Easy playing guitar for someone with Carpal Tunnel?

[guitarcat46]

It's not the end of the world, but I found out that I have carpal tunnel. My fretting hand kills me at times. It's pretty much going to change the way I practice, and approach my guitar playing.

 

I'm considering getting a Squier Telecaster, or Vintage Modified Jaguar. Which do you think would be easier on my hands? I've always wanted a Tele, but maybe the Jaguar would be a better choice due to the shorter scale length (Less tension?) I think either of the two will be a big difference from my Les Paul.

 

I'm also considering trying a set of 8s for my strings. I think it will be alright, because

right now it's just chords for me.

 

Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

[mrbrown49]

Get something with a fat neck that keeps your hand in an "open" position when playing. You want your wrist straight so wear your guitar up higher, and your fingers arched like you are holding a softball.

[Mr Songwriter]

I think you'd definitely find the Jaguar easier on your fretting hand with the 24" scale, the fretboard might feel a bit cramped though. If you've still got your heart set on a Tele, Warmoth do 24.75" conversion necks for Teles etc.

[-Assy-]

a high quality guitar with really low action and a thick neck. really big strings, but play in like D standard, or C# standard.

[guitarcat46]

From your responses, it sounds like maybe my Les Paul neck isn't as bad as I thought.

Maybe I just need to change my style of playing.

 

Other than a Les Paul, what other types of brands should I check out?

I'm definitely getting a new guitar anyway.

[Elias Graves]

Definitely check out a Jag with light strings. The 24" scale is easy to play. Less tension and shorter reaches.

Maybe work some slide in there?

 

EG

[notjonahbutnoah]

This input is good, 24'' a good Idea.

 

 

Get something with a fat neck that keeps your hand in an "open" position when playing. You want your wrist straight so wear your guitar up higher, and your fingers arched like you are holding a softball.

 

 

I wanna really second this fat neck suggestion. I get mixed up on what fat and wide mean though. Fat implied thickness from the fretboard surface to the back of the neck where your palm area is, and wide is like it has more space in between strings and the frets would be longer, no?

 

If that's the case, you want fat and narrow w/ a 24'' scale. I got me some little hands. I do enjoy Fenders, but I prefer Gibsons, and the scale length is a big part of it. The comfort is superior. It just feels more organic to grab a smaller, rounder neck vs. a big wide flat thing. It works with your hand instead of bringing it to attention, military style.

 

But then again... I don't know if it hurts to scrunch up your hand, or to reach it out. From your post it almost sounds like scrunching them up is worse, if that's the case, go Fender. Lighter strings is always an option too. The big strings but tuned down idea might also be something to try on a rainy afternoon.

 

Good luck!

[Arr0wHead]

For Carpal Tunnel specifically, the key is keeping your wrist straight when you play. Therefore, guitar does NOT matter at all - the important thing is HAND POSITION. I had to drop out of college as a jazz performance major due to carpal. I thought my playing career was over, but that was 15 years ago and I still play for hours every day. I have 16 guitars, all with different setups and specs - thin necks, thick necks, wide, skinny, etc.... As far as carpal there is NO DIFFERENCE as long as I play with my hand straight. I can get soreness for other reasons, but this is completely unrelated.

 

The thing with carpal is that when you bend your wrist and then do fine movements with your fingers (like typing, piano, guitar, etc..) the flexed muscles in your forearm will bear down upon the channel your nerves flow through before reaching your hand. This channel is the "carpal tunnel". If you can avoid activities that put your arms into a compromising position, you'll be ok. Just work on changing that hand position, though, because once Carpal onsets it can get worse very very fast. I was at the point that every time I played, after about 10 minutes my two middle fingers on my fret hand would go completely numb and stay that way.

[Elias Graves]

Interesting.

 

EG

[Arr0wHead]

A couple additions -

 

As someone said, play with your guitar up high. This naturally reduces the angle of your wrist with little effort.

 

Watch tasks OTHER than playing guitar. Sometimes while you may notice it most with guitar, it may be other things causing the most damage. Typing, piano, I even know a contractor who aggravated it by using a manual screwdriver constantly. The bending wrist and twisting motions made his carpal unbearable, but once he started using his electric screwdriver more it subsided.

[profgalen]

All the suggestions are good. I'd go for the 24" scale. Fatter necks are always a +. I was diagnosed with Crappy Tunnel Systems myself.

I swear this works. Not a joke. Every day spray your wrists with WD40. Let it soak in for about 10 min., wipe it off. I'm not a doctor. But this really helps.

