Basically I am 17 and I got out of school 11 days ago. I have been practicing guitar and bass pretty much all day. About 3 days ago I decided to practice sweeping on bass and I eventually got it but I noticed a sharp pain accompanied by a clicking in my wrist. I ignored it for 3 days then I did some research. GOD DAMN. I am 17 and all of these websites say that I have a serious condition that is only treated with surgery or shots or god forbid me stopping playing guitar...
My question is: Is there anyway to treat this without going to the doctor and with me still being able to play bass for just a little bit each day? I really have nothing else to do all summer... I am icing it right now and i plan on resting for a while today...
EDIT: I have heard of friction massages...? I don't know how to do this though
Wrist clicks and pops are a common occurrence, but the pain is not.
Your wrist is a thing of beauty, when it is fully formed it will have about half the bones in it you would have had as a child.
This is because the small bones you have as a child fuse together to make larger ones, in all we are born with some 300 bones and when we have finished growing we will have about 206 average.
So that is why it not worry you to much about the noises, but the pain should.
So what you need to learn is R.I.C.E....that is rest, ice compression, elevation.
So first off REST, so stop playing....no excuses, stop playing.
Use ICE on your wrist, either ice in a towel, or a pharmacy freezer pack which is gel filled and you store in the freezer. No sprays etc..but ice cold contact. This will reduce any inflammation.
COMPRESSION, strap it up, use a wrist support or whatever but give the wrist some support.
ELEVATION, just keep the hand up, do not let it hang down, when it hangs down below heart level that will encourage blood flow to it, and that will cause swelling, build up of fluids and that will promote pain in an injury.
So keep it elevated as much as you can, use some ibuprofen so help reduce swelling and help with the pain.
If you have any sort of swelling you need to see a physio for massage to help more the fliud, if it settles it will fill small cavities and areas between the bones, then it will harden and reduce your future movement. It may produce small lumps etc, this is just damaged tissue under the skin you will feel.
Arnica Tinture, is a plant remedy, available from pharmacies, or natural food stores. It has good properties in it to reduce such complaints or issues. It comes in cream or in tablet form, i recommend you use both, the tablet will give you a concentrated build up in your body, and the cream will be localised to the area of application.
The rubbing in of the cream will act as massage so work it in, this will help break down any fluid that may be left behind and end up hardening.
The Arnica helps break it down and the blood stream will clear it.
But speak to your pharmacist about its benefits and follow the instructions, Arnica needs to be used responsibly.
So try this for a three days if there is no big improvement see a doctor...do not leave it any longer, the sooner it is diagnosed, the sooner i can be dealt with correctly.
