Pain in left hand

[fearceol]

Start using a Hand Grip or Finger stretchers to build muscle, I was getting needle like sensation feelings on my hands as well and the Hand Grip help me with gaining muscle.

Once again, I would like to address this often stated (mis) advice. Grip gadgets have no benefits as far as bass playing is concerned. Like I said in my previous post, when we grip the neck, the hand is not relaxed.

What is required is to develop the tendons that do quite the opposite to gripping, i.e. the tendons that open the hands. Stamina and agility is required, not strength, or muscle.

OP...rather than the Hand Grip gadget, get yourself a light elastic band. Then spread it around your fingers (over the finger nails and thumb nail). Then s-l-o-w-l-y open and close the hand. Do this for a couple of minutes. Like all exercises, don't over do it. As you get used to this, you can later get a stronger elastic band.

This is both a much cheaper and better way to develop freting hand agility and stamina.

 

[JazznFunk]

I don't totally agree with your previous post but I am 100% in agreement with what you are saying here. These are excellent points. I have relatively long arms, and have never been comfortable playing bass sitting down, it just isn't in the right position. I also find that a lot has to do with the relative position of the start of neck to your body. The P-bass really sits optimally for me, the J-bass not so much. I get tired much more quickly on the J because the neck is slightly out of position for what my body wants.

I'm not dumping on my J-bass, I love it for other reasons.

It's a little like the machines at the gym, the ones with fixed fulcrum points, that may not fit the way your body wants to move. You can only adjust them within their design parameters. Free weights, on the other hand, will automatically fit the way joints of your body want to move.

Again - probably easier to SEE the point(s) raised in my previous post in practice than to try and talk about it. I'm not asking you to agree - I'm asking you to try and put it into practice to see for yourself. Don't grip the neck from the wrist down like you're holding onto a baseball bat or lightsaber, or clamp down on it using the thumb as your primary anchor point. Keep the left hand arm straight, lay your fingers on the fretboard, don't press on the neck with your thumb (let it gently lay on the back of the neck), and use your arm/forearm, and a bit of your shoulder to pull your hand back into the neck. You'll be able to move freely, easily, with your thumb gliding along as a very light stabilizer. ALL of that is dependent on a bass being well-placed and well-balanced for sure.

I too have long arms (and a short torso). Sitting versus standing is a whole other animal for me. All the body mechanics change when playing electric sitting down. I was referencing standing, with the bass on a strap at a reasonable height. Ergonomics of the specific bass in question will definitely change the game, and how you approach it. That's why basses with neck dive or other weight issues can cause problems.... you're trying to compensate for that while maintaining proper technique so you aren't overusing or over-stressing your hands/wrists as the main source of playing 'power' in the left hand.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Again - probably easier to SEE the point(s) raised in my previous post in practice than to try and talk about it. I'm not asking you to agree - I'm asking you to try and put it into practice to see for yourself. Don't grip the neck from the wrist down like you're holding onto a baseball bat or lightsaber, or clamp down on it using the thumb as your primary anchor point. Keep the left hand arm straight, lay your fingers on the fretboard, don't press on the neck with your thumb (let it gently lay on the back of the neck), and use your arm/forearm, and a bit of your shoulder to pull your hand back into the neck. You'll be able to move freely, easily, with your thumb gliding along as a very light stabilizer. ALL of that is dependent on a bass being well-placed and well-balanced for sure.

I too have long arms (and a short torso). Sitting versus standing is a whole other animal for me. All the body mechanics change when playing electric sitting down. I was referencing standing, with the bass on a strap at a reasonable height. Ergonomics of the specific bass in question will definitely change the game, and how you approach it. That's why basses with neck dive or other weight issues can cause problems.... you're trying to compensate for that while maintaining proper technique so you aren't overusing or over-stressing your hands/wrists as the main source of playing 'power' in the left hand.

OK, thanks, I appreciate that tip. I too have been playing a very long time, since 18, 70 now (less 25 year hiatus), so making changes of any significance isn't easy and takes time, but I will try this because I can see some logic in what you are suggesting.

 

[BassicJazzy]

OK, thanks, I appreciate that tip. I too have been playing a very long time, since 18, 70 now (less 25 year hiatus), so making changes of any significance isn't easy and takes time, but I will try this because I can see some logic in what you are suggesting.

Tried it, I see now what you are talking about. That is very interesting. Takes all the strain off the bottom of hand and thumb area, and it does keep the fingers closer to the fretboard, flatter, which could mean more speed with less effort. Thank you for this.

 

[Isaac_James]

Point is: it was not CAUSED by bass playing

Yes - it's a neurological disorder rather than a repetitive stress injury like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Where it gets a little fuzzy with focal dystonia is that, like a repetitive stress condition, playing for long stretches can exacerbate the problem. So the problem didn't necessarily originate from playing bass, but playing can cause it to get worse. He talks about it in this video here:



So it's easy to see how someone might conclude that playing caused the problem.

 

[mmmelatonin]

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!

thank you for the advice i'll ask at my next doctor's visit (i need to go for vax soon). btw my name is mel i just went with this username because just 'mel' was taken and so was 'melatonin' lmao

 

[mmmelatonin]

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.

yeah i've tried that excercise it's just that i do need to put ever so slightly more pressure for it not to buzz when im really digging in

 

[mmmelatonin]

I'd consider looking at your setup and technique as a whole package. Neck relief, string height, etc. Medium gauge strings shouldn't require a ton of force to press down. You should also consider mentally reframing where the force is coming from to fret with your left hand. If you're 'gripping' with the hand alone, it's putting too much stress on your hand and wrist. Coming from the upright side of things, the force to pull the hand and fingers back to the fretboard should primarily come from the whole arm and shoulder. I can fret notes comfortably without my thumb on the back of the neck at all in many cases, and someone could come up behind me and pull my thumb off the neck easily. This applies to upright AND electric.... fretless and fretless. Free up that hand and wrist.

yeah i think my left hand technique needs some work. my bass instructor wasnt super helpful when i asked him to help so i might ask my older buddy who's been playing for a while for help.

 

[JazznFunk]

Tried it, I see now what you are talking about. That is very interesting. Takes all the strain off the bottom of hand and thumb area, and it does keep the fingers closer to the fretboard, flatter, which could mean more speed with less effort. Thank you for this.

Cool! Passing on knowledge and helping each other is what TalkBass is all about. Keep us updated. Good luck!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

This hasn't really happened before but i've been playing a lot recently with like six performances in the past three weeks and a lot of practices so it makes sense I suppose. My left hand index finger has just started hurting today and I'm wondering if that's an issue with how hard im pressing? my strings are medium gauge so i already have to press pretty hard and i also do a lot of slides in my playing so i put my index through a lot lmao. the pain is like inside the finger like there are little needles pressing into it. just curious if anyone else has experiences this and if i should change anything about my playing to prevent it.

600 mg of Ibuprofen. Got me though my last couple years of gigging.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Cool! Passing on knowledge and helping each other is what TalkBass is all about. Keep us updated. Good luck!

After 30 minutes of trying this I can say it is the single best tip I have ever gotten in all my years of playing bass. Does not take long to adjust. It takes the strain off the hand, making the fingers more relaxed and much faster. Besides playing flatter and faster, fretting requires less effort. Sir, I am seriously humbled, you should teach. Thank you very much!