Painful wrist

[mixxa82]

Hi folks!

I bought an L-03R six months ago  and the neck profile felt very  comfortable at first.  Few months ago I started to play more difficult songs with fingersyle, Tommy Emmanuel's stuff  and  other. And now my wrist has been quite painful since then. Is it  a normal reaction that your wrist is getting painful when you start to play with more difficult playing style, to take difficult chords and so on? Should I consider to change my L-model to D-model  which has 1 & 11/16 neck width instead of  1 & 3/4? Or is it just the lack of my wrist's muscle power?  Maybe I should try a D-model. It's a shame 'cause I reallly love L's sound.
Thanks for replies!

-Mika-

[obe-wan]

hi there Mika,
sorry to hear of your wrist injury, I had similar issues when I first started playing Country Blues/Rag type arrangements. I think youre right in saying its that you are learning a new style, therefore putting your hand into positions its not used to going. I found when i was playing new stuff I was applying far to much pressure with my hand, and as i got more familiar with the style, could relax more. Unfortunately i ended up with a pretty severe case of tentinitious ( is that how you spell it?) and had to actually take a break from playing for a few month to recover. The guitar I was playing had a 1-11/16 nut, and i have reasonably big hands, so I dont think it was the guitar. After I healed I still went back to the same guitar and played the same music, although I warmed up more carefully, didnt play difficult pieces for extended times, and was very careful of my posture, wrist angle etc. Havent had a problem since.
Hope this wordy story helps you out some, because theres nothing worse than feeling pain whilst playing Guitar.
Cheers, Scott.

[hudson]

As suggested, definitely warm up before tackling new + difficult styles.  I have also found a big help in stretching finger & arm muscles, as recommneded to prevent carpal tunnnel and tendonitis.  Do a google search of these type exercies and you will find many ways to stretch these muscles.  I stretch these muscles out every chance I get throughout the day, even when I am not playing guitar to help prevent the tightness and soreness.  I have found that it really does help...

[obe-wan]

Having said all that, go and buy yourself a D model anyway, you can never have too many Guitars, Right?
Cheers, Scott.

[mixxa82]

Haha, thanks for the advice Scott but at the moment I can only afford one good guitar. I'll give a try with D but like you guys said maybe the guitar isn't my problem (I wouldn't want to sell my beautiful L). I have to start stretching out my muscles and see what happens. I'm definitely not a beginner, just changed my playing style.

[DaveyO]

I had the exact same problem.
I bought an L05 and was happy, then I started to feel pain in my wrist .Especially with barre chords.
I took it back and got a d05 and now things are good again.
the width of the neck was to much for me, I have small hands.Go for the D,in my opinion
Dave

[Michael T]

You may want to check your posture, learning a new style (or particularly difficult piece) you could be bringing your wrist under and kicking the body out a bit. If you traditionally play with the axe on your right leg try the classical style and stitch to the left, possibly adding a stool or thick book for a foot rest. I worked wonders when I first started some fingerstyle exercises (thumb, 1, 2, 3, thumb, 1, 2, 3, expletives deleted). 

[jwb]

I badly broke my left wrist a few years ago....got thrown from a horse....long story.  I thought I would never play guitar again.  I still have pain but not enough to stop me from playing.  The switch to new playing style is what has you in pain, likely.  Just make sure to give your hands a rest and don't overdo it....build up just like a fitness program. 

I can't tell a difference between the 1 3/4" and 1 11/16" nut width with respect to pain from playing...they feel very similar to me.  The dread and the L are very similar in sound and feel.  The 1 13/16" and 1 7/8" does make me hurt, however, on the 000 and SD. 

My suggestion?  Get a parlor!  The reduced string tension and closer fret spacing make it super easy to play.  You can play the parlor to build up your strength between L sessions and they are perfect for fingerstyle.  Difficult passages are easier to play on them IMO.

Feel better!  Justin

[mixxa82]

Hmmmm...Have received so many aspects from you guys. What should I do.... It's hard to find Larrivee Parlor guitars here in Finland. I think I'll try D and if it feels the same I just have to stretch and try to relax my hand.

[Jeff]

I have, also, found stretching to really help.  Whatever you do, don't ignore the pain and try to just "play through it."  I did and developed serious case of tendinitis that took a very long time to heal. 
Jeff

[Cowgirlie]

Yep...it's a bit of tendonitis, I think...I noticed I was getting some towards the end of my last tour, when I had done a two hour show on Friday night, then two half hour shows the next afternoon and then a three hour gig that night....my wrist was sore, more than anything, and I had time to notice when I got on the road for a two day drive back home.....a little ibuprophen helps....and warm up.
Consider that your concentration on what your mind is saying is "more difficult" may be causing you more tension in your arm....and I'm not joking here....instead think "Fun and different, and the same as I already have been doing...." and you may find that your wrist will not be hurting. Interesting thread, last weekend was the first time I'd noticed....and then, it could have been the two hour drive to the Friday gig, finding out the booker had neglected to get my hotel room, setting up sound in a school gymnasium, after finding out the booker really didn't know where the venue was (for a town event) and dealing with gymnasium sound...and driving like mad to the next gig Saturday night, and setting up there....could have been simple stress, eh?

