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Right thumb pain - help diagnose

#21
joegrant413 said:
maybe going to the floating thumb technique. But probably not until after Xmas!
Click to expand...

I would recommend the FT, but the sooner you start working on it, the sooner you will reap the benefits. I'd put aside ten or fifteen minutes of my practice time to working on the FT. You don't have to use it when playing in your praise band over Christmas,, but it would help to introduce your hands to it ASAP.

You are not going to nail it over night. Depending on how often you work on it, I'd allow at least a couple of months before deciding if it's for you or not.
 
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#23
joegrant413 said:
Hi folks,View attachment 1007150 View attachment 1007151

I'm starting to have some right thumb pain. I've been playing bass for about 7 years, and had a good bass teacher a few years ago.

Anyway, I practice every other day, and have started noticing that my right thumb has been bothering me. Usually don't notice it till the next day. The slight pain is at the joint for the thumb and the rest of the hand.

Since Christmas is coming and I'll be practicing and playing more to get ready to play for praise band on Xmas Eve, I want to see if there is some minor adjustment I can make and incorporate soon.

I play a 35 inch scale 5 string MTD Heir. I mostly pluck using three fingers, and typically rest my thumb under the 5th string, below the neck pickup, and against the bass. Attached are a couple of pics.
Click to expand...

Hi joegrant413, couple of things you need to address now,
1/ Stop cranking your wrist over the top of the bass, learn to run your forearm down the front of the bass keeping your forearm and wrist as straight as you can.
This will mean adjustment to your elbow, not your wrist.
Get your elbow away from your side.

2/ Get a better angle on your bass neck to allow your fretting hand the same straighter forearm/wrist line.

Thumb issues have many causes, but in playing it is because we grip/hold the instrument rather than lean on it.
Thumb pressure takes two very distinct issues.
in the fretting hand it is always pressure and angle. The remedy is lessening the pressure by playing through the neck using the weight of the forearm to help distribute pressure and not the thumb.
On that thumb, let the fingers dictate where it goes, do not place the thumb for the fingers to follow it.

On the picking hand, believe it of not, the weight of the large muscle groups of the arms and shoulder is being supported by the thumb when you rest it on the bass.
You do not notice it, but you are in fact creating pressure when you "lean" on your thumb in a fixed position...no matter how light you think you are doing it.
Look at a tree, the large branches support the smaller ones, then smaller ones support smaller and so on.....no big branch is expected to be supported by a smaller branch.....so it is with your fingers....consider your fingers the twigs....twigs cannot support large branches (your forearm, upper arm, and shoulder all get larger as the develop from the fingers.....and of course visa versa)

Arthritis can be caused by many things, old injury, illness, or just getting worn out. Your diet can help, some foods promotes joint pain so cut them from your diet, some help relieve it, so add them in.
You have to make changes to keep fit, nothing in our bodies lasts forever.
So see a doctor, get a check-up, talk over your medical history and make changes sooner, not later.
Get a warm up routine, and a warm down one, get some stretches in your routine and work to stay fit....its worth it in the long run.

Any specific questions you have about what I posted feel free to ask.
 
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#28
joegrant413 said:
Hey, where could I find some recommended warm up and warm down exercises?
Click to expand...


A warm up is a routine that gives the hand motion to warm up the muscles, muscles respond to heat, and cold.
Cold muscles contract, so tighten, so are harder to move, warm muscles expand, so are looser, amd easier to move.
Cold muscle tissue is easeir to tear/damage than warm muscle tissue, so having warm muscles is a must to keep practice, playing efficient.

In the links there are some ideas to incorporate in to a routine of your own.
My warm up is for me, it serves my use, and because it is so familier to me i can feel when things are not right within my hands and take measures to fix it.
The hand stretches are used as warm up and warm downs, they are there to give the hand a full use of movements.
Since playing motion is repetitive, the exercises help the hand develop a full range of motion, and not just a reactive motion to any song being played. Some playing patterns can make it harder to develop a full range of hand strength, which is essential to playing and keeping the hand healthy.

By hand strength i do not mean power, power is part of hand strength, as is stamina, dexterity, motion. So hand power ishould be seen as the power to use your hands to play uninhibited when called on to do so.
Feel free to post any questions on any of the content and i will answer if is can.




 
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#29
Fergie, I'm checking out your YouTube videos... nice!

I had never heard the hand itself doesn't have the muscles that creates movement, it's the arms.

BTW, I might also check out your whisky reviews. It just so happens I've been getting into scotch for the last 6 months or so. In fact, I just had my first taste of Laphroag 10year a few minutes ago.

Cheers,
- Joe
 
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#30
joegrant413 said:
Fergie, I'm checking out your YouTube videos... nice!

I had never heard the hand itself doesn't have the muscles that creates movement, it's the arms.

BTW, I might also check out your whisky reviews. It just so happens I've been getting into scotch for the last 6 months or so. In fact, I just had my first taste of Laphroag 10year a few minutes ago.

Cheers,
- Joe
Click to expand...

No probs, movement originates in the forearms, and the muscle groups we need to work on are the extensors, the stretches target these groups.
As i have said we find many tasks that require is to hold, so use the flexors, in any degrees of pressure from a light hold to a full grip.
Very few tasks require a full extension on the fingers, so a full use of there movement capabilities. As muscle work in pairs and only pull, the the fingers are pulled on to the fingerboard, and then pulled off the fingerboard.
So we have the ability to apply far to much pressure when pulling down as the strings and neck will check it. So we have the ability to use more pressure than needed and get the same sounding result, we only notice an issue when we do not use enough...fret/string buzz, or a dead notes.

Lifting off the fingers means they are pulled off by the extensors, how far and how fast we can do this is down to the condition of the extensor groups...we cannot put a finger back on until it has been pulled away.

Now we have a situation where muscle must work in antagonistic pairs, so when one set pulls by shortening, the opposite set must elongate to accommodate it, and visa versa. If both groups pull at the same time then we have cramps, spasms, or worse the weaker group will be torn by the stronger group.

So when using grip trainers we only train the hand to close, so only train the flexors so pull the fingers closed, they do not exercise the extensors to pull the fingers open. They do however present the hand with the opportunity for the flexors to dominate the extensors. So this can make pulling the hand open harder/slower because the flexors will not elongate quick enough, or far enough, when the extensors shorten to pull the fingers open.



Anyway enough of that and i hope the info helps you work out your own hand use, as well as help you understand how to get the best from them, as for the whisky i will leave it to you to make your own mind as to what you like....those that don't like whisky have just not found one they like.....yet.
 
#31
You need to self diagnose the cause of the pain. I'm going to assume it's muscle related by the nature of your post. I'd recommend:

1. Apply heat to relax the muscle
2. Stretch all fingers and wrist
3. Ibuprofen can be taken to relax the muscle

If it is joint related:
1. Apply cold to reduce swelling
2. Take ibuprofine to reduce pain and swelling
3. Rest until pain is gone.

I would play though muscle pain. I wouldn't play if it were joint pain, as you could cause more and permanent damage.

Good luck
 
#32
Again, thanks to all for the help!

I saw a PT today at my gym for an evaluation. He said there is some arthritis and something else (latitude?) that had to do with a tendon. Nothing to cause alarm yet or much in the way of corrective action.

He agreed with our presumptive diagnosis that my right thumb anchoring during plucking has been the likely culprit. And he agreed a "floating" technique should be used.

It's funny, the corrective action he described with squeezing the thumb sounded a lot like picking. I told him, and he basically agreed! Anyway, the Christmas services, I've been picking exclusively the last couple of weeks, and it's helped. After Xmas, I'll layoff a couple of days, then start working on floating technique. Probably keep picking for the actual band songs until I got the floating technique down.

Merry Christmas,
- Joe
 
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