Advice from guitar players

[Outtahere]

I cannot play barred chord. Like not at all. After seconds, my hand hurts like crazy and I have to stop and shake it off so the pain goes away. I've tried different thumb positions and index pressure but nothing does it. I think my hand may just be unable to play barred chords. But of course I could be wrong. 

 

This is where it hurts: 

 

 

Any advice?

[andydanger85]

I cannot play barred chord. Like not at all. After seconds, my hand hurts like crazy and I have to stop and shake it off so the pain goes away. I've tried different thumb positions and index pressure but nothing does it. I think my hand may just be unable to play barred chords. But of course I could be wrong. 

 

This is where it hurts: 

 

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Any advice?

 

 

I don't play guitar as much as I used to, but I have a similar problem. Sounds like you're having a muscle cramp ... you're probably going to have to try some strength exercises in that hand. You can use one of those tension clamp thingies...

 

http://www.bebodysmart.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=G682910&eq=&Tp=

[hoogie]

I've never had that issue, but I agree that it sounds like a muscle issue.  You'll have to build up that muscle, maybe by doing grip exercises.

[Outtahere]

Thanks. I'm going to try the excercises, see what that does. :)

[folk singer]

I've been a bit reluctant to post on this topic, but I am a physiotherapist and figure I'd give my 2 cents:

 

first of all, if the problem persists its probably a good idea to get an assessment by a physio or a hand therapist to make sure you aren't exacerbating the problem.

 

Without assessing the problem, i am just guessing, but often times the sore muscle is already overworked because of other muscle groups being weak... so by trying to strengthen the sore area, you may in fact make the pain worse. Sometimes you have to massage and release the sore muscle, and strengthen the surrounding muscles.

 

With this area of pain (a common area of pain for new physiotherapists as well, actually) the small intrinsic muscles of the hand are usually weak, and the bigger thumb muscles end up doing all the heavy lifting. Often times it comes down to the posture of your hand and thumb during squeezing and gripping (in your case, performing bar chords). Is the main pressure coming through the metacarpal (knuckle of the thumb), or the carpal bones (small bones in the main body of the hand)? Are the joints of the finger hyperextending and resting on the ligaments and stressing the joints, or are the slightly flexed? This is probably where the problem is coming from. 

 

So, it could be a more complicated problem, so get it looked at if it persists. 

[Outtahere]

I've been a bit reluctant to post on this topic, but I am a physiotherapist and figure I'd give my 2 cents:

 

first of all, if the problem persists its probably a good idea to get an assessment by a physio or a hand therapist to make sure you aren't exacerbating the problem.

 

Without assessing the problem, i am just guessing, but often times the sore muscle is already overworked because of other muscle groups being weak... so by trying to strengthen the sore area, you may in fact make the pain worse. Sometimes you have to massage and release the sore muscle, and strengthen the surrounding muscles.

 

With this area of pain (a common area of pain for new physiotherapists as well, actually) the small intrinsic muscles of the hand are usually weak, and the bigger thumb muscles end up doing all the heavy lifting. Often times it comes down to the posture of your hand and thumb during squeezing and gripping (in your case, performing bar chords). Is the main pressure coming through the metacarpal (knuckle of the thumb), or the carpal bones (small bones in the main body of the hand)? Are the joints of the finger hyperextending and resting on the ligaments and stressing the joints, or are the slightly flexed? This is probably where the problem is coming from. 

 

So, it could be a more complicated problem, so get it looked at if it persists. 

 

Wow thanks for this answer! You shouldn't have been relunctant! :)

 

I've been playing guitar for 20 years now but I've never been able to do any barred chords no matter the position of the hand. I've tried several tricks I've seen online such as applying the pressure from the index finger, changing how the thumb is positioned on the back of the neck, and so on. The pain is always there after a couple of seconds. This doesn't just happen when playing music but also when I'm scrubbing dishes with a scrubbing pad for example with either hands. I have to stop and shake my hand (which may be absolutely useless).

 

I just checked and the pain seems to come from the base of the thumb under the palm. I don't know if that means anything though.

[folk singer]

Wow thanks for this answer! You shouldn't have been relunctant! :)

 

I've been playing guitar for 20 years now but I've never been able to do any barred chords no matter the position of the hand. I've tried several tricks I've seen online such as applying the pressure from the index finger, changing how the thumb is positioned on the back of the neck, and so on. The pain is always there after a couple of seconds. This doesn't just happen when playing music but also when I'm scrubbing dishes with a scrubbing pad for example with either hands. I have to stop and shake my hand (which may be absolutely useless).

 

I just checked and the pain seems to come from the base of the thumb under the palm. I don't know if that means anything though.

 

 

when its longstanding and with many activities and with both sides, there is always a chance that the problem is secondary to a nerve conduction issue, which would mean that its origins could actually be up in the shoulders or neck and not actually a problem with the hand at all.

 

If it is impairing your activities of daily living and stopping you from hobbies that you like to do, seeing a hand therapist might be quite helpful. Are you in the Vancouver area? I can do some digging and give you some names if its something you are interested in. 

[Outtahere]

when its longstanding and with many activities and with both sides, there is always a chance that the problem is secondary to a nerve conduction issue, which would mean that its origins could actually be up in the shoulders or neck and not actually a problem with the hand at all.

 

If it is impairing your activities of daily living and stopping you from hobbies that you like to do, seeing a hand therapist might be quite helpful. Are you in the Vancouver area? I can do some digging and give you some names if its something you are interested in. 

 

No I'm actually an hour away from Montreal in Quebec. But thank you for the offer it's greatly appreciated! :)

 

It's not imparing my day to day activities as such but there are some instances where I have to apply force with my thumb and index finger when it hurts such as scrubbing with a scrubbing pad although I have to add that it only happens when I have to scrub hard and for a long time, it's not systematic. 

 

I'll definitely go check it out directly with a professional! Thanks for your input, I never thought of that. Heck I didn't even know there were hand therapists!

[folk singer]

No I'm actually an hour away from Montreal in Quebec. But thank you for the offer it's greatly appreciated! :)

 

It's not imparing my day to day activities as such but there are some instances where I have to apply force with my thumb and index finger when it hurts such as scrubbing with a scrubbing pad although I have to add that it only happens when I have to scrub hard and for a long time, it's not systematic. 

 

I'll definitely go check it out directly with a professional! Thanks for your input, I never thought of that. Heck I didn't even know there were hand therapists!

 

Hey no problem, hopefully you can get your problem adressed!

 

I am not sure if it is different back east than it is here in Vancouver, but there is probably a registry that you can look up for registered hand therapists in your area.

 

Good luck!