How Do I Manage Hand Pain When Playing

[Marley's Ghost]

Turn up the volume and play with a lighter touch. Try to learn some fingerstyle so you can switch when your picking hand starts to hurt. I can't play more than three songs with a pick before my wrist starts to bother me. Oddly I have no picking problem with guitar.

 

[Topkat13]

Playing with what?

 

[StatesideRambler]

OP, what you have there can put an end to your playing and likely other things as well if you don’t SERIOUSLY address it now. If you’ve been putting up with the pain anywhere near that long you may already have permanent damage. Try to get a referral for physical therapy with a PT who’s had training that’s specific to musicians. They’re hard to find but worth their fees if you find one.

 

[AxtoOx]

I found that when I eat a banana during the day of a gig, it provides me with enough phosphorus to stop the cramping.

Pernoanally, potassium is what I look for, phosphorus is a little dangerous. Just saying.

 

[AxtoOx]

I've found at my stage in life, it's a very individual thing, I've had a couple of serious scares, that just went away, I have minor carp from my age, but what worked for me would probably be different.

 

[beaglesandbass]

Pain is your body’s way of telling you something if wrong.

You may have some inflammation in the tendons of your hand. I’d suggest taking a break from playing for a week or two and see if that helps. Aside from that make sure you’re getting enough nutrients and staying hydrated. Warm up exercises can’t hurt either.

If pain persists, go see a doctor.

 

[SteveCS]

Here is something useful for anyone, not just people who are having pain and spasms.

With your left hand fret some note, say the C on the A string. Start picking quarter notes or eight notes, and play as you normally would, pedaling on that note. Slowly release tension with your fretting hand while you keep picking. Eventually the tension is too low and you start getting fret buzz. Then add back the least tension you can to make it stop buzzing. That is now your goal. Any grip strength above that is simply wasted effort.

Do it with different fingers in different places, just playing one note for 30 seconds or whatever. Don't spend more than 5 or 10 minutes on it.

Tomorrow do it again, but after a little bit of that single note stuff, play a simple scale up and down while again using minimum tension. If you don't sometimes get fret buzz, you are proably still using too much tension. Again, you don't have to kill yourself doing it for an hour. Just 5 or 10 minutes. Make it a daily routine just to remind your muscle memory to stop using a death grip.

Although the OP is primarily concerned with the picking hand, IME the type of exercise you are suggesting does tend to promote a general relaxation in other areas, so will probably help address picking hand fatigue.
YMMV...

 

[hrodbert696]

If there aren't any outside medical issues, pay attention to how you're playing. Diet and hydration help; stretch out before you play; work on a natural technique that doesn't contort your body into strained positions. Not a doctor, but I'd suggest taking a break from playing for a week or two. A daily low-dose aspirin over that time can help relieve any inflammation you've built up; hopefully you haven't given yourself full-on tendinitis. Don't just keep on pummeling your body to play while in pain; you'll wind up unable to play at all as you age.

Randy Kertz does a lot on this. Here's his video on stretching, but you can search for a lot more from him.

Also, an older video, but I think really valuable for left hand technique:

 

[lfmn16]

You can't treat it if you don't know the cause. Rest won't help if it's a dietary deficiency and diet won't help if it's a physical issue. Not what you want to hear, but you need to see a sports medicine physician to determine the cause and I would highly suggest getting some lessons with a qualified professional to see if there is a problem with your technique. You aren't going to solve this issue over the internet and if you continue to play you could cause a chronic injury that will follow you your entire life.

 

[slapshot]

Seriously, go see your doctor. And take a bass and a pick so they can see what's happening when you play.

 

[DirtDog]

Either you have technique issues or medical issues. Everyone is stubborn on seeing the doc, so get a lesson or two from a competent instructor, not a guitar player that also dabbles in bass, to settle the technique question.

Yep.

