Gotta disagree. Salt helps you retain water - in my case if I get cramps, it's very important I get some salt to make them go away. Bouillon is your friend.
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Hand cramps - any advice?
- Thread starter LBS-bass
- Start date
Gotta disagree. Salt helps you retain water - in my case if I get cramps, it's very important I get some salt to make them go away. Bouillon is your friend.
Interesting. In high school (1967-70) football they would give us salt pills to relieve and prevent cramping. I do it to this day before gigs when I think about it. I had the same cramps as the op this past weekend and downed a teaspoon of salt. Helped, but I still had minor cramping.
. I really need to know what kind if pickle juice,my wife gets really severe foot and leg cramps. When she does her toes stand straight up and she weeps with the pain,this will go on for hours. Thanks for your help.
IF the problem is just fatigue, my Dr suggested, less coffee, plenty of water, electrolyte drinks... i bring 2 Propels to each gig. Also got a ProHands Medium exerciser to build strnegth for my hands during the week. Vitamin B6 was recommended I take 1 day or 2 before gigs. Maybe let Dr make initial Diag.
I use an arthritic cream (preferably non-smelling) on my hands and sometimes on my forearms/wrists.
Ol' fella? Me too. I get cramps out of nowhere from a bulging disc impinging on a nerve that runs down my arm.
Lot's of good advice here.
For stretching let me suggest getting a copy of "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" by Sharon Butler. Your symptoms don't sound like carpal tunnel in anyway but it's a inexpensive book with tons of streching exercises that have helped me with various problems and also has increased my range of motion.
I'm not affilated with the author in anyway. It's just been a very good book for me.
For stretching let me suggest getting a copy of "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" by Sharon Butler. Your symptoms don't sound like carpal tunnel in anyway but it's a inexpensive book with tons of streching exercises that have helped me with various problems and also has increased my range of motion.
I'm not affilated with the author in anyway. It's just been a very good book for me.
I've had it all - carpal tunnel surgeries on both wrists, trigger finger in various fingers, and serious cramping. There's a lot you can do on your own to help it - stuff mentioned already in the thread. But I'd advise maybe going to see a doctor or physical therapist. I wish I had done that earlier - I would probably still be able to play upright. They can give a proper diagnosis and treatment plan, with stretching exercises and general care instructions. Take care of yourself, and good luck!
Ice is indicated where there is inflamation. Muscle cramps are generally not due to inflamation.
A teaspoon is a LOT of salt. Just a pinch of ordinary table salt will replenish what your body lacks. Much more than that is no better and it can be damaging.
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Salt is your enemy if you have high blood pressure, which many people do, but I am not one of them. My BP is almost always low, sometimes normal, never high. So I don't really worry much about salt intake the way a lot of people do.
I think you need hydrating and a break. Eight hours of this stuff would cramp most of us. It would be a different story if this was happening in normal playing time, like over the course of a gig.
I agree. I have a rehearsal this afternoon and after that I have no plans to do any music until the following evening. We will be recording again tomorrow night but I have laid down most of my tracks already for this session so will be there mainly to oversee Logic Pro as we record guitar parts and vocals. Probably won't need to actually play my bass much, if at all.
I'm a massage therapist who has work alongside physical therapists for the past 5 years. I good recommendation would be to hydrate but it can also be caused by the overuse. Doing wrist flexion and extension stretches along with hand and wrist strengthening exercises can go a long way.
Rest and hydration are essential.
I`ve had great results with massages for hands techniques. That is something I learned in college and it helped me avoid injuries (ie tendinitis) during long practices and sessions. Massaging your hands will help the muscles relax taking away some (if not all) of the pain. You can easily do it yourself, there are a lot of good videos online.
Just be careful how you put the words in the search engine, you may get very different videos then expected…
I`ve had great results with massages for hands techniques. That is something I learned in college and it helped me avoid injuries (ie tendinitis) during long practices and sessions. Massaging your hands will help the muscles relax taking away some (if not all) of the pain. You can easily do it yourself, there are a lot of good videos online.
Just be careful how you put the words in the search engine, you may get very different videos then expected…
Hydrating as many have suggested is a good one. I think something that might get overlooked is spending enough time warming up though. Seems like anytime I’ve had any discomfort in my hands on stage it was when I didn’t warm up very well or not at all.
Lots of great advice already. Just wanting to add a specific stretching routine that helps this old fart a lot:
