Left thumb and index finger hurt so badly...

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VVVLion

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Hi, everybody! I have a question to ask...
I've been playing for about four month or so.
On average, I play about 6-8 hours a day...
just can't put it down :love: :music:
And two days ago, the first joint of my left thumb started hurting, and yesterday the first joint of my index finger followed...
I'm really confused... as on average, I usually play the violin and the piano for 6-8 hours a day since I'm a music major student, and I've never felt any pain like this, not that I remember...
Did I do anything wrong, or...
is it just something that I must go through :confused:
I don't want to stop playing, what should I do...
:iwant:to play!!!
 
http://www.gotaukulele.com/2013/01/a-light-touch-tip-for-new-ukulele.html
 
I'm not a doctor, but you probably shouldn't play on it if it's hurting you. Take a little break and if it doesn't get better, go get it checked out.
 
You're playing too long without resting your hands. You could cause permanent damage and won't be able to play at all. I play for 1-2 hours at a time now. I used to play for 3-4 hours and my hands were paying the price. Spend your off time reading about playing. Good luck.
 
I'm jealous of you people racking up all that playing time.
I'm good for about 1/2 hour a day. Nothing close to what you are racking up.

And that's why - I'll always be a hack. :)

As the person above said, if you're not taking breaks, you need to. Your hands need it.
 
I am not a medical professional, but I would definitely back off before you permanently damage something.

After I had been playing a few months, I was determined to learn a song that had some challenging (for me) barre chords. My hands weren't very strong and I was squeezing the neck very tightly with my thumb. The joint at the base of my thumb started to hurt. I tried to play through the pain, but it got worse every time I played and I eventually realized that the pain wasn't going away. I finally decided to take a break from playing to allow the joint to heal--it took a month before I could play without pain. Even now (almost 2 years later) I have to be careful--if I play for a long time without stopping, I can feel twinges in that joint.
 
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To 7warriorlion:
Thank you for the links!
They are really helpful:eek:
 
Thank you guys for answering!!!
Now I know I really need to take a very good rest, and my hands will need it!
I forced my hands to work overtime... that's not very nice...
and I'm going to my therapist now, I guess my fingers really need some help. They were aching like hell that I couldn't sleep last night:(

I guess I squeezed the neck very tightly with my thumb and my index finger when I needed to hold multiple strings with my index finger...
And I played too HARD! Must try to relax.:p

I'll be more careful and spend more time reading about better ways of playing correctly instead of just playing very very HARD!:rock:
 
Always pay attention to pain.. your body is warning you. Make your practice sessions shorter, and maybe spend some time listening to good ukulele players. There was an article a while ago that claimed that it improves your playing as much as playing extra hours. It might be a good way to maximize your shorter practice times.

–Lori
 
I've heard that we don't have to press down as hard as we might think. In fact, they say that pressing too hard causes the notes to be out of tune. I think you will find that if you are able to relax your hands (grip) some, you will find it easier to change chords. At least, that's my experience so far. FWIW
 
To dear Lori-
Thank you so much for your suggestion!
That reminds me of what my teacher always says to me: To become a good player, you must spend a lot of time practicing, but to become a great player, you must spend more time listening than practicing.
I love listening to music, and I always enjoy listening to great music, but some how it's difficult for me to remember to just put down the instrument and just listen to those maestros play.:wallbash: I have difficulty striking a balance between listening and playing, and that slows down my progress...:deadhorse:
So, thank you again for reminding me of the importance of listening to music. I believe this theory applies to every everyone, every instrument, and every music genre pretty well.:cheers:
 
How old are you?

How soon do you want to have arthritis?

Lighten up.

And then there's Vitamin I ibuprofen...to be used judiciously, but it is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory miracle.

I'll be 70 this summer, and I have to resort to Vitamin I several times a week in the morning. A doc who sewed up a smashed finger looked at the Xrays of my hand and said, "Yep, pretty normal for a guy who works with his hands..." So if you're on the young side, take care. If you're older, take drugs and take care!
 
VVVLion said:
To dear Lori-
Thank you so much for your suggestion!
That reminds me of what my teacher always says to me: To become a good player, you must spend a lot of time practicing, but to become a great player, you must spend more time listening than practicing.
I love listening to music, and I always enjoy listening to great music, but some how it's difficult for me to remember to just put down the instrument and just listen to those maestros play.:wallbash: I have difficulty striking a balance between listening and playing, and that slows down my progress...:deadhorse:
So, thank you again for reminding me of the importance of listening to music. I believe this theory applies to every everyone, every instrument, and every music genre pretty well.:cheers:
Click to expand...
One last thing after you return playing..take your uke to a luthier to get the action dropped and try to get a lower tension thinner strings at the same time...Good Luck
 
Take a break and sounds like you are:
1. Playing too long at one time each day (take a break)
2. You might be pressing and squeezing too hard.
 
Try to stretch and crack your knuckles before you play and I'm not sure how you play but it also could be you're pressing to hard. If none of that helps try to stop playing for a couple days and see if it goes away
 
I imagine there are suttle muscle differences between fretting a violin on your shoulder, and fretting an ukulele in front of you. Take it more slowly. Please don't hurt yourself.
 
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