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Wrist issues
Next month I will have been in TAC two years; and playing about 21/2. I have never had wrist issues; but now, on my picking hand, my wrist is tightening up and interfering with movement in general when I play (flexibility; having it more flowing; and just play-ability). It seems worse when holding a pick and doing flat picking. When I look online, I see that some refer to this as a carpel tunnel issue, while others guitar tendonitis. Anyone have any experience with this? I don’t want to just stop playing until it eases up and lose consistency (and some online info suggested it would just come back when I start playing again). Any advice is appreciated.
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5 Replies
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Hey @Philb , I’m sorry you’re having difficulty lately. I have tennis elbow and tendinitis in my fretting arm, so it’s a little different. But, I do know that you should not try and play through any pain or discomfort if it could be tendinitis or carpal tunnel. My suggestion is to see an orthopedic doctor and have it checked out. They might be able to give you a cortisone shot to alleviate the pain. You might also have developed some arthritis.
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Have you tried the “Daily Stretch for Guitar” in the Skill Courses section? That might help since it focuses on the entire body. Your pain might be coming from somewhere else like your neck or shoulder. That’s what I was able to realize. I’d try that before the Dr. route. As Loraine indicated, stop if you are feeling any pain. If it’s just stiffness you can continue, but pain means stop.
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Thank you both for taking the time to answer. I remember seeing you were having issues Lorraine. I hope you’re doing better.
It’s not so much pain as stiffness at this point, which limits my playing. I do have some arthritis, being only a month from 70, that seems to come with the territory. I didn’t want to consider that. 😀
I just hadn’t had any issues until recently. I have done, and do stretches. I will keep trying to keep it limber; limiting my playing but not stopping yet. If it keeps up, I will get some medical help.
Again, thank you so much for the input. -
Hi @Philb , sorry to hear about your wrist – this getting old crap is for the birds. I was doing some research on the fingers and hand a few weeks ago when I came across this:
https://eorthopod.com/hand-anatomy/
Maybe it can help you isolate the area of concern and maybe give you a better understanding of what you’re dealing with.
Good luck and hope you feel better soon👍
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Thanks much @Bill_Brown ! I’ll take a look at that.
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