Wrist problems with the guitar

pug_

Hi folks,

I've a bit of a problem and I'm not even sure there's anything I can do about it. I picked up the guitar about a year ago after a break for a few years, and now that I'm playing regularly again I've started to develop an annoying problem with my left wrist.

What happens is frequently, (not every time, but frequently enough) when I change from say an open d chord to a bare b or something I get a pretty painful click in my wrist, it's kinda like something rubbing together. It's only a click, and only lasts for that instant that I put pressure on the fretboard, but I don't want to do any damage to my wrist so I'm trying to figure out how I can correct it if at all. This only happens with bare chords and usually only when I change from an open to a bare chord though I have felt it every so often changing from one bare to another.

I've tried adjusting the angle and the pressure that I apply bare chords with, and I've tried paying as much attention as I can to what I'm doing when it happens to see if I can figure something out. I've also tried adjusting my posture and the angle of the guitar (both tilt and rotation) to see if I can find some way of playing that gives any kind of improvement, but so far I've not had any joy.

It's not crippling or anything, and like I said it's only for an instant, I'm just worried that the frequency might increase, and it might start to be come a real problem over time. If anyone has come across anything similar before, or knows a way to resolve it I'd be very grateful?

feylya

You have a painful clicking sensation in your wrist when you play guitar? Go to the doctor and get it seen. It sounds like a medical problem and no one here is qualified to diagnose or suggest treatments for it.

Rigsby

A visit to a physiotherapist might be a good idea also. Maybe your doctor could refer you to one.

Malice

feylya wrote: »

You have a painful clicking sensation in your wrist when you play guitar? Go to the doctor and get it seen. It sounds like a medical problem and no one here is qualified to diagnose or suggest treatments for it.

I definitely agree with this! Don't just ignore it or assume that it will go away. Make sure your posture is correct, that you're not hunched over the guitar or holding it oddly. One thing that wasn't mentioned in the original post is whether you do warm-up stretches for your hands and wrists before you start playing? I work all day and most evenings on a computer keyboard and I ensure to take regular breaks to stretch my arms, hands, wrists and fingers out. When I play guitar in the evening I always ensure to do some easy scale runs up and down the neck at a fairly slow speed.
It's a bit like going for a run. You don't just start running as fast as you can as soon as you have your shoes laced up. You go for a light jog and a stretch first.

pug_

Thanks for the replies. I kinda guessed I wouldn't get an answer here, I was just hoping it was a common enough problem that I just didn't know about and someone might be able to enlighten me.

As for warmup exercises I don't really do what might be considered traditional warmups but I do generally start with some simple finger picking, or simple songs that I like playing, and I often play scales to begin with too as i find them quite therapeutic and relaxing to play for some reason.

I don't know about going down the medical route, it could wind up being expensive. I might try one trip to a gp but if he starts to recommend me to anyone I think I'd prefer to just give up on the guitar and take up golf or something than piddle my money away on medical bills for what's essentially a hobby.

Malice

pug_ wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I kinda guessed I wouldn't get an answer here, I was just hoping it was a common enough problem that I just didn't know about and someone might be able to enlighten me.

As for warmup exercises I don't really do what might be considered traditional warmups but I do generally start with some simple finger picking, or simple songs that I like playing, and I often play scales to begin with too as i find them quite therapeutic and relaxing to play for some reason.

I don't know about going down the medical route, it could wind up being expensive. I might try one trip to a gp but if he starts to recommend me to anyone I think I'd prefer to just give up on the guitar and take up golf or something than piddle my money away on medical bills for what's essentially a hobby.

I would still definitely see someone. Nobody is going to put a gun to your head to force you to take their advice but they may just tell you that nothing's wrong.
One other thing that I didn't mention in my last post is that when I switched from playing six-string to seven-string, I used to find reaching the low B quite awkward because my hand wasn't used to the wider neck. As a result my hands tended to get a little sore in the beginning. I know it's probably not the same thing but your first post mentioned you haven't played guitar in a few years so maybe your hands just need to get used to it again?

Music4life

Yes you should go to a physiotherapist as soon as possible.Give your hands a break from guitar.If you play through the pain it could cause severe tendonitis.This is becoming a big problem with musicians theses days.The physiotherapist will just give you stretches to do which does help.;)