Hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar is a normal condition but as it is only a short lived phase should not be allowed to put you off all together. Look at it from the point of view that whilst for you as a whole person learning to play guitar is a relaxation, for your fingers, hands, arms and shoulders it is much like taking up a new and vigorous sport!
It is a bit of a cliché to say that you shouldn’t try to run before you can walk. So if you are going to reduce the symptoms of and any damage caused by the hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar a little forethought and preparation is advisable.
Attention to your physical wellbeing and having the right mindset is a prerequisite of any sporting activity.
Going on from that then and applying it to your guitar lessons and practice it would make sense to adopt a routine that will optimise the value of the session and reduce the incidence of hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar.
To get the very best out of a lesson in learning to play guitar take a short walk before you begin if you can. You will be amazed how much more benefit you will get out of the session with a clear mind and your circulation refreshed. It doesn’t have to be vigorous, it doesn’t have to be long. Taking exercise and breathing fresh air gives a wonderful tonic to the circulation, so neccasary if you are going to spend time practicing your guitar.
It is quite important for the best results to have a clear and tidy place in which to play your guitar. A suitable chair or stool is so important too. You need to be comfortable and at ease to play guitar properly. Your head should be clear. You should feel stress free and relaxed if you are not you will not enjoy playing.
Be sure to wear comfortable clothing that allows plenty of freedom of movement. Shoulders, arms and wrists need to be totally unrestricted. Remember that your watch might scratch or mark your guitar if you leave it on.
A good deal has been talked about stretching and warming up routines and I have covered some of these in another article, sore guitar fingers! A little time spent stretching the fingers apart and an equally short time squeezing a soft ball is enough. Quite the best way of warming up, much as you might jog a while before you start sprinting, is to just quietly and slowly strum a few chords or play some gentle guitar songs to loosen up.
As you begin to play the muscles and tendons in your hands along with muscles in the wrists, arms and shoulders are asked to move, stretch and support in positions that are quite new to them. Is it surprising then that at first they react by giving a degree of hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar?
Your fretting hand is held out away from you supporting and fretting the guitar neck which is a stress position, just try holding your arm out horizontally without the guitar, you won’t do it for long! The blood flow to the hands is restricted because your hands are usually held down not up. Any restriction of blood flow will cause pins and needles and will result in aching in the arm and hand.
Importantly in reducing hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar, do keep practice sessions short. Take a break and take a walk to the coffee pot from time to time. Stretch your hands rotate your arms and wrists and grab a drink. This is a learning curve for you, for your arms, your wrists, your hands and your fingers. Practice a little but practice often. Three twenty minute sessions will deliver a greater value than one continuous hour. That is definitely so in the beginning of your guitar playing career.
Don’t let yourself be beaten by this short lived problem of hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar. It will pass with practice and muscle familiarity as you play more and more.
Taking a really professional course of instruction such as that produced by Legacy Learning Systems and discussed in our Learn & Master Guitar review will be of benefit to anyone with concerns about hand and wrist pain learning to play guitar. The help and advice given by the award winning guitar guru Steve Krenz who wrote and hosted the course is invaluable for anyone at any level wishing to learn from scratch or improve their existing guitar skills. Find out more about Steve Krenz at our Steve Krenz review page.
GuitarAccord.com is a website dedicated to the promotion of guitar learning. Looking at a diversity of guitar styles we recommend appropriate methods of learning to play the guitar. If you are looking to start playing the guitar then start by looking at www.guitaraccord.com where you will find the best courses available to you today.
