Pain in left hand

[/\/\3phist0]

i might just have weak hands lmao it takes a non-trivial amount of pressure for me.

Have not developed grip strength.
This can help.

Official Home of GRIPMASTER, VIA and PRO Hand & Finger Exercisers – Gripmaster

The Prohands family of hand exercisers are #1 in the world due to their unique ability to challenge and strengthen each finger separately. Gripmaster is the original hand exerciser on the market and remains the best. Gripmaster, VIA and PRO are used by world-class athletes & musicians for...

prohands.net

 

[Phe]

i might just have weak hands lmao it takes a non-trivial amount of pressure for me.

How is your action? If it's high it obviously takes more effort to fret. I don't think the string gauge means anything, just your action. BassBuzz had an awesome exercise to help with effortless fretting, I'll see if I can find it.
Also inflammation doesn't care about your age.

 

[mmmelatonin]

How is your action? If it's high it obviously takes more effort to fret. I don't think the string gauge means anything, just your action. BassBuzz had an awesome exercise to help with effortless fretting, I'll see if I can find it.
Also inflammation doesn't care about your age.

my action is pretty low according to the guy at my local bass store. also idk the thicker strings feel more rough on the left hand to me but oh well.

 

[Jazzjames]

1. A bass teacher can give you advice regarding technique, although that wouldn’t be my primary focus. E.g. if your thumb is not positioned optimally on the back of the neck, you need to invest a lot more energy to hold the strings down without buzzing.

2. The dose makes the poison. Any activity can become intolerable if the dose (time/load/intensity) is novel. If you know you will have a lot of gigs, work up to that level of playing with practise beforehand. Exactly the same advice as with resistance training/exercise. Start off at a level that is tolerable, and work your way up to your goal over time, in order to give your body time to adapt.

 

[Phe]

my action is pretty low according to the guy at my local bass store. also idk the thicker strings feel more rough on the left hand to me but oh well.

Rough as in coarse or...?
I've had Warwick Red Labels that felt like sandpaper wrapped in barbed wire, but that was years ago.
Josh on BassBuzz talks about MVP - minimun viable pressure, ahahahaa - that you can check placing your finger on top of the fret and slowly plucking, first ghost notes and slowly pressing the string down until you get a clean note. Take note how little it takes. Rinse and repeat.
Also if you play right on top of the fret it takes less effort, but can obviously result in more dud notes at first.

 

[Phe]

And yeah, take a break from playing and let it heal. Don't tough it out, that's dumb and leads to permanent injuries.

 

[fearceol]

i guess we have different definitions of 'a decent amount of pressure'

The correct amount of pressure is just enough to get a clean, clear sound. No more...no less. Experiment and you will soon see just how little actual pressure is required.

Don't "tough it out".

 

[fearceol]

Have not developed grip strength.
This can help.

Official Home of GRIPMASTER, VIA and PRO Hand & Finger Exercisers – Gripmaster

The Prohands family of hand exercisers are #1 in the world due to their unique ability to challenge and strengthen each finger separately. Gripmaster is the original hand exerciser on the market and remains the best. Gripmaster, VIA and PRO are used by world-class athletes & musicians for...

prohands.net

You don't need grip strength to play the bass. When you grip, your hand is tight, not relaxed. Try fretting a note without the thumb on the neck of the bass to prove to yourself that grip is not required to play a clean note.

 

[mmmelatonin]

1. A bass teacher can give you advice regarding technique, although that wouldn’t be my primary focus. E.g. if your thumb is not positioned optimally on the back of the neck, you need to invest a lot more energy to hold the strings down without buzzing.

2. The dose makes the poison. Any activity can become intolerable if the dose (time/load/intensity) is novel. If you know you will have a lot of gigs, work up to that level of playing with practise beforehand. Exactly the same advice as with resistance training/exercise. Start off at a level that is tolerable, and work your way up to your goal over time, in order to give your body time to adapt.

thats very good advice thank you!

