Hi All, Have a question here. I have a bit of pain in the back of my forearm almost right in the middle between the wrist and elbow, feels like the tendons are sore! Is that a common place to hurt, I have been doing a lot of Legato drills?? Usually if I massage it it gets a bit better, any suggestions?? Thank you

This question has come up with disturbing frequency as of late. A HUGE thread was going on this very issue just recently. The short answer is, your hands/arms are pretty easy to destroy to be honest. You can give yourself "repetitive stress injury" RSI causing "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" and potentially NEVER PLAY GUITAR AGAIN. This is the most extreme case of course, but it's worth paying serious attention when you notice pain in your arms. There is only one real answer.

GO SEE A DOCTOR ASAP.

Until you can get to the doctor,

1.)Stop Playing if you feel ANY pain.
2.)Always warm up with light arm/hand stretches before playing.
3.)Always cool down with light arm/hand stretches after playing.
4.)use a single ice cube on your forearm after playing to reduce swelling.
4.)Drink a large glass of water after playing to help flush toxins out of your muscles.

Playing at even semi intense levels is stressful on the arms/hands just like a full on gym workout would be. So you need to treat it as a sport in terms of prep and taking care of yourself. You get one pair of arms/hands. Imagine if you only got one pair of string for your whole life? How would you treat those? Would you take them for granted?

The reason I'm so intense about this is I gave myself severe carpal tunnel despite everyone telling me I was doing it to myself. I just kept playing/practicing despite the pain. Thinking I had to "work through the pain". In short I was just being dumb. I had to wear a brace on both arms for 6 months and couldn't play.

Todd

Thank you Todd for the great advice , I do remember the thread about pain in the hands. Seeing my doctor tomorrow on another matter but will ask. Tried the ice cube thing worked great along with the stretching. I think its the wider stretches on the fretboard I'm not used to fully yet! Will definitely take it easier and ALWAYS stretch and warm my hands and forearms up.

Todd pointed out the important things and as a side note I was showing a student here in Bucharest a few wide legato positions involving consecutive minor thirds on one string. I was not warmed up. Guess what - I felt sore muscles in the hand - right underneath the pinky. I was laughing at myself, noticing how I skipped warmup and the immediate bad results..

Yep...Todd made a summary of a few topics about the pain we had before. Of course THE DOCTOR is a best solution and we have some dudes here who will confirm it's best choice

BUT...

You may try a 2-3 days break and if it goes away, it means it's just a natural abuse of the muscles

Thank you all for the good advice, went to doctor today and she told me it might be tennis elbow! Most of the pain which just came on in the last week is right on the forearm near elbow. Gave me some exercises and recommended like Todd said to Ice the area for 10 minutes before playing.

Hi mate, great to know that you went to the doctor! Thanks for sharing what she said here, it is really helpful for everybody here. I hope that the pain disappears soon.

I had a case of cubital tunnel syndrome in my right arm for a while. It got so bad that I couldn't turn the ignition on my car. In order to get rid of it, I stopped playing guitar for a few months. I also changed a few habits, and developed a few new ones.

I started to sleep with my arm extended. Sleeping with my arm contracted was pinching the nerve in my elbow. I also began stretching my forearm by placing my hand flat against the wall, with my fingers pointed downwards, and gradually moving up till my hand is level with my face.

Also, you have to pay attention to the form of your neck and shoulder while you're sitting. Having bad neck and shoulder posture can effect your elbow.

As has been mentioned earlier, treat strenuous exercises like a gym exercise. Do 10-20 reps, then rest and stretch before the next set.

We are all happy to help One quick note, are you playing standing or "side sadle" with the guitar on the right leg? Just curious. Also, here is my stretch vid with the "finger yoga" stretches I use to help with finger reach. Don't bounce the stretches, just light pressure
P.S. The pre ice is good idea to help reduce inflammation!! Just a single cube should do it

Howdy Tom! So glad to hear that everything is ok - Todd knows a lot of stuff about warming up and cooling down so pay close attention to his advice. I would also share a video with you about warming up - I posted it a lot around the forum so you might've seen it before, but here it goes:



It's a very efficient warm up exercise which can save you a lot of trouble

Great You didn't wait to long with doctor visit. Hope the problem will go away soon

Once again Thank you all for great advice and exercises. I have a horrible habit of sitting in my recliner when I practice and all the weight goes on my left arm, so I have to stop that now. I have taken yesterday and today off and already the pain has subsided along with icing twice a day and the exercises I got from doctor and the ones here. Thank you all again, although I am not a professional musician it actually bugs me when I don't play I get very restless but have to learn to relax.

Well thanks Great vid Cosmin!! Some really good advice in this thread! Is there a "warmup wiki" section?

Todd

Thanks man I do believe there is one but I don't know how to find it.. It would be a great addition to the thread!

Just a quick update. Almost 3 days of no playing along with stretching, icing and warm up NO pain anymore in the forearm. Once again thank you all for great advice. will never, ever forget the importance of stretching and warming up before playing now.

Great to hear!! I'm glad it is clearing up. Keep up your stretches!


Todd

Great mate!! I'm glad to know this. Now be careful.

Good news to hear that the pain is gone!

I found the hand injury wiki (on the "Techniques" wiki page). It would be nice if the videos above were included in it.

Guitar & Hand Injury Wiki

Amazing, Tom! So glad to hear that all our powers combined can really make a change!

Thank you Todd and all for the great advice