Preventing Overuse Injuries and Playing Pain-Free

Joyful Uke

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Just ran across this article, and thought it might be an important topic for some:

Janet Horvath on Preventing Overuse Injuries and Playing Pain-Free

https://bulletproofmusician.com/jan...d-playing-pain-free/?hilite='janet','horvath'

What all do people in the UU community do to prevent overuse injuries and play pain free? I've got to admit, I've been overdoing it lately, but I don't have a plan for preventing problems, which is not wise. I need to think about this, and come up with a plan.

My plan for the moment is to play some more, and think about it later, which is also not wise.
 
Thanks for sharing this. I have to wear a wrist support now a days if I am going to play for any length of time.
 
Thanks for sharing this. I have to wear a wrist support now a days if I am going to play for any length of time.
What constitutes any length of time? I'm wondering how much people here play? I play for forty-five minutes to an hour every afternoon without exception. Then maybe otherwise I pick it up for ten or fifteen minutes and play it, but not every day. Then I have an occasional gig or jam session. That's it for me. So far so good.
 
For me, the answer is playing smarter. The big challenge is not squeezing too much. I've noticed the farther up the neck I go the harder I squeeze. I think it is a stress-related thing: I'm doing things I'm not comfortable or familiar with and compensating with force when it is all about technique. So I'm trying to relax and keep things balanced (not crimping my wrist). Using a strap is key of me. With it, I don't have really squish the ukulele with a forearm or hold it in the crook of my hand; I can keep the hand supple and let it do what it needs to do without fear of the ukulele falling.
 
I would not practice if any joint pain when you don't have any permanent injury to your hand(s).
Good to always keep playing times short and repetitive rather than a one long session. 4 x 15 minutes better than one hour.

Myself I noticed some finger joint pains years ago when playing guitar solos with pull offs. I stopped using those in fear of getting some permanent damage to my fretting hand fingers. Using just hammer ons. We don't all have to be professionals :)

Better be safe than sorry.
 
Thanks for sharing this. I have to wear a wrist support now a days if I am going to play for any length of time.

May I know what kind of wrist support would help on that? My wrist also starts feeling pain these days. Maybe I play too much.
 
As I started reading this I started to think, and I hope I am wrong. You do all of the reading and get nothing but explanation upon explanation on the need for this information. In other words this is one of those long winded sales pitches to convince one to spend money and buy their product. Is this true or not?
 
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I tend to just overlook any pain. I have arthritis very bad, and just deal with it. I am blessed with having a high pain tolerance which is a blessing though. I have played guitar and bass since the 1970s, and can no longer play either of those due to the arthritis, which is what brought me to the uke many years ago, because it was a way for me to continue playing. Making music, even though I can not play to the caliber I used to, also due to a stroke about 10 years ago, but I still play the best I can and just suck up any pain issues, because the joy it brings me, outweighs any pain or limitations I have now. Of course you want to remain as healthy as you can, and do what ever you can to keep that. But also at the same time, when you can't alleviate it totally, just play anyway and don't stop..
 
Playing as relaxed as possible is something I work on every day. The late singer/songwriter Michael Johnson (Bluer Than Blue) gave me this advice. Michael was a very accomplished guitarist. When he talked, I listened.
The other thing I usually do is to practice in short sessions. 20-30 minutes each session. I usually do this 5-6 times a day.
 
As I started reading this I started to think, and I hope I am wrong. You do all of the reading and get nothing but explanation upon explanation on the need for this information. In other words this is one of those long winded sales pitches to convince one to spend money and buy their product. Is this true or not?

I see your point, but as a general topic, I think it's worthy of our attention. Skip that particular website if you'd like, but the idea that injuries and pain can occur from overuse is certainly valid, IMO.
 
What constitutes any length of time? I'm wondering how much people here play?

I used to rarely play more than 30 minutes per session, but somehow have slipped into playing a couple hours at a time lately. (A little extra time on my hands.) I sit down and start to play, and the next thing I know, 2 or 2 1/2 hours have passed by.

I tried setting a timer, to keep me from going so long at one time, but found myself turning off the timer and saying to myself, "just a few more minutes while I work on this", and of course, it turned out to be a lot more than a few more minutes. So, I probably just need to make myself behave when the timer goes off, and play in shorter sessions.

One of my excuses for UAS is that I think that switching to different ukuleles, (different necks, slightly different scale lengths), might help alleviate some of the repetitive stress problems, though admittedly, that's not going to make a big difference. But it's a good excuse for UAS, anyway. :)

Focusing on technique, (hand position, how tightly the neck is being gripped, and so on), and shorter sessions are probably what I need to do.

Does anyone do any stretching, or anything else like that? IIRC, in the UU lessons, Aldrine demonstrated some stretching exercises for the hands that he recommended. Maybe I should go look back at some of that, too.
 
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I do not disagree with you concerning this post. I only disagreed about the reference. I too suffer from a lot o pain and need all the advice I can get.

If you happen to find some better references, please share them. I posted that one to get the conversation going, and because it's what I happened to run into when first looking. But, I have no doubt that there are much better resources out there.
 
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