Pain in my wrist

[metalstorm]

I have this pain in my wrist that comes occaisionally, and i usually stop playing my bass for a couple of days and it goes away. The odd thing about this pain is, it doesnt hurt while i am playing. Only when I apply pressure to my palm. (Imagine doing push ups). Should I be worried about this?

[Depth_Charge]

I get that as well. I think it happens by putting extra pressure on the wrist joints through poor technique. I have been revising my technique and have found some strategies to minimise and resolve the pain issues, but it's a ten year habit I'm breaking here.

Most people will tell you to get a teacher.

I just checked some TB resources on threads similar to yours and tried some of what I read within. None of what I tried was worse than I was doing, and most was better.

I think if you approach your technique as "the path to least resistance", you're off to a pretty good start IMO - most beginners hold an instrument with a death grip...

[metalstorm]

I have a feeling that it has something to do with playing in first position on my dingwall 6 string.

[PrimusNut]

Use the search function.. Wrist pain comes up at LEAST once a week. I get wrist pina occasionally, but it has gotten much better since I adjusted my technique. Mine is mostly because I injured both of my wrists in a fall when I was young and playing bass just makes them hurt. Try to find a way to play where your wrists barely need to bend, and loosen your grip on the neck (assuming this is you fretting hand).

[FretlessArt]

Originally Posted by metalstorm

I have a feeling that it has something to do with playing in first position on my dingwall 6 string.

Dingwall fanned fret 6 string? Treat yourself to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Its a paradox farm my friend.

My Warwick infinity bass is long scale and heavy. The church gig has a lot of first position playing and I often have wrist pain when using this particular bass. If I sit down and play the Warwick I don't have any problems.
The same gig on my shorter lighter basses are painless. Ergonomics issue.

[metalstorm]

yeah, i believe it is from the dingwall, but i love the bass so much, i just have to try to adjust my hand position although it is quite hard to do it.

[Depth_Charge]

I've never seen a Dingwall except on TB pics, but aren't the fanned frets there to help relieve tension etc?

[Jason Gale]

I know exactly what you mean, after a while I had this lump grow. It turned out to be the fluid (whatever its called) that lubricates in between the joints had got infected. I just started taking Glucosamine & Cod Liver Oil tablets once a day, and it cleared up. Haven't had a problem since, Glucosamine is good for your joints so i recommend to all musicians!

Jase

[metalstorm]

Originally Posted by Depth_Charge

I've never seen a Dingwall except on TB pics, but aren't the fanned frets there to help relieve tension etc?

Dont get me wrong, the fanned frets are great and I love them, however playing the first four frets on a 37 inch scale b string on a six string neck is a little tricky for me as i have small hands.

Thanks for the advice Jason

[Jason Gale]

No problem dude, I hope it gets better soon! Nothing worse than an injury!

Jase

[munkyboy]

What hand do you mouse with? It took me a long time to figure out what was happening. Wrist stretches work really well for me. Hold your straight out, palm facing forward (like you're miming "Halt"). Then with your free hand, gently pull the fingers back and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times per day.

[gold_member_321]

Treat your bass like a woman, dont deathgrip her, caress her gently.

[Gar23]

As a bassist recovering from a wrist injury I think i may be able to help. My injury was 3 years old before i found a reliable doctor. Once I started therapy i had to refine my technique on both Double and ELectric if I wanted to keep playing.

The first thing to realize is that any tension is bad. This is much more evident for Double Bassists but I think there are still things that Electric players need to look at such as the use of dead weight. The arm is remarkably heavy, in fact its heavy enough to produce perfect tone on its own. But many people instead use force or muscle tension, This leads to severe injury more often than not. Unfortunately most plucking techniques on electric go against gravity which requires muscle tension. I am in the process of trying to transfer some of what i learned from Rabbath technique over to the electric, if anyone has further input on ideas like this i would love to hear them.

The only thing i can suggest is to eat well and get plenty of rest. Anything with Vitamin C should help the collagen repair your tendons and 9 or so hours of sleep, in a non wrist threatening posture should help. Remember that a day off here or there each week is more bearable than being forced to stop playing for half a year cause you over did it

[pretaanluxis]

I have the same problem. A couple things helped but I'm still struggling with it.
Setup your strings low so you can use a light touch..
Make sure you keep your wrist as straight as possible when playing, although I have found this to be very difficult to do on a 6 string!

Check out some previous threads:
Position
Playing bass - wrist problems?
HELP joint pain

Good luck, you have a tough journey ahead

[Yngwie 4String]

How long have you been playing, and for how often at a time. That used to happen to me when I started. If it doesnt go away, maybe switch to picking and see if that helps.

[RadioSilence]

It's a simple thing and you may have already tried it, but I noticed the pain in my wrist went away when I adjusted where my bass hung when I played it. I lowered it a few inches and my wrist pain went away completely.