[video=youtube;wQwvwh4Njtk]

[Philfixit]

Been living with carpal tunnel for about 16 years. It's not too painful most of the time, but my fretting hand goes numb fairly rapidly. I found that sitting while playing gets the guitar up high enough to avoid this, but strapping it up equally high doesn't help as much.

Avoiding conditions (other than playing) that exacerbate (such as repetitive tasks while working) the symptoms helps, if you can do it. I work in shipping/receiving, and pull pallets on a pallet jack for hours every day. Some of these pallets weigh over 3000 pounds. I can't change my habits @ work without losing my job.

I feel for ya!

[guitarcat46]

 

All the suggestions are good. I'd go for the 24" scale. Fatter necks are always a +. I was diagnosed with Crappy Tunnel Systems myself. I swear this works. Not a joke. Every day spray your wrists with WD40. Let it soak in for about 10 min., wipe it off. I'm not a doctor. But this really helps.

 

 

I've never heard that one before. I'd definitely give it a try though!

Thanks for the tip!

[Arr0wHead]

If you take care of yourself and fix any bad habits now, speed and technique won't pose a problem for you. I play plenty fast, and the only limit is practice time, NOT pain.

 

The big thing is to work on a classical style hand position. Think of someone like Paul Gilbert - fingers spread apart, arm and wrist nearly straight. Also, keeping the guitar between your legs instead of over your right leg (left leg, for us lefties!).

 

If you take a gander at this video I did, you can clearly see what I mean by hand position. I'm not perfect at all times, but you can see how relatively straight my forearm and playing hand are. With the guitar down low, your hand can be bent almost 90 degrees, which will exacerbate things greatly.

 

[video=youtube;hftCRprkFCo]

[Arr0wHead]

Oh, and don't go soaking in WD-40. Firstly, it's the massaging that helps the tendons and arthritis, NOT the WD-40. A little icy hot would do the same, probably better. SECONDLY, Carpal Tunnel is NOT arthritis, or tendonitis, which is what that video is addressing. You're not going to be rubbing that WD-40 all the way through your muscles and into the giant bundle of nerves underneath.

[guitarcat46]

If you take care of yourself and fix any bad habits now, speed and technique won't pose a problem for you. I play plenty fast, and the only limit is practice time, NOT pain. The big thing is to work on a classical style hand position. Think of someone like Paul Gilbert - fingers spread apart, arm and wrist nearly straight. Also, keeping the guitar between your legs instead of over your right leg (left leg, for us lefties!). If you take a gander at this video I did, you can clearly see what I mean by hand position. I'm not perfect at all times, but you can see how relatively straight my forearm and playing hand are. With the guitar down low, your hand can be bent almost 90 degrees, which will exacerbate things greatly.

 

Cool video! I see what you mean about the hand position. Honestly, I never really paid that much attention to my hand position in the past. Now that I'm aware of the problems it can cause, I'm definitely going to work on it! It definitely gives me hope as far as attaining goals I have set for myself on guitar. Thanks again for the advice!

 

As far as the WD-40 trick goes. I thought it was interesting at first. I understand it does not apply to Carpal Tunnel. However, after thinking about it, do I really want to spray what is in WD-40 on my skin? I'll have to take a look at the ingredients, but it doesn't sound like such a great idea for anyone anyway (That's just my opinion!)

 

Thanks to everyone in this thead that responded with advice, and took the time to chime in! Hopefully, if someone else has Carpal Tunnel, this info can help them along too!

[GAS Man]

I recently bought a Fender Mustang and combining the 24" scale with the stock 9-42 gauge strings, makes that guitar the most supple playing guitar I own. I do also have two different Jaguars (a traditional and a HB model) but the Mustang is less bulky and quite lightweight compared to the Jaguars.

 

They also have a pretty unique voice with their parallel and series modes.

 

Try one, you'll like it. If you want the same idea on a budget, then a Duo Sonic.

['s mel gibson]

 

I recently bought a Fender Mustang and combining the 24" scale with the stock 9-42 gauge strings, makes that guitar the most supple playing guitar I own. I do also have two different Jaguars (a traditional and a HB model) but the Mustang is less bulky and quite lightweight compared to the Jaguars. They also have a pretty unique voice with their parallel and series modes. Try one, you'll like it. If you want the same idea on a budget, then a Duo Sonic.

 

 

I think Mustangs have a 22.5 inch scale length.

[GAS Man]

 

I think Mustangs have a 22.5 inch scale length.

