Wrist Pain, Bad technique, or too much practice? Options

[Kristofer Dahl]

I just got this email

First of all I would like to compliment you on your fantastic website, I would join but unfortunately do not have the funds. In browsing your forum I came across a thread by “radarlove1984” regarding a pain in his left wrist, I highly suggest you relay the following information to him and all of GMC for that matter. It sounds like he is suffering from tendonitis, I would know, for 4 months now I have been suffering this terrible disease. My suggestion is to take a complete hiatus from guitar for a short period of time; usually it goes away in around two weeks (mine is an abnormal case), and seek some medical attention, I also suggest the mass consumption of Gatorade (about 2 bottles a day) and bananas to lubricate the tendons and help them heal a remedy endorsed my Yngwie Malmsteen (I just started doing it and I already feel a difference).

Important - I have not verified the legitimacy of his remedy - so it's not something I recommend!

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[Andrew Cockburn]

But can all these be considered as "valuable" threads?

Depends what the intention is I guess - if valuable = saving us repeating ourselves answering similar questions, then yes, but if valuable = good advice related to guitar playing, then no (apart from the surgery one)

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[radarlove1984]

Whoever sent the email, thanks for the concern. It looks like I really got lucky this time. I've only been seriously practicing 5+ hours a day for a few months now, and I started as a complete beginner in January. I posted this topic when the pain started to become constant, and because of the feedback I got, I stopped practicing right away.

I'm only on day 4 of not playing, but already my wrist feels normal. To be safe, I'm going to wait 3 more days before I start again, and I'll make sure I take it slow for a while.

I'll post back in a few days and let everyone know if the pain is still there. Thanks again for all the help, everyone. Chances are, if I didn't get this kind of feedback, I would have kept playing for another 4 months or so, and then I'd have to deal with a permanent problem.

As far as I can tell, this was just a warning sign.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Whoever sent the email, thanks for the concern. It looks like I really got lucky this time. I've only been seriously practicing 5+ hours a day for a few months now, and I started as a complete beginner in January. I posted this topic when the pain started to become constant, and because of the feedback I got, I stopped practicing right away.

I'm only on day 4 of not playing, but already my wrist feels normal. To be safe, I'm going to wait 3 more days before I start again, and I'll make sure I take it slow for a while.

I'll post back in a few days and let everyone know if the pain is still there. Thanks again for all the help, everyone. Chances are, if I didn't get this kind of feedback, I would have kept playing for another 4 months or so, and then I'd have to deal with a permanent problem.

As far as I can tell, this was just a warning sign.

Yes it really seems it turned out to the best!

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[Jeff]

But can all these be considered as "valuable" threads?

I believe you should put more of an emphasis on using the search feature. Perhaps an explaination of it and the reasons why it is helpful to use before you post something. I must say that I am guilty of not searching myself before I post.

I think that would solve a majority of the problems. Something that has bothered me in other forums is that often times the same questions get asked by several people who really do not know that their question may have been asked before. Then, as a result, someone will fire back with a negative response like "hey idiot - that has been asked, why don't you check here or there..." . That certainly is something that you would want to avoid at GMC.

One of the great things about GMC and what keeps me coming back is that I haven't had that type of experience here because it's members are good people. So using the search feature or employing what Andrew and Kris are talking about here is an excellent idea. If for anything, to avoid such a comment as described above.

As far as the advice about wrist pain, really, that is something that needs to be diagnosed by a doctor and not to be messed with. No one here really knows how long of a break is needed if any. There is a lot of advice on the Internet about everything and you need to take it with a grain of salt. But, when it comes to physical pain, it is foolish not to have it looked at by a doctor.

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