Fretting hand wrist pain

nbw · #1 01-08-2008, 10:57 PM

Has anyone else here ever get pains on the wrist of their fretting hand? I cant figure out why or how change my stance/technique up to avoid this. Currently I wear the bass really high to try to keep my fretting wrist straight as possible when playing but I simply cant get comfortable playing on the low fretts no matter where I hold the bass. My guess is that it is the slight twist of my wrist at that area of the neck since my elbow cant go out that far to keep it straight. I'm not a big guy and my bass is a 34' scale(6string bass so it also has a fairly wide neck as well).
Does anyone have any advice? After going through the major pains on my plucking hand a year or so ago do to having my wrist severely bent I have learned that it is best to solve the problem as soon as possible!

Valerus · #2 01-08-2008, 11:01 PM

My fretting wrist hurts a lot after a while. I don't strain it or anything, it just happens.

Doctor says to take 4 aleve (which acts as an anti-inflammatory). It works. I just wish it didn't happen in the first place.

nickk · #3 01-10-2008, 08:10 AM

My wrist hurts me also, but it normally when I'm trying to play up/down a scale and I decide to speed it up a bit. It feels as if the pain hops off the frett-board and unto my wrist, and won't get off. I think its because I'm new to the bass guitar, but I hope, with continuous practice over time, it will stop.

iamlowsound · #4 01-10-2008, 07:06 PM

Can you take a picture? I am sure that you know that you are supposed to keep it straight at all times (well as much as possible). Here is a picture of me playing in third position. I am in the middle of a pull off, but you can see how I can bring my fingers back down onto the fretboard without bending the wrist too much.

Try playing with a 124 pattern on the lower frets, helps out a lot. Also try moving your hand around more, don't stretch if it is causing you to bend your wrist.

lowsound

jschwalls · #5 01-14-2008, 12:59 AM

most of the time wrist pain is due to how low the bass is being played.... i have seen this alot with my students, and it is a common complaint. Wearing the bass low looks very cool but can cause some problems. Look at iamlowsound he has great arm/hand positions.

My problem is that i have arms like a T-REX, so i am kinda forced to wear my bass higher.. i always suggest sitting down in a chair, back straight, and adjust the strap to where it almost rest on your leg.... when it is done, your natural tendency to lean over will allow the bass the rest perfectly on your leg and you won't be force to hold the neck up and into position as well. So when you stand up to play, none of your practice habits will have to change... OLD NEWS !!

And, If you are blessed with long arms, you will still look cool

HaVIC5 · #6 01-14-2008, 11:37 AM

Wearing your bass very high and very perpindicular. is a no-no as far as I'm concerned, especially if you're playing a 6-string. Playing the lowest string and the low notes requires some odd contortions of the hand that, while the wrist may be straight, still puts a strain on it. I'd recommend setting your bass a little lower and adjusting the angle so its closer to a 45 degree angle. You'll find playing lower on the neck is a lot more comfortable and requires far less strain.

markjazzbassist · #7 01-14-2008, 12:01 PM

- get a good setup and lower your action
- try and balance (make equal) the tasks you do in your normal life with both hands (switch back and forth)
- do some light stretching before you play
- try working out (exersize) and doing cardio (not necessarily before you play, just incorporating it into your lifestyle) - i've found that getting the blood flow going solves lots of aches and such

nbw · #8 01-15-2008, 04:08 PM

Not the best angle but that is the best I can do with one hand.
(added: I never have any neck pains as a result of playing my bass as the angle of this picture could imply. So with that said, as dumb as it my sound I wonder if this is actually how I uncontiously wear the bass.. lol)

As you can see I wear it quite high, actually it's the same height it is when I play play it on my lap. I wear it like this because I need the strap when playing it on my lap do to the severe neck dive this bass has. I also like to hit a lot of the higher notes and it is simply a lot easier to do so at this height. So pretty much spot on to what jschwalls said. Although I still dont look cool.

This bass does need a new setup though or I should say a slight truss rod adjustment. The last person to set it up was Greg Curbow(

) when I purchased it in 04 it hasn't been touched since then. But it isn't the low end of the neck that I have any recent complaints about it is the high end(twords body), but that isn't were I'm feeling any discomfort/pain from.

HaVIC5 pretty much hit the nail on the head, but although the angle of the picture would imply otherwise I don't wear the bass so high that I dont get much of an angle from it. I'd guess it is somewhere 65' degrees depending on where I am at the neck. And again wearing it lower makes it difficult and again even painfull to accurately play on the higher end of the bass twords the body. But unless I drop it quite low I the low end of the bass is still far far enough away to make it somewhat uncomfortable to play on.
From taking the picture I noticed I dropped my left arm's elbow a few times almost touching the neck which creates a major twist in my wrist!. Perhaps I've developed a bad habit of this when I start getting tired. Something to keep an eye on for sure as I've never noticed it before.

Edit:I've been practicing sitting down since this post and since it is on the mind I've been paying attention to it more. I'm getting this tention even when playing in the middle of the neck and it it seems to be focused twords the pinky/wrist area. Like when doing fairly long stretches with the pinky as in the 1st three notes of a major scale on one string.

jollygiantchris · #9 01-15-2008, 06:38 PM

I was getting a lot of wrist and forearm pain and it seemed to be due to pressing down on the strings way too hard. Maybe thats your problem?

Wootsticks · #10 01-16-2008, 06:02 AM

I've read somewhere somewhere that for the low position, you have to angle the bass up more so it'll be more 'natural'. I don't remember where I read it or if it'll help, but something might happen!

Bayonet · #11 05-10-2011, 08:34 PM

What is 124 on lower frets?

KalTM · #12 05-10-2011, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bayonet

What is 124 on lower frets?

Instead of the "one finger per fret" method of fingering notes, you would use your first, second, and fourth finger over 3 frets. Its less of a stretch and easier on the hand/wrist.