Injury or just muscle pain?

[desertstone]

Hi,

After long rehearsals (above 1.5 hrs), I sometimes feel pain a few hours later on the palm of my fretting hand (left). The exact places of pain are right below the thumb on the meaty part of my palm and also a less intense pain below the ring and pinky.

It is not an extreme pain and I can freely move my hand. It feels more like the pain when a muscle is worked out.

Has anybody experienced this? Do you think it is just part of the process of building hand strength?

Thanks

[Trapezius]

Maybe it's just muscle soreness if you're not used to play that much. If you're going to play for a long time, you have to do it often enough to keep your hands in shape. But it's hard to tell, people fell pain differently. My suggestion is to take it easy if you're not sure. Better safe than sorry.

[bomofiglio]

I would say it all depends on what you have been doing. If you've been doing basically the same thing for the past six months and this just popped up, its an injury. But if there is something new, it could be just your hand adjusting. Try to figure out what you have been doing differently, and practice that a little more, to get the hand used to it.

[bass player 48]

Originally Posted by desertstone

It is not an extreme pain and I can freely move my hand. It feels more like the pain when a muscle is worked out.

If it feels like the pain when a muscle is worked out, that's a good sign.

When you really want to worry is when there is pain in your wrist, or anything that clearly feels like tendons and not a muscle pain. That's where you'll screw your hand or wrist up.

I usually play for about 3-4 hours when I play with the band. Sometimes I wake up the next day with my left hand not sore, but as you say, the way your muscles feel the day after a work out. I've grown to love that feeling.


and not to derail - but... "After long rehearsals (above 1.5 hrs)" <-really? I wonder how many other people consider 1.5 hrs a long rehearsal. Clearly, you must be a begginer. that probably means that you need to be more carefull about slowly building endurance so that you don't hurt tendons while you're working out your muscle strength.... and above all, USE GOOD FORM. You can play for two days strait until you wear holes through every finger you have, and if you are keeping both Wrists strait, you'll be okay... but if you start playing with a bent wrist you can cause injury in no time skippy. Be carefull out there.

[millsbass5]

Sounds to me like you are "straining" too much.You know,not relaxing while you are fretting.That,IME,can lead to ALL kinds of physical issues.Try this,pay close attention to the body parts you are utilizing when playing.Also,are you "warming up" before playing?That helps immensely.Post back,let us know if any suggestion here helps.Good luck.

[JimmyM]

I'm going to have to take the side of caution here...it doesn't matter how long I've gone without playing...I can play all night long and never have a single pain in my hands anywhere. If you're getting pain, even if it feels like muscle soreness, it's not good. Investigate proper ergonomic left hand technique and make adjustments as necessary.

[Ron G]

If you are not using the 1-2-4 fingering system try it, I swicthed and my pain went away.

The 1-2-4 fingering system allows you to keep your hand relaxed and comfortable, paricularly when playing in the lower regions of the bass where the frets are father apart. Start with the pad of yor thumb in the middle of the neck; make sure it doesn't stick up over the top. The thumb is positioned between the first and second fingers.

1) Place your first finger directly behind the 1st fret of the E string, pressing down lightly.
2) Place your second finger on the 2nd fret.
3) Place your fourth finger on the 3rd fret. You can use your ring finger to help the 4th.

Keep your left hand relaxed when you play. Never forcibly stretch your hand or hold a position that feels strained.