Wrist and finger pain and stiffness

The Gunrunner Rimbaud

The Gunrunner Rimbaud

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I've been practicing for a few months now and just the past week or so I've developed a pain starting from my left ring finger shooting down to my wrist and forearm. As you can imagine it really hampers my ability to practice as well as do other things (I'm wincing as I type this). What should I do to:

1. Alleviate the pain
2. Keep it from developing again (i.e. in regards to my playing technique).
3. Find a temporary stress outlet to replace what the uke has become for me.

I'm pretty desperate. I've tried to scale back practicing, but it's just getting worse and class is coming up on Monday.
Thank you.
 
GR

You might want to take a look at the position of your left wrist when you play. Are you bending it a lot? If so, try to reposition your ukulele so that you can keep your wrist straight while playing. That usually involves the ukulele's neck to be angled more vertically, and the elbow moved forward. Think of the position classical guitar players use. It will take the stress off of your wrist. Also, try playing in several short sessions instead of one long session. I found in the beginning, I would be frozen in one position for a long time. When I moved from that position, I discovered stiffness and pain that I was not aware of while playing. So, after each song, swing your arms around and make sure you are not getting stiff.

–Lori
 
1. You might try to loosen up a little. You may find that you don't have to clamp as hard as you think to fret successfully. When I started playing, I found that my hole body was tensed unnecessarily.
2. There are exercises that I use to relieve the tension ..... stretching with fingers extended perpendicular to the arms and rotating.
3. See a doctor. Don't think the amount of pain your describing is normal.
 
wrist pain

Sorry you are suffering with this...I have been nursing my left thumb and wrist, both are sore after playing and sometimes all the time..arthritis and too much shovleing, I'm afraid

...shorter practice sessions, you can ice the sore area after playing, I've had three acupuncture treatments and it does help a lot.


Good luck
 
Yup. See your doctor. There are several things that could be wrong. I'm an older guy and I have arthritis so I'm on Celebrex which seems to help but I still end up taking Tylenol 3 with codeine to ease the pain. It may also be carpal tunnel from repetitive movement.
 
Doctor. Stop playing for awhile. At some point, you may have to assess your technique. I would say that in general a lot of folks are way too tight when they play...forearm up...bent wrist (over bent) and sometimes a sense of thumb requirements that are less than flexible...

I hope you feel better. But taking off simply one or two days and then back again doesn't seem to coincide with the pain you are describing...you'd be simply doing more damage.

What size ukulele do you play?
 
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STOP playing. I am not the first one to say this. As a qualified draftsman / electrical technician I would diagnose your problem as tendonitis. It won't get better on its own. I messed up my wrist over 20 years ago playing too much and working on a computer all day at work. The diagnosis was tendonitis. I still have problems with that wrist and my shoulder and the whole left side. It is hard to say where tendonitis starts and age related arthritis take over but you do need help beyond that of a draftsman / electrical technician.
 
And while you're waiting to recover you could play harmonica. They're cheap to buy and the lessons learned on one might help with the uke - it's all music. I'm doing it for similar reasons - got a book called The Complete Idiots Guide to Playing the Harmonica from the library to work through. And a blues harp in C major to play. Lots of fun.
 
And while you're waiting to recover you could play harmonica.
Click to expand...
Great idea! Get a harmonica holder and you won't even need to use your hands. When I had tendonitis in my left wrist, I started doing everything with my right hand and that started to get sore.
 
I play tenor size. Oddly the pain comes and goes, it's worst when I wake up in the morning, and while playing is sore, typing is worse. Sometimes it doesn't hurt so much as just feel "there". I do tend to be overly tense when I play. I'll try to watch out for that, but it's really hard to do Es and B Flats while loose.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll see what I can do to see a doctor about it. Till then, Advil seems to work well enough and is in my budget limits! Probably should get more ergonomic on my computer as well.
 
Yeah, the computer can set up up for some major problems. I have been there.

When you play, try and relax a bit, it is just a peaceful little ukulele after all. I found it was difficult to relax my "death grip" carried over from the guitar. Experiment a little. You will be surprised if you are used to other instruments, that you can sound much better with a lighter grip. Try to relax your neck and shoulders too. Pinched nerves in those areas can cause shooting pain down your arm.

–Lori
 
The Gunrunner Rimbaud said:
I play tenor size. Oddly the pain comes and goes, it's worst when I wake up in the morning, and while playing is sore, typing is worse. Sometimes it doesn't hurt so much as just feel "there". I do tend to be overly tense when I play. I'll try to watch out for that, but it's really hard to do Es and B Flats while loose.
Click to expand...

The word is soprano is more difficult per left hand? Don't buy it. It all depends. For about 9 days I was playing a concert and both my hands were killing me. BTW, I've been playing fingerstyle guitar for quite a few years and never had anything like that. I think what also figures in is string tension and the relative tension/resistance generated by the body size length of instrument. For me, the concert is the LEAST comfortable overall...for someone else I can't speak.

In the meantime, do stop playing...
 
The Doctor will put you straight. But its likely to involve lots of rest. And don't fret about the lay off. You will probably come back better and be more relaxed about your playing. I have so many digit and wrist aches since I overdosed on the Uke. Had a few of weeks away and when I picked the uke up again, I found that what I'd learned previously had sunk in and i played a bit better.

OK I still play pretty badly - but it is better than before my lay-off!

Cheers

stew
 
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