Possible CTS or RSI: I can't play guitar for awhile...

i can see why this is a big problem. i've been worried about my left hand lately since i've been getting some tingling.

yo should see a doctor even if you have to pay yourself. rest alone will help but you should see someone and get some physical therapy. (disclaimer: im a physical therapist.) You need exercise, stretching, etc.

listen the pearlthekat!

a long time ago I thought I had CTS. I could not do anything. sleep was even painful. I had the electrical test. and we discovered my wrist was fine. the trouble was in my neck C7 vertebrae was pinched and it effected my hand. I went through the P.T. learned that my posture was wrong and worked through the years to learn and achieve better posture. my 'CTS' went away. get the tests and find out. it will be worth it. five years after that incident I had a gig were I played for five hours. not one problem.
you should be able to play guitar again.

I have a sprianed wrist that is slow healing. I am going to take pearlthekats advice and get checked.

I've had problems with my left hand ever since I severed a tendon a couple of years back, just where the middle finger meets the back of the hand. I was about a month or so in plaster, and as soon as that was off, I was back to the guitar again.

The first thing I noticed was that my hand was a lot weaker, and less flexible. Over time, I've recovered some of the former strength, but by no means all of it - from having no trouble at all playing barre chords (except for getting my fingers in the right places!) I had to strain to hold one down, especially a Bm or F#m. So I've adapted - most barre chords I now play with my thumb fretting the bass notes. Most people would tell you this isn't good musical practise, but hell, if I play a full song using barre chords, my hand tends to cramp up.

As for flexibility - I can no longer do a five-fret stretch like I used to do. I've been struggling, for example, with the intro to "Under The Bridge." (see tab in Easy Songs.) I just have to live with that - the knuckle where the tendon was severed is a mass of scar tissue, and it's twice as big as the corresponding knuckle on my right hand. Playing guitar a lot has helped with that - gradually, I've regained a lot of flexibility, but again, not all.

What you could try is playing with the lightest strings possible - I use 9's on all my guitars now, and have the action as low as possible. I played a friend's Strat - with 10's for about an hour or so a few weeks back, and my hand was really aching the next day, so I'm convinced that the lighter gauge works for me. I'd use 8's if I could get away with them, but in my experience, the top E snaps far too easily.

Like Pearl said, rest & recuperation is usually the key - in my case, I actually played - for the first couple of months anyway - in quite a bit of pain, but where guitars are concerned I'm very impatient - I just want to PLAY! I do tend to get an ache these days in the ball of my thumb that's pretty much permanently there, but it's one of those things I'll just have to live with. The other option's not playing guitar, and I won't even think about that!

Hope it's nothing serious, Dennis!

:D :D :D

Vic

Playing position can be a major issue with wrist problems. Playing with a low-slung, horizontal guitar makes you bend your fretting wrist around at a very cramped angle to play. Puts a lot of strain on tendons. The more closely you approach the guitar, arm and hand arrangement of the classical guitarists' playing position, the better off you'll be. May not look "cool," but it works.

Just a possibility to consider: You use a Blackberry or similar? I use a Pearl (that's a Blackberry, not 'thecat :wink: ) extensively and found that I had developed Blackberry thumb on my left (fretting) hand only. Took a while to figure out it was unrelated to guitar. One day the light just dawned... Had to modify very consistently my use of the BB. Months later the thumb finally is getting better.

Might not be the guitar at all.
If you are keyboarding with bad ergonomics for long periods that'll hurt you too.

I had a bout with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and still have sensitivity to long keyboard sessions.

Use Search and look up the proper way to position and use computer keyboards. Makes a big difference.

Early treatment is Ibuprofen, ice, and rest.

My case was so bad that the only thing that has really helped beyond striving for perfect hand positioning on the keybard was learning to type in Dvorak layout for best finger efficiency. Makes me incompatible with "standard" key layout but has been well worth it.

Good luck! DO NOT JUST PUSH THRU THIS or damage will become permanent!

Might not be the guitar at all.
If you are keyboarding with bad ergonomics for long periods that'll hurt you too.

Exactly my point.

I hate to hear you're going through this. Hope it gets better soon.

Just a thought on guitar playing though. Maybe you can set one on your lap, face up, and do some slide for a few months? It's quite a different angle and may not put anywhere near as much stress on your wrist.

Hey, man, sorry to hear about your painful wrist.

I hope you get well soon and discover it has nothing to do with the guitar. :twisted:

Dennis,

I hope it gets better soon. If you can, see a doctor.

Tim

Vic: Have you thought about using all 8s except for the high E string?

Vic: Have you thought about using all 8s except for the high E string?

ummmm - no..... :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

But wouldn't that involve buying a set of 8's then buying an extra 9 for the top E? One problem is, there's no guitar shop in town - so it costs me the equivalent of a set of guitar strings to go to the nearest town that actually has a guitar shop. Then I usually buy four/five sets at a time, so buying the extra strings would be the equivalent of buying another extra set - and I'm on a very tight budget. Tighter than Mick Jagger's 70's stage pants, in fact.

As it happens, I'm fairly comfortable with 9's - my Tele's got a lovely low smooth action, smoother than melted chocolate flowing over warm glass, my Squier's set up for slide, and my acoustic's got a pretty low action too. It's been a LONG time since I tried 8's - and I always used to get an extra top E! - but I think they'd be a bit too thin for the fairly huge bends I use.

Matter of fact, does anyone know of a top guitarist who uses 8's? I can only think of a couple who use 9's - Jeff Beck (I think!) and Francis Rossi of Status Quo. And Rossi's partner in crime/ twin lead and rhythm guitarist uses 13's!

:D :D :D

Vic

I've heard that Billy Gibbons uses 8s, but I don't know if it's true.

As for lap slide, I have more trouble with median nerve numbness (I have some CTS) when I play that way than in Spanish position. (Or at least in the absolutely atrocious position I'm usually in playing with an upright guitar on my lap when I'm sitting.) Putting it up on a table in front of me instead of on my lap helps a lot.

But wouldn't that involve buying a set of 8's then buying an extra 9 for the top E? One problem is, there's no guitar shop in town - so it costs me the equivalent of a set of guitar strings to go to the nearest town that actually has a guitar shop. Then I usually buy four/five sets at a time, so buying the extra strings would be the equivalent of buying another extra set - and I'm on a very tight budget. Tighter than Mick Jagger's 70's stage pants, in fact.

Vic

Or you could order up a custom set from somewhere online and get exactly the gauges you want... :wink: