Thumb Pain

[Alex Hall]

I always get thumb pain when playing barre chords! I have been playing for 5 coming onto 6 years now!! I try to relax my thumb and use as little pressure as i can when holding the neck as i’m playing a barre. Does anybody else get this and is there a solution to for this?

 

[Andrew Fernandes]

I get ring finger pain im not sure if its because i crack my knuckles but it maybe we are doing something wrong with our fingers with some wrong technique perhaps, i think in my situation i press to hard or tense up on the fretboard.

 

[idssdi]

When i have to play barre for a long period of time(4-5 minutes) without any kind of break from it I get cramps. Usually what i do at that point is playing barre chords the jimi hendrix way with the thumb over the top

 

[Kent Lindsay]

One way to avoid cramps and pain is to warm your hands up before playing. Stretch and massage them to help get the blood flowing through and loosen them up.
Then get your guitar and do some hand exercises on it. Start off slow and speed up as you go. Watch your technique to ensure you are not putting any undue pressure on your wrist or fingers. If you feel yourself tightening up, stop playing, relax your hands and start again at a slightly slower tempo.
If I try to start shredding without warming up my hands and arms will tense up and my playing becomes sloppy.

 

[Tory Capman]

I get similar pain with bar chords which has made me avoid them for years. I’ve recently been trying to use them more to expand my chord knowledge (I hate all B chords), would using a finger exerciser help strengthen the hand and eliminate the pain?

 

[Tory Capman]

[No message]