Hi guys im going to make this short. Ive been playing for 5 years and practice daily for at least 45 mins a day. Ive noticed recently that my thumb is on my freting hand is starting to get uncomfortable when i play. Ive never had this happen before and im starting to get worried that it might get worse over time.and advice would be appreciated music is my life and i dont want anything getting in my way
Thumb discomfort
- Thread starter isaac scott
- Start date
J
Jak Angelescu
Guest
Hey there Isaac! What kind of neck do you play on? I once played on a friend’s guitar (who she had developed a repetitive stress injury from playing) and I couldn’t even play on it for 10 minutes without my thumb hurting. Her neck was super thin. Way thinner than what I was use to. But for her, it felt like nothing until three or five years after playing. Is there anyway you could get your hands on another guitar to see if it hurts as bad? Keep in mind, it will STILL hurt to some degree if some stress damage has been done.
Also, there’s a student on here who made a GREAT video about the “Most Pressure Needed”. After watching his lesson, I realized I was gripping the fuck and squeezing the hell out of my neck when I didn’t need to. Perhaps you could evaluate your pressure?
Lastly, be sure there is no weakness in the finger muscles, hand muscles or arm muscles that would encourage your thumb muscle and joints to make up for it. I hope this helps. Music is my life too, and I hope we can catch whatever this is early!
Also, there’s a student on here who made a GREAT video about the “Most Pressure Needed”. After watching his lesson, I realized I was gripping the fuck and squeezing the hell out of my neck when I didn’t need to. Perhaps you could evaluate your pressure?
Lastly, be sure there is no weakness in the finger muscles, hand muscles or arm muscles that would encourage your thumb muscle and joints to make up for it. I hope this helps. Music is my life too, and I hope we can catch whatever this is early!
First off thank you so much its cool that not only did you answer fast but you gave me multiple ways to go about.so to be short I really appreciate your help. Anyways I use a viper with a thin c and a dbz with a thicker epi type neck .it feels about the same on both. Ive tried doing forarm stretches thinking maybe it was tight and might be pulling on my thumb which helped a small amount. Il definitely check out that video though. I did notice I do grip my neck in a unusual way. For example ive noticed most people put their thumbs on top of the neck when they bend or do a vibrato where I put my thumb on the bottom of the neck. Once again thanks so much for the help
I used to get cramps in my thumb from too much pressure. I also switched to a thinner neck and that seemed to help a little bit. Play around a bit, maybe change up where you put your thumb, and see what’s comfortable. Everyone has different preferences because everyone’s hands are different sizes, so what’s perfect for one person can be next to unplayable for someone else.
May I ask how do you mean putting thumb on the bottom of the neck? Do you mean behind the neck or is this a way of bending I’m not aware about. Generally any kind of pain in whatever limb comes from applying force on it in a wrong way(like wrong direction which makes it concentrate at one specific spot making the stress at that spot very high(stress is force per area)) this can cause some pain. If do have severe pain issues while playing it may be a good idea to review your stance for a bit to check whether that’s the problem.
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