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Hand health?


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Sorry if this has been done before but I couldnt find anything on

 

Anyways here is my question...What do you do to keep your hands in good shape?

 

I practice as much as I can everyday and I have noticed a pain on the top of my left hand. Nothing serious but I have put the guitar down for a couple of days(which is a very hard thing for me to do :mad: ). I hate taking a break from guitar because whenever I am around one I have to pick it up. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about!

 

Also I was wondering if anyone knew some good stretches to do to reduce the risk of pain? What causes this pain in the first place?

 

I have also seen supplements that help tendons and ligaments grow better or something like that. Does anyone have any experience with taking these supplements and having good results with it?

 

I think this a problem a lot of musicians face and one that shouldnt be over-looked.

 

Thanks for any help :cool:

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The first thing I noticed you mentioning was that you practice as much as you can every day. That can be both good and bad! It's good for the obvious reasons, but bad if you're physically exerting yourself too much. Just like anything athletic, you need to give your body time to recover; otherwise, you'll eventually wear yourself down (rather than building yourself up) and run the risk of injury. So, in that regard, you might want to limit the strenuous practice to every other day; it can work wonders.

 

Pain is your body's way of saying 'stop! you're doing something wrong!'. Overdoing it is probably the most common problem. It can be a muscle issue, a tendon issue, a neurological problem, or even skeletal/joint related. Stretching exercises are good...but ONLY when they're done AFTER you're thoroughly warmed up. Bad posture is often the reason for pain/injury; there's a reason for 'proper technique'. ;) Stretching exercises can be anything that, well, stretches your hand/fingers...just be sure to start easy, and work up to harder stretches.

 

As for supplements, after a long period of being unable to play, when I started up again, I was impatient and overzealous, and quickly developed a mild case of tendinitis. I tried a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, and the problem went away quickly...and has not come back since. I know a lot of people who have used that stuff for a variety of problems, and the results have always been nothing short of amazing. :cool: Of course, drinking plenty of water and taking a good multivitamin is always a good idea as well.

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Dont ask me.. I think I have a dodgey middle finger on my left hand. The strings seem to cut in when I do bends and its quite annoying. Every so often it looks like its healing up and the skin grows back over but when I start playing guitar again the bends start to cut into my skin on that finger =/

 

annoying.. perhaps i should start using moisturser on my hands or something and see if that helps.

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Thanks for the reply Auggie.

 

Yeah I should start doing my really heavy practicing every other day or so but its just so hard to not do it every day! Guitar is like a drug:eek:

 

Maybe I will check out some glucosamine supplement. Do you have any recommendations as to which one to try out?

 

Thanks for all of the replys. If anyone else has any advice I would appreciate it greatly :)

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Originally posted by TornadoShaunUK

Dont ask me.. I think I have a dodgey middle finger on my left hand. The strings seem to cut in when I do bends and its quite annoying. Every so often it looks like its healing up and the skin grows back over but when I start playing guitar again the bends start to cut into my skin on that finger =/


annoying.. perhaps i should start using moisturser on my hands or something and see if that helps.

 

I'm not sure but it seems like putting moisturizer on your hands would make your skin softer and would cut in even more :confused:

 

I dont know though :)

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Originally posted by chino_151

Thanks for the reply Auggie.


Yeah I should start doing my really heavy practicing every other day or so but its just so hard to not do it every day! Guitar is like a drug:eek:

 

some instruments are even worse

Advancing brass player absolutely HAVE to stop, usually befor they are satisfied (as it's really physical)

 

sitar players' practice last a long long long time

 

 

anyway, some thoughts on the issue

 

 

1) there is plenty to do even without your instrument in hand...ear training, theory work, rhythm work...maybe you can do a little more of THAT on your off days

 

2) have someone check your position, your hand might not be a neutral as you need it to be. Nothing wrong with getting a tune up on your mechanics, we can dread it, but we need it

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