 

[mmmelatonin]

Rough as in coarse or...?
I've had Warwick Red Labels that felt like sandpaper wrapped in barbed wire, but that was years ago.
Josh on BassBuzz talks about MVP - minimun viable pressure, ahahahaa - that you can check placing your finger on top of the fret and slowly plucking, first ghost notes and slowly pressing the string down until you get a clean note. Take note how little it takes. Rinse and repeat.
Also if you play right on top of the fret it takes less effort, but can obviously result in more dud notes at first.

yeah i've done that excercise before and what i mean by rough is how it's meant when you say like 'thats rough buddy'. im used to the strings it just takes a bit of oomph to actually fret them, more than on other basses i play. (my hands are quite small if that explains anything)

 

[Mojo34]

I'm convinced that stretching is key. Do it lightly, but regularly, in, both hands, all fingers, in both directions (inwards and outwards).

 

[fearceol]

I'm convinced that stretching is key. Do it lightly, but regularly, in, both hands, all fingers, in both directions (inwards and outwards).

I totally agree. A few minutes warming up with gentle stretches... then s-l-o-w-l-y...doing some scales/aprs on the bass before the actual practice. Also stretch after a practice session.

 

[Dana R Gregory]

You could try using a modified Simandl technique where you use the ring finger along with the pinkie to fret the string. I have had 6 surgeries on my hands for tendonitis/trigger finger and my left pinkie will probably be next so I use this technique on my 5 string fretless and it helps a lot. Good luck.

 

[dune]

a warning of what though is my question lol

When I first started playing bass 45 years ago at 17, right out of the gate my left (fretting) hand would occasionally "fall asleep" (pins and needles tingling). I always just figured that was part of the deal, right? Fast forward to 2012 or so, I'm requiring shoulder surgery and the surgeon all but insists that I get carpal tunnel release prior and sends me for an EMG, a nerve test involving passing current through them. Doc performing the EMG says that I need to get the CT release done ASAP, lest I further damage the nerves. Hand surgeon then suggests that I'd been "under-reporting my symptoms". Again, it had happened off and on since I'd been a teenager. While I've never been one to run to the doc for every little thing, I never felt like I was "under-reporting" my symptoms, it just never seemed like that big of a deal. However, in the last decade or so before I got the CT release, both of my hands would tingle painfully if I did too much work with my hands - hammering, screwdrivers, etc. (I'm a woodworker). While it doesn't negatively affect my playing, I definitely think my fingers have less sensitivity than they used to. Is that due to my not getting the procedure done soon enough, or just something that goes hand-in-hand (pun intended) with being 62? I'm guessing it's probably the former because let's face it, I'm still every bit the spring chicken.

I'm not trying to diagnose you or imply that you have carpal tunnel syndrome, just sharing my experience.
You've only mentioned your index finger. I have been told that carpal tunnel usually effects not only the index finger, but middle finger and thumb as well as it did for me.

You might get someone knowledgeable to assess the ergonomics of your playing position. With bass, there's sometimes a balance between wearing it too low, which can become problematic by for the fretting hand, and too high, creating issues for the plucking hand.

 

[dune]

2. The dose makes the poison. Any activity can become intolerable if the dose (time/load/intensity) is novel. If you know you will have a lot of gigs, work up to that level of playing with practise beforehand. Exactly the same advice as with resistance training/exercise. Start off at a level that is tolerable, and work your way up to your goal over time, in order to give your body time to adapt.

Spot-on. After I retired from music, I worked as a personal trainer for the next 20 years. One of the massage therapists I met early on worked on a few members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. She told me that they had some of the worst issues she'd ever seen because of all of the hours they spent in a static, asymmetrical position while practicing.

 

[dmt]

I’d look to your neck. Often, pain in the extremities is indicative of a pinched nerve situation higher up towards the root of the body’s nerve network (i.e., the brain).

The finger bone is connected to the hand bone, the hand bone is connected to the wrist bone, the wrist bone’s connected to the arm bone, the arm bone’s connected to the shoulder bone, the shoulder bone’s connected to the neck bone and… uh oh. All the body’s wiring (aside from that associated with the head itself) runs through the neck.

