Anybody Else Suffering from Sore Wrists, Hands, and Forearms? | Forums

[Nematod180]

I used to have a lot of problems with wrists and forearms but now I stretch a lot and it really helps. I warm up with easy songs and stretch as soon as I can, while waiting for RS to load something and even during songs when there is a break in the guitar part's. I find it helps the pain and kind of losens the claw of death, being a beginner I do that a lot. I tend to tense up in my shoulders as well so I try to relax them as often as I can.

[revtime]

I too had some wrist pain after the first couple of months. I started stretching for 10 to 15 minutes before I play and paying particular attention to my posture and technique. If you play sitting down make sure the guitar is on your left leg (right handed players) I never even thought about that at first but once you start doing it it feels way more natural. After watching Malikons video over on Mylespaul.com I fixed all my bad posture and playing techniques. No pain in my wrist anymore and I can play for longer periods of time without fatigue.
If you have pain stop and figure out why. Do not put yourself in a position where you can not play anymore or are severely limited due to an injury that could have been prevented.

[BobPeters61]

I've sometimes wondered if there's some known repetitive motion injury common among guitarists, and what could be done such as hand positioning to prevent it. I know pianists can get carpel tunnel if they don't sit with their elbows higher than their wrists, but what of guitar.

[RiffAddict]

I'm not making progress

The reason you are not making progress and have pain is because your technique is poor. In fact it will be crippling if you ignore your poor technique and continue to play the way you have been. Playing guitar in a way that is resulting in pain, numbness, and weakness, only leads to further lack of control which only further exacerbates the problem. It is a vicious cycle which will lead to a completely failed journey of guitar playing. You will not play through the pain.

I realize you are posting this to seek some reassurance that you are not alone, but to seek guidance on a Rocksmith forum? Come on guy you have always struck me as smarter than that. Put the guitar down, see a doctor. Don’t wait until a minor problem becomes crippling.

[RiffAddict]

PS...after you are finished with the doctor go find a good guitar instructor and work on your technique.

The best

[JTCoop]

I didn't exactly say I'm not making progress overall. The entire sentence was: "I've been trying to focus on not cla.mping down on the frets with the jaws of life grip, but I noticed last night that when I'm not making progress and start to get frustrated I start squeezing harder and harder." Overall, I'm making pretty good progress on guitar - especially for a drummer! But, when I run into a wall, I tend to tense up and any technique issues tend to go out the window. Then, as you said, things spiral downhill quickly.

At that point things become more psychological than physical for me. I get a bit angry with myself, keep pushing, and on some bizarre level welcome the discomfort as my just "punishment" for sucking. As whacky as this may sound, it actually works for me. Eventually I sort of break through some invisible barrier and play the phrase or song or whatever. I definitely don't recommend this approach!

I wasn't seeking medical advice for sure and I'm not at a point where I feel like I need to see my doc over this (I keep her pretty busy with cholesterol issues and liver counts already). I was really seeking more of what I've seen here: stretching tips, postures, techniques, etc.

Certainly if I hadn't gotten a dozen or more replies from others saying that they too had had these symptoms, I would be freaking out a little. It would appear, though, that it's not just me and there is admittedly some comfort in that. Lots of others have had some physical issues related to playing. Nobody had really brought it up before, though. If the thread has any wider value I would hope that it will raise awareness that there are some health issues to be considered here. I think it's important to realize that playing for hours on end without stretching or minding your posture and technique can have some seriously detrimental effects.

(The issue of knowing when to lay off and take a break is a wholly different issue. Using physical pain as a cue is probably not the ideal approach, but that's a personality thing that no doctor or guitar teacher is likely to break me of anytime soon.)

[D3ViLBrInGeR]

you ALWAYS have to warm up your muscles a bit before you start playing, or you could get some serious injuries, specially in your wrist, but don't panic that much, since your wrist is trying to get more used to the complicated motions you make when playing, if you feel pain in your wrist, take a little break and strech and move your wrists, it will get some tension off from them and you will be able to play again in a couple mins...

you won't even believe how my wrist is completely aching with solo2 of carol of the bells, but im almost up to speed

[TonyFarkas]

I get wrist and forearm when I play breaking the law a few times back to back.

[JTCoop]

I'm sure everyone in Sam's Club was wondering what the heck my problem was when I was walking around stretching my wrists and fingers Saturday. . . But it sure felt good.

I also tried the very counter-intuitive suggestion to put the guitar on your left knee when sitting (for right-handed players). I had never heard that and never noticed anyone doing it before. I rarely play sitting down, but I tried this over the weekend and it is suprisingly comfortable.

[Guitar-Wench]

The left knee is great. I swapped to using it a couple of years ago. Made a world of difference in my playing and reach.
I have extremely small hands and right knee position just makes reaching the top E string darn near impossible ( the fretboard is almost wider than my pinky is long)