Pain in forearm

[Guest]

Hola fellow synners! I noticed the pain a few weeks ago, but it went away. Now it’s back again and I’m wondering if anybody has ever had this happen to them. The pain is on the palm side of the forearm. I’ve been trying to improve on my barre chords, so I’m thinking it might be from that.
What do you guys think?

 

[Guest]

I know I should go see a doctor. Just wondering if anybody else felt this in their journey as well.

 

[Dylan Burley]

Which arm? Is it your picking or your fretting?

 

[idssdi]

Is it the fretting arm or the picking arm?
You always want to try to put as little as possible pressure but still creates a sound when you play .

 

[Guest]

Wow quick response.
It’s the fretting arm. I can’t believe I forgot to mention that in the original post.
Thanks for the tip Ids. Barre chords are still kinda new and awkward at times, but much better than my first attempt. I’ll keep that in mind.

 

[Kevin Kwasneski]

Mine pain is in the wrist. For me it’s carpel tunnel. I actually meant to post something on pain, because when I registered for the forum I was in a wrist brace and couldnt play. My friends have given me a tip to do warmup exercises with arm/wrist before playing and it does help. But take a break and rest, DONT PUSH IT!!!! When I was in college I pushed it and one day I couldn’t even pick up my shower caddy, which weighed like all of 2 lbs.

 

[Guest]

Ugh of course. I should try to warm up first. Kind of hard with 4 lil monkies to chase. I usually grab the guitar, strum a few chords or pick a few scales, then throw it back on the wall mount. But I do warm up a bit when I finally get a moment to myself (just not lately).

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Make sure you are not getting a repetitive stress injury. If you are constantly practicing barre chords, they are something that can easily stress your muscles out. You can also stretch them out by extending your arm outward as if you’re trying to say “stop” with the Palm of your hand like this . Pull your fingers with your left hand back towards your face as best as you can and keep your shoulder relaxed. And then turn your hand clockwise to where your fingers are pointing down towards the ground. That stretches the inner forearm part Because those kinds of chords take so much energy and muscle work, think of them like working out for your body. You can easily strain yourself if you go too hard for too long.

 

[idssdi]

Tbh I barely ever really warm up either I just played guitar for like 45 minutes and due to a lack of time I started straight off with Shepherd of fire(I did try to jam over Her Blues by the Beatles but my string popped out of its socked so that can barely considered a warm up)

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jak. I always stretch after bc of the stress I know it causes. I think it’s hitting me now bc I’m trying to learn a new song to play with my cousin that she asked me to learn. The song requires a few barre chords and it is getting easier. She wants to make a video of her singing while I play.
My warm ups depend on how much time i think i have when i grab the guitar.

 

[Guest]

It may be a case of slight RSI. But we are no doctors (Unless some of us are!).
RSI can be quite serious. A few tips though…
Make sure when you warm up, you start off with warm ups that have no big stretch. Just get your fingers moving is what you’re after. Go for a chromatic scale or run up and down a major scale slowly. Between warm up scales, stretch your fingers lightly. Just before you feel that big pull, stop and hold.
Practicing the same thing repeatedly can be pretty bad and very tiring for the muscles. This might seem contradicting, as we get better by only; Eating, sleeping, practice; repeat. But kind of use the example of going to the gym. You dont get big muscles from using the same weights machine 7 days a week for 3 hours a day…If all you are doing is building biceps, you will cause damage. This kind of works in the same way. If all you are doing is lots of barre chords, then you will over do those muscles.
It’s pretty straight forward advice so you might be aware of these 2 tips, but try to vary your practice.