Also on the medical side, do you notice this pain when doing other things with your hands needing a firm grip with your dominant hand (hammer, shovel, handlebars, um....ahem....).

No?

Then technique is the likely culprit.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Pernoanally, potassium is what I look for, phosphorus is a little dangerous. Just saying.

Oops you're right that's why I failed my chemistry courses.

 

[MrLenny1]

Make sure you warm up, slowly before gigging.
Check your breathing also.

 

[packhowitzer]

Turn up your volume. (actually this is my advice for most situations).

 

[SunnBass]

Wow, some suggestions are taking this a little far.
WebMD keyboard "doctors".

@PsychedelicJohn:
I assume the "pain" is in the area between your thumb and forefinger?
That thick meaty area?
It happens to me too as a pick player.
So, you've received a few perfect suggestions so far, things that actually work.
Hydration, potassium and stretching.
That's it, that's the key.
I also like to "massage" the area before playing by squeezing it with my other thumb and forefinger.
Also be aware that this discomfort is essentially a cramp and could also be alleviated by trying a lighter grip on your pick, trying thicker picks so you don't feel like you have to play/grip so hard.
And as suggested, maybe turn up the volume? It's entirely possible that you're digging in to be heard which can lead to gripping the pick to hard.

 

[bhendrix]

I find I have problems with cramping related to hand position. If I get lazy and not thinking about it, I tend to bend my wrist and set lower forearm on my bass. Shortly thereafter, the cramping starts. Take a break - stretch it out and then go back to playing in a position where I can keep my wrist more straight seems to work for me!

 

[Nephilymbass]

I have been playing bass for about 14 years and I'm only 28. and for the past 3 years my hands have been cramping and my picking hand starts to get tired easily to the point I feel like I'm going to drop my pick. Is there any exercise or creams that can help when playing. Or dose anyone have other methods to cope with this.

Muscle cramping tends to be the result of overusing a muscle, dehydration, or poor blood supply. In which case simple things like drinking less alcohol, drinking more water could can help. Practicing more consistently also helped me. If I go a long time between playing I have to sorta baby my hands back into shape. Also warming up could help when you play because it helps to get blood flowing to the hands and fingers better. My band has brutally long rehearsals because the travel involved for us to get together wouldn’t really be worth it if we just played for an hour or two. I always show up a little early and start running through scales to get warmed up. I normally do this with my volume turned off to not annoy anyone else. I warm up before gigs also even if they are short 45 minute original band gigs. Because it makes it easier for me to play challenging stuff early in the set. Taking a break every 60-90 minutes Helps me a lot. Back in the day breaks were a natural kind of thing because band members smoked cigarettes and wanted a smoke break here and there. These days no one I play with smokes cigarettes so we stop playing every hour or so and talk a bit about the music, set order, recording plans, how our weeks went and so on.

Some bassist have interesting routines. I watched an interview where Flea said he runs on a treadmill before he plays in order to get the blood flowing so he doesn’t cramp up. If the pain you’re feeling isnt cramping it could be another issue like carpal tunnel or something else. I had a specific issue with my left hand (fretting hand) where I had broken a bone in my hand riding dirt bikes as a teen. And the bone healed a little funky. The solution for that For example was to avoid skinny jazz and Ibanez SR style necks. So I stick with chunky p style necks or 5 strings. As far as picking hand I don’t use a pick much but maybe there’s a technique thing or something, like maybe you’re gripping the pick harder than you really need to and that’s causing problems that might be solved by checking out how different people hold their pick or by maybe playing music where say every 3rd or 4th song you play fingerstyle in order to give your hand a break from doing the same thing for long periods of time. I suspect gripping the pick too hard might be the issue and switching to a pick made of a different material or one that has grooves that make it easier to keep it from slipping will allow you to relax your picking hand some.

 

[Vinny_G]

How do I manage hand pain when playing?

You shouldn't have to manage hand pain when playing.

 

[And I]

See a doctor. Sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome.