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Stretching your hands

N

Nightwolf55

Jun 22, 2008
118
0
nightwolf55.deviantart.com
#1
How does everyone here stretch? I've been practicing for hours lately, so I think it's important to learn stretches to prevent injury.

I apologize for making so many threads in a such a short span, but I have so many questions, :D:hiding:

Right now, the only stretch I do is the one Dman recommended (squeezing your corresponding fingers together while they're extended).
 
#3
Nightwolf55 said:
Also, my fingertips are hurting a lot after playing so much. Is this normal, and should I wait for it to stop before continuing?
Click to expand...

Be more specific.
Are they stinging? That's normal. It will callous eventually.

And I had a problem where I couldn't play antipop because my finger would hurt really bad when I bent to hit the A note. Then you should stop.
 
#4
I use a few methods to try to keep my fingers/hands loose before and during a session; as I have carpal tunnel/tendinitis (undiagnosed currently) and my hands and fingers will often fall asleep while I'm playing, I need to get loose, one note these are exercises to help alleviate slightly different symptoms, so not sure how they will work. I also was considering getting one of those little fretboard exercise thingies, but just haven't seen one anywhere

Ex 1. with your arms out straight, place the back of your wrists together as if you were wearing a watch on both hands and wanted the faces to be touching, then bend back both hands as close as you can to a 90 degree angle and hold to stretch, I sometimes use the wall to help get a full stretch

Ex. 2 place your hands together in a prayer like position with your arms flat like on a table, and use the opposite finger to help stretch each of your fingers independently going in each direction and holding for 30 seconds

Ex.3 Interlock your fingers and extend your arms straight above your head pushing up and back and hold

hope this helps OP, and if anyone has any other exercises/stretches they can recommend please feel free
 
#6
strozey said:
I use a few methods to try to keep my fingers/hands loose before and during a session; as I have carpal tunnel/tendinitis (undiagnosed currently) and my hands and fingers will often fall asleep while I'm playing, I need to get loose, one note these are exercises to help alleviate slightly different symptoms, so not sure how they will work. I also was considering getting one of those little fretboard exercise thingies, but just haven't seen one anywhere

Ex 1. with your arms out straight, place the back of your wrists together as if you were wearing a watch on both hands and wanted the faces to be touching, then bend back both hands as close as you can to a 90 degree angle and hold to stretch, I sometimes use the wall to help get a full stretch

Ex. 2 place your hands together in a prayer like position with your arms flat like on a table, and use the opposite finger to help stretch each of your fingers independently going in each direction and holding for 30 seconds

Ex.3 Interlock your fingers and extend your arms straight above your head pushing up and back and hold

hope this helps OP, and if anyone has any other exercises/stretches they can recommend please feel free
Click to expand...

Cool. Those sound great. I tested them out and I already feel more relaxed. Thanks!
 
#9
Awhile back I had read that Flea did this so I tried it too! It didn't work for me. By the end of one song the glue peeled off in one big piece.

I think it could be good to just play through the sting. Your skin needs some time to heal and build those extra layers though, so while your feeling the sting, its probably a good idea to play for shorter periods of time. You can easily overdue it and end up with blisters. That's a whole other mess you'll want to avoid when possible. For awhile I was in three full time bands. I had the most disgusting blood blisters ever! Avoid the evil blisters! They take forever to heal and hurt way more than the sting your feeling now.
jarrhead said:
I know this sounds crazy but here's what you need to do.

Put super glue on your fingertips!
Click to expand...
 
#10
1) Hold your arms out straight. Make a tight fist for 5 seconds. Relax. Spread your fingers apart as far as you can and hold that for 5 seconds. Relax. Repeat a few times.

2) Hold one arm out straight. Bend that hand down as close to a 90 degree angle as possible, and pull your hand back towards you with your free hand for 5-10 seconds. Then do the other hand.

3) Simultaneously push all your fingertips and your palms together in "prayer" position with your arms close to your body and elbows up.
 
#11
I would never recommend any force to the hands, i.e. pulling and pushing at them with the free hand, pushing them together or against anything.

In streaching the fingers you stretch the hands, so with that in mind just open them wide and stretch them for 5 seconds or so, relax, give them a shake and repeat till your satisfied. Also gently rub and massage the forearms and the back of the hand. In rubbing the palm take special care to work the fleashy pad at the base of the thumb. Why the forearms? This is ultimatly where the source of movement in your fingers begins.
Avoid making fists and squeezing, as this is ultimately the opposite of what your trying to acheive........ getting the hands relaxed?
 
#12
strozey said:
Ex 1. with your arms out straight, place the back of your wrists together as if you were wearing a watch on both hands and wanted the faces to be touching, then bend back both hands as close as you can to a 90 degree angle and hold to stretch, I sometimes use the wall to help get a full stretch
Click to expand...

I don't normally yell on the internet, but...

USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN STRETCHING THIS WAY!!!! THE MUSCLES ON THE BACK OF THE WRIST ARE EXTREMELY DELICATE, AND CAN BE INJURED EASILY USING THIS STRETCH!!!! Ask me how I know.
 
#16
Nightwolf55 said:
Yep, stinging. It has started to callous. It seems very difficult to play while it stings, guess i'll play little by little.
Click to expand...

If you finger tips sting, you have to keep playing every day until it stops. That's part of being a bass player.

The more you play, the less your fingers hurt. If I take a few days off, the feeling starts coming back into my finger tips and they sting. The only cure is to play more.

Ed
 
#17
BassXgirl said:
Awhile back I had read that Flea did this so I tried it too! It didn't work for me. By the end of one song the glue peeled off in one big piece.

I think it could be good to just play through the sting. Your skin needs some time to heal and build those extra layers though, so while your feeling the sting, its probably a good idea to play for shorter periods of time. You can easily overdue it and end up with blisters. That's a whole other mess you'll want to avoid when possible. For awhile I was in three full time bands. I had the most disgusting blood blisters ever! Avoid the evil blisters! They take forever to heal and hurt way more than the sting your feeling now.
Click to expand...

When i started playing and had blisters, I punched through them with a needle (the one you use for cloth) after playing and let the fluid out. This way the blister would dry overnight and would leave a nice layer of hardened skin.

Letting a blister heal naturally takes ages...
 
#18
I'm glad those stretches have helped you, Nightwolf.

They were recommended to me by a top physiotherapist, so they'll be ok for your long term hand health.

Also consider getting a gripmaster. You can get callus caps for them that will also toughen up the ends of your fingers. If not, just keep on doing what you're doing. It's a process we all have to go through.
 
#20
My digital camera needs new batteries so I can't show you a picture of the revolutionary new HAND STRETCHER I invented. But this illustration will give you the basic principle:

TortureRack.jpg


The downsides? Well, it requires a couple of extra people. And I'm not too keen on the results sometimes. For some reason my hands HURT afterwards...

Really, people! If you learn to move your hands right, you don't need some big reach (unless you are trying to show off instead of making music). You just need to be relaxed and accurate. I've seen some pretty small hands go faster than fast and do amazing playing, all without any big stretch stuff going on.

Thumb pivoting is a building block toward that when playing down by the nut.
 

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