Numbness in left hand lately...

BobS · #1 11-16-2001, 09:15 AM

I have noticed over the last month or so that I develop a numbness in my left (fretting) hand. Usually from the thumb to the middle and sometimes to the ring finger. It's like it "falls asleep". Probably has to do with my form, etc, etc. Anyone ever have a similar problem and get past it? Very annoying when can't feel the strings under your fingers.

Bob

stevemc · #2 11-16-2001, 09:36 AM

Bob -
I have EXACTLY the same problem as you describe, usually after about 1 hour of playing. It goes away if I guit playing for 5 - 10 minutes. I haven't found a solution but will be watching this thread to see if someone else has.
SM

DeanT · #3 11-16-2001, 10:01 AM

Your probably suffering with a bit of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It seems to be quite common with guitarists (I suffer with it). The bundle of nerves which serve the the thumb index and half the middle finger goes through a narrow bit of the wrist. The attitude of te wrist involved in guitar playing narrows this even further and the repetative action involved in fretting can cause swelling in that area. The upshot of it that the nerve gets pinched and you lose feeling. You can also get the problem at night when fluid collects in that area.

If the problem gets very bad it can cause pain and nerve damage (mine isn't that bad). The good news is that there is a simple operation which can be used to widen the tunnel and has a very high success rate.

I'm not a medical doctor so if you're genuinely concerned go and see your GP.

Noflatpick · #4 11-16-2001, 10:04 AM

It's gotta be carpal tunnel syndrome or something similar.

Ol' Doc Noflatpick has spoken. Take two double shots of Yukon Jack and call me in the morning.

If I play a song with all barre chords in it my hand will start numbing-up before I finish. Something to do with the extra clamping pressure needed.

When I ride my bike on long uninterrupted stretches of highway my right hand goes numb **** near to the elbow from holding the throttle tight in one position. If I'm on a twisty road or a backroad that passes through little towns where I'm on-and-off the throttle I can ride all day and never experience the numbness.

God it's tough to get old.

Anybody wanta hear about my bad knee?

mapletrees · #5 11-16-2001, 07:40 PM

oooohh...the exclamation point...must be serious...

whoa..even got one of those faces...I am a techno-wizard now with those...

thank you Eric!

in the General Discussion area there was a post called Tendonitis Problems with a link to a site talking about carpal tunnel (sp? both words...neither look correct)...do a search through the old posts and check it out...

you MUST take the warning signs seriously...really...I mean it....and I'm almost never serious about anything...

tingling and numbness one week...clumsiness and loss of gripping strength the next week...that's not good for a guitarist...I started having a problem with it...

my doctor...high as a kite as usual when I went to see him about it....eats those pills like popcorn...he's got a gumball machine of them in his office...anyways...his reply...stop playing the guitar for a while...and

duh...stop doing what is aggravating the problem...

he starts bangin' his head on the wall...over and over...sarcasticly (that can't be the proper spelling) lets loose with "oh Doctor...help me...my head is experiencing these mysterious pains...help me Doctor help me ....please I need someone with 57 years of eduction to help me stop this pain...bang bang bang..."

seriously now...stand up and let your hands fall by your side freely....naturally...comfortably...no tension..

if you continually while playing the guitar for hours a day for years and years 'break' either one of your wrists to either side of that natural postition...you're asking for trouble...it's just not what they are designed to do....

my trouble began with the way my fretting hand wrist would break backwards when I was bending strings on an electric....I was practicing like crazy and it would just stay bent bent bent for long periods....that hand position would be the same as someone typing on a keyboard with their wrists way too low...it's like putting a kink in garden hose...things get pinched...fluids can't move properly...etc..

