ll even talk on the phone with you about Saving Your Hands and additional tips for Guitarists to Avoid The Pain.

Pain free guitar! I hope this article helps!

Special thanks to Fred Robbins for enlightening us with this article.