Lately, my left hand (I play right handed) has not been lasting very long, and I'm getting very frustrated. I think I play way different than most people, I always press my thumb of my left hand into the middle of the back of the neck. Is there a better way to do it, or are there any exersizes I can do? Thanks.

hey mellem, I used to experience pain in my left hand as well, until i came upon some interesting posts here at talkbass. someone suggested drinking plenty of water to keep your ligaments and joints well lubed. now i drink water like if i do it enough i'm going to win something. the result--pain free hands and many trips to the restroom. try it.

Drinking water helps alot. It also sounds as if you are pushing your thumb too hard on the back of the neck, hence your sore thumb and lack of power/endurance. IMO, you need to develop a lighter touch. There are heaps of threads about this, just do a search and type in "lighter touch". if you warm up alot, you wont have to put as much effort into moving your fingers as much and you wont have to push as hard on the back of the neck, so warm up alot (smartest thing ive said all day :eek: :D)
Good Luck and keep us posted

Are those little finger exercise dohickey's any good? (the ones with 4 sprung buttons. hold it in the hand and squeeze)

I occasionally get a bit of pain in my left wrist.

I work in IT and I use a computer keyboard all day and then of course in the evenings I'm practicing rehearsing gigging etc. So my wrists do get a hard time.
When I feel my wrist getting a little uncomfortable I wear a wrist support bandage which I bought in a sports shop. Works great for me!

maybe this is just me, but before i sit down for a long time, i like to run my left hand/wrist under really warm water... i think it feels good and it helps a bit too.

Originally posted by lpbassics
maybe this is just me, but before i sit down for a long time, i like to run my left hand/wrist under really warm water... i think it feels good and it helps a bit too.

So i take it im not the only one that does that huh :D. Dunk your hands in warm soapy water for about 30 seconds, and not only does it feel nice, it automatically wamrs your fingers up. BUT be warned, after a while it starts to make your callouses deterioate...

I'm trying out all of these different water tricks and it seems to be helping. The pain isn't so much in my wrist, but when I have the first finger on the first fret and have to play with my pinky on the 4th (i.e: in Green Onions) the meat between my thumb and first finger gets sore. My step dad told me that the muscle tears and that I need to take breaks on certain days. Are there any pinky stretching exercizes I need to know about?