 

 

Mine's 24" according to the specs here

 

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0273706554

 

The poplar body adds to the light weight.

[kulardenu]

I sprayed a very small amount of WD-40 in the general direction of a run away hamster once to coax it out of a closet... Killed it! Also is a killer for any exoskeletal creature. Will wipe out a wasp nest quicker than {censored}. Go ahead spray it on your Ex but leave it off your wrists...

[GAS Man]

I sprayed a very small amount of WD-40 in the general direction of a run away hamster once to coax it out of a closet... Killed it! Also is a killer for any exoskeletal creature. Will wipe out a wasp nest quicker than shit. Go ahead spray it on your Ex but leave it off your wrists...

 

"I did not know that"

 

[Cortfan]

WD 40 is mainly mineral spirits and mineral oil.

[caveman]

I was at the point where I couldn't play more than a couple of minutes at a time and V necks saved my careerer. Deep in the middle for endurance and have no unnecessary, extra shoulder wood to reach around. As long as the set list isn't stacked with strings of back barre chord songs, I can do 4 sets with only minimal problems.

[phaeton]

I'm late to this thread, but I'll offer what I've discovered.

 

My issue is a combination of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tendonitis. There are three things that you should really look at:

 

1) Guitar neck profile- Just like you said. I can generally noodle lead type stuff for days, but what kills me are barre chords. I've found that the fatter, baseball-bat necks with the smallest radius (meaning the frets are more curved) are best for this. Think 335s and old strats. You'll probably find similar results, but how thick and how much radius will depend on the geometry of your own hand. It turns out that for me, a Jackson Dinky with a compound radius neck is my silver bullet. I don't know if that style of guitar is what you're after, but play one sometime, as Warmoth makes a compound radius neck for whatever guitar you want to have.

 

2) Technique- this is probably the most important. I'm reinventing my entire approach. Play a barre chord on your guitar now, and just hold onto it while you look at it. Look for unnecessary effort. I used to try to keep my index finger flat across the neck, but I was redundantly holding down strings that were handled by other fingers. Now I arch my finger a little, and only hold down the strings on the ends. Try different thumb positions and see if it requires less work. For scales, I'm practicing them agonizingly slow. I will play one note, and stop and look at how my hand is on the neck. I will see how my finger is coming down on the string (right on the finger tip), where it is on the string (right behind the fret bar), where my wrist is (as for towards the fretboard as possible) and I'll pay attention to all the muscles in play. Once again, look for unnecessary effort. Figure out the least amount of pressure you need to fret the string.

 

3) Rest- this is the hard one. If your problem is CTS, then it is basically swollen tissue that compresses nerves in a tunnel in your wrist. The swelling is from overuse, whether it's guitar, work, or whatever. It's hard to give your hands a few days off. Ibuprofen and nsaids can reduce the swelling and restore function, but they can also allow you to injure it more without knowing it. Basically, you have to be continuously conscious of what you're doing with your hands and whether or not it's going to aggravate the condition. Got an ergonomic keyboard? If you say no I'll suggest you one. If you can get used to it it'll be the best $28 you'll spend in awhile. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Try to take breaks, even small ones with anything that you're doing with your hands. I switch off the 'dominant' hand when driving, eating or writing. Whenever you feel pain or fatigue, either switch hands or stop, even if it's only 10 seconds or a minute. Longer is better, of course.

 

 

Some things that people suggest but I've not investigated fully:

 

1) Vitamin supplements, namely B-Complex, Glucosamine, Chondritin and shark cartilage stuff. There's also "muscle restorers" that bodybuilders use that are designed to accelerate healing of muscle and connective tissue. I've never tried these personally.

 

2) Massage therapy - Site specific massages (either by yourself or a trained individual) decrease swelling and increase blood flow to the affected area, which can entice healing. Regular massages have cured tendonitis in some people, and for CTS the malady has a similar origin.

 

3) Strength training- This is controversial, and probably helps CTS less than Tendonitis. In theory, building up more muscle and connective tissue means that the work is shared among more tissue, and overuse is decreased. However, in some people attempts to build up the strength just aggravates the condition and makes it worse. I *have* noticed that sometimes if i'm doing some heavy lifting type stuff at work for a week or so, my tendonitis seems to lessen quite a bit.

 

That's all i've got time for. I hope you can find a way around it. As I understand it, people with RSIs can return to playing like before, but they've got to remain mindful of things like the above.

[McCain]

:)

There's always.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bForKx2Y5WY