[limnephilidae]

I just started to get this as I was doing a bit more cycling this year and trying 4 new harder pieces. Does anyone have a solid stretch routine they would like to post? I googled it but there's a lot of variation.

Thanks,

Adam

[hudson]

http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/ctexercise.htm

Try the link above.  I do this throughout the day as much as I can, even when you are not playing guitar.  Be easy on yourself, don't overstretch.  Eventually it will feel more loose and flexible.  Also, a nice warm up exercise to get your fingers loose is to pick 4 consecutive notes forwards & backwards (ex. frets 1-4) on each string.  Start slow and repeat on each string, gradually increasing speed through out the exercise.  Incorporate alternate picking and make up your own patterns. This not only helps loosen your muscles & warm you up, but improves speed, accuracy & muscle memory/strength.  I have seen a dramatic difference when I do the above for about 15-20 minutes, versus when I just start trying to playing cold.  Hope this helps.

[Danny]

          I have been trying to learn new chords and some finger style and it is extremely painful for me.
But my relief to some of the pain came when I got my LSV-11 which has a wider neck 1 13/16. But a different radius and a more comfortable feel for me. It took a few weeks to get used to it. It also has a short scale which helps me.
          I do have several smaller guitars and the old Gibson has a  1 5/8" neck. But it is the LSV that I play mostly.
I still just can't make a lot of chords though, so I have to use a root chord or barre it or just fake it. Oh well, I'm just happy to still be playing.    Let us know how this turns out for you, all the best. Danny

[TMAC]

I am sorry to say, after 3 Larrivee guitars a D, an L, and an OM I have gone to a Martin ooo and never looked back. The Modified low oval neck has been amazing in terms of comfort. The Larrivee's all sounded fantastic, but I could never get used to the neck profiles.
Cheers, Chop

[Danny]

I am sorry to say, after 3 Larrivee guitars a D, an L, and an OM I have gone to a Martin ooo and never looked back. The Modified low oval neck has been amazing in terms of comfort. The Larrivee's all sounded fantastic, but I could never get used to the neck profiles.
Cheers, Chop

000 What?    I'm about to acquire an OM-21. But I'll keep my LSV, The Gibson will probably go.
                  "The Modified low oval neck" I think that's the description of my LSV neck... But I don't know.

[gluve1]

Try using a foot stool  to raise the guitar (on your left leg if your right handed) or a small pillow under the guitar. This will keep your wrist from being bent and give you much more range of motion and strength in your hand and fingers. There's a reason classical players do this. As a test to prove my point, bend you wrist and make a fist then spread you fingers out with your wrist still bent. Then then do the same with your wrist straight. You'll have a lot more strength and stretch. You may well know this and do this already but just in case I thought I would bring it up.

[mixxa82]

I raise this topic up after short break...Does anyone use Eb-tuning in order to make playing easier? I have found it helpful for my wrist but of course the guitar doesn't sound so good as with regular E-tunig. I think I'll use lower tuning while training and sometimes switch to regular. Make sense? I play only instrumentally so the tuning doesn't matter so much.

[magictwanger]

You've gotten some very good advice here,especially Scott's earliest post...Still,Id like to add.....TAKE A BREAK!!

  Take frequent breaks during practice sessions,and take a day(or three,due to pain issues)off a little more than you'd like to,in the earlier stages of developing strength....One of the biggest problems I faced was not knowing when to quit,both from practice(mucho bar chords)and duration of practice in difficult areas.This led to a nasty case of tendonitis.

  You should check your technique "habits" as well.You might ne surprised!

  My son is an MD,and I drove him nuts,with my complaining(hey,I put him through med school).

  I also went to a hand specialist,who said the hand was 100% perfect,but it still lost me 6 months,because though I was fine,the hand became weak(from lack of use).I was not a happy camper....I also don't give up quickly,so I spent alot of time re-thinking my technique and studying music theory.

 
  I purposely spent a good month(after the pain subsided)strengthening the hand/wrist at the gym.I'm thrilled to be back!!

  TRUST me......take a break,or have fun looking at your nice guitar,and spending too much time on forums,instead of playing!

  Best of luck

[dmcginnis]

Magictwanger - what were the exercises you did?