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Does shaking your hand actually relieve pain?

T

Tupac

May 5, 2011
2,644
366
#1
I've seen Flea do that a lot between songs. Does that actually relieve anything? When my wrist starts to hurt after playing something with a large finger spread (like a scale), the most comfortable thing is to keep them straight out. Any bending hurts, I'd imagine shaking them would suck.
 
#5
I guess it could. There is a pain theory called the "pain gate theory". This theory basically says that pain nerves go through a gate at a junction. Also passing through that junction are nerves that sense feelings such as rubbing. If the nerves carrying rubbing signals (or shaking signals) overpower the pain nerves, it essentially closes the gate. This closing of the gate stops the pain, or diminishes it. This is why a dog will lick a cut or sore ankle. It's not to clean the wound, its that the sensation from the licking masks the pain.

So I would say that for some, shaking could mask pain. On the other hand Flea may just be shaking out the stiffness to loosen up. That cat plays with some serious furry.
 
#6
It can also be helpful for nerve issues (which is what I've read Flea deals with). I have had nerve damage including dealing with carpal tunnel, and the shaking helps a ton to reduce the numbness, tingling, and burning.
 
#7
sharpbass said:
I guess it could. There is a pain theory called the "pain gate theory". This theory basically says that pain nerves go through a gate at a junction. Also passing through that junction are nerves that sense feelings such as rubbing. If the nerves carrying rubbing signals (or shaking signals) overpower the pain nerves, it essentially closes the gate. This closing of the gate stops the pain, or diminishes it. This is why a dog will lick a cut or sore ankle. It's not to clean the wound, its that the sensation from the licking masks the pain.

So I would say that for some, shaking could mask pain. On the other hand Flea may just be shaking out the stiffness to loosen up. That cat plays with some serious furry.
Click to expand...

Wait...should I lick my hand instead of shaking it? :-)
 
#11
fearceol said:
+1. Prevention is better than cure.
Click to expand...

This is the first stop, be proactive rather than reactive in such matters.

Pain is not the issue as pain is an emotion, and as such is tied in to the pyscologicol way we view it, if we think its going to hurt then more than likely it will as out brain accomodates our thoughts, as will telling ourselves it does not....justification for pain helps endure it.
My pain is not your pain, so how it is quantified is a personal thing, pain has its use, but it also has its draw backs.

Shaking out the hands, as mentiond, is not so much relieving pain as relieveing muscular tension via increasing blood flow to and through muscles. This shaking also vibrates the muscle, so vibrates the nerve and nerve sheaths, so it helps relive the sensation of pain that we could associate with such tension.

Stretches do the same thing, the help relieve muscle tension by stretching the muscles, as well as stritching the main nerve branches.
Many people do not associate that as muscles contract and elongate, then so must the nerves that service them.
The nerves run inside protective sheaths so they do not tear. If this movment is inhibited then we say they nerve is 'trapped'.
The neve is being held and stretched rather than moving freely within the sheath, so we feel the effects more because the pain is not assosiate with a nerve ending response of a singe area, but along the length of the nerve as it is being over stretched due to the addition of a 'new fixed point'....which is what an entrapment is.

I teach that is you shake out your hands you help shake out problems. Learn to use them before and after playing, or as flea does inbetween songs if needed. Use them with stretches and warm up and help keep your hands healthy....or at least give them a better chance to remain so. :)
 
#12
winegamd said:
Why shake your hand? Why not fix the improper technique that caused the pain in the first place?
Click to expand...

It's not always improper technique that causes pain. Sometimes it due to other problems such as repetitive motion, tendinitis, etc. I have been playing since 1978 and every so often, I get pain and tingling. Definitely not due to technique, otherwise it would happen all the time.
 
#18
Nothing wrong with shaking your hand when you have a rest. Even if it's not in pain, it gets the blood flowing again, especially if you hold your hand up for a long period of time.
 

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