If you’re often playing with your head turned so that you can see your left hand, you could be pinching a nerve in your neck, manifesting downstream as tingling pain in the finger. If this is the situation, you’ll need to learn to play with your head facing forward (not looking at your fretting hand). If you have a headstock tuner, stop using that.

Of course the cause of your pain may be something different. If at all possible, see an orthopedic doctor. Take your bass along and explain the situation (don’t be nervous about your playing; he doesn’t care one bit about that — he just needs to see that big weight hanging asymmetrically off your body and how your arms and head are positioned as you play, your hand movements, etc.). If seeing a doctor isn’t possible, a highly experienced bass teacher might be able to assess the situation and give good advice. Regardless, as others have said, rest (take a bit of a break from playing, even though you don’t want to), take some mild anti-inflammatories and then when the tingling situation stops, gradually ramp back up while paying particular attention to good technique. Again, a few sessions with an experienced teacher could help.

Don’t try to push through tingling pain — you could do permanent damage.

Diet could be an issue — I was getting tingling in my hands from drumming once after going vegetarian, but taking a break and starting on a B12 supplement (a common vitamin) fixed the situation. Regularly taking a multivitamin is a reasonable precaution without much downside that, although it might not solve your issue, it possibly might and could have other benefits. Similarly, get sufficient rest (sleep), eat a balanced diet, warm up [do some warm up excercises] before vigorous playing (this is a biggie for me), don’t overplay, get a comfortable setup with easy-to-play strings, play looking ahead (not at your hand), keep your body relaxed (not holding unnecessary muscular tension, perhaps especially in the neck area) while playing, using good technique, etc. All are reasonable steps that don’t have much downside and could possibly have great benefit.

Looking forward to reading about your eventual success, mmmelatonin!

 

[Faith Nicole]

I have multiple related issues

for needle pains and/or cold/iciness:
***** nevermind *****
** Edited because apparently my personal experience is to be discounted.

Technique:
* I don't hit quite where I should and press harder than I should to compensate.
My recent neck surgery has helped. I'm still working on shifting back to proper technique that got sloppy due to the pain.

* Positioning helps - How I stand; whether the body of the bass is shifted left or right; angle of the neck (horizontal vs degree of upward angle). A big one .. thickness of the neck. I cannot sit and play, the sitting position really causes my fretting hand to flare up.

As I have gotten older I have more trouble with thin necks, not narrowness at nut (front to back thickness vs nut width). More trouble with playing up the neck as well. Those close frets bother me more than down the neck. I tend to stay around the 1st through 5th frets as much as possible anymore.

 

[dune]

* beginnings of carpal tunnel/inflammation of the wrist (wrist generally affects middle, ring and pinky)

Carpal tunnel affects thumb, index, and middle, ring and pinky are from cubital tunnel syndrome (elbow).

 

[Faith Nicole]

Carpal tunnel affects thumb, index, and middle, ring and pinky are from cubital tunnel syndrome (elbow).

C6, neck - thumb and index. I had repair to the C5-C6 cervical area. They cleared most, not all, of the stenosis as well.
C7, neck - middle finger. I still have damage there. It couldn't be repaired without significant risk.
C8, neck - ring and pinky. I do have arthritis/stenosis in this area
Nerves are all signal carriers, the further up you go the more can be affected. CTS can affect all fingers, generally not the pinky

regardless, I'm not a Dr. I describe symptoms and let the Dr decide where it comes from. I know what I went through and what the Dr did to alleviate it.

If you so desire, I can delete my port and remove any input that I gave based on my own experience. Apparently my personal experiences are to be discounted.

 

[brianrost]

Try this exercise.

Fret a note on the fingerboard. Pluck the string and vary the pressure from your fertting finger (which one doesn’t matter) and see how much pressure is needed to prevent fret buzz. Then train yourself to provide as little pressure as possible. Much of the pressure should not be coming from squeezing with the hand, let the weight of your left arm do some of the work.