I keep my thumb right in the middle of the back of the neck no matter what I'm playing now and I don't have any problem...

and by the way...I didn't think I could ever get used to keeping my thumb there...wanted to wrap the thumb to get leverage to bend...whined and whined...green split pead and moaned...big tbondo whine...(ERIC! why won't the little razz face work there?!?!?!?)

then just forced myself to concentrate...used the same old thing I've come to use to nail every soloing concept (limiting/restricting rhythm...absorb brain, absorb...and it does...effortlessly...that's what it's designed to do...the sandbox)...10 minutes and it seemed like it was the way I had always played...

I'd also do an internet search on "repetitive stress", "guitar", "exercises" etc...

I think there are over 20 or so different types of repetetive stress injuries that one can suffer from...I think that's what the doc said...not sure..it was tough to hear him on the way out....he was loudly banging his head on the gumball machine at that point...

BobS · #6 11-16-2001, 09:23 PM

Man,

I thought for sure I was gonna get advice like "Hold the guitar on your left knee" or "try using a strap" ...

thanks for the feedback folks....I do hate getting old. Mapletrees....we must have the same Dr. I went to mine last year complaining about soreness in my left shoulder. He said...do you sleep on it? I said yes. He said = stop sleeping on it. That will be $50. Next.

Stop playing guitar.... oh gawd....it's all I've got...

Bob

axememan · #7 11-23-2001, 03:48 AM

i thought it was only me...and i wake up in the mornin with numb hands/arms sometimes..a bunch of barre chords whoop up on me as well,i just figurd that it was all cause ive kept myself in PEEK phyysical condition!lol,exuuse me while i go get me another newcastle..............ok,back,these good beers dont have 'twist' off tops and i always have to dig the opener outta the drawer[mamma cant just leave it on the counter].....and how does the darn thing allways fall to the bottom of the drawer by the time i finish the first beer?sounds like an unsolved mystery ...oh,anyways...yall say that might be the sign of 'crappy tunnel syndrome'?good...just saved 50 bucks!im scared of them docs...everytime i go for something,and it dont seem to matter what!,they wanna look up my ......well i think ya know where they wanna look!!hey,at least i know my prostate is good!im thinkin of that fleetwood mac song when i think of doctors now......."NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN".....if'n i can help it that is!hey...doctors are good for the rest of ya'll though..so go see em if need be!!i just dont like them!!!

#8 11-23-2001, 09:06 AM

Though I would definitely suggest hauling buns to the doctor, there might be good news there:

Your numbness could be due to nothing more than weight gain causing constriction of blood vessels. I've gone up and down in weight and have had this happen on the upswing. My doctor correctly diagnosed this one for me. I was waking up with numb arms as well.

Bob

JW · #9 11-24-2001, 07:43 AM

Try keeping your hand lower than your heart, while most give some good advice you may want to have an EKG done(not trying to alarm you)but Ive been going to cardiac rehab long enough to know the symtoms. Weight gain can cause it also, Ive really put it since I quit giging. I was big when i giged but Ive put on 100 pounds since I quit. Im now on a strict diet along with rehab(excersize class) three times a week. Same problem with the hand. I use a strap because I like it but it helps me. Check with a good doctor and have that EKG done. Ive seen teenagers in Cardiac rehab so its not just an age thing. It can happen to anybody. If you dont do itt for yourself do it for those that love you. JW

mapletrees · #10 11-25-2001, 10:45 AM

BobS...in all seriousness I would suggest going to the doctor since there really can be many different sources of the problem...just wouldn't suggest my doctor...saw a picture of him in this morning's paper...on a stretcher getting into an ambulance with his mouth stretched and stuck around the little slide that the gumballs come out of...

do look at the way you're playing though...

anything unnatural isn't good over time...

Bob and JW .... my weight can go nutso too...easily can go up and then down 30 40 50 pounds in a period of just months...craziness...

where's i-doc?

axememan · #11 12-09-2001, 12:43 PM

i have packed a little xtra poundage on since i quit smokin[last year,jan. 4th,3 o'clock...salem]..and my money that im saving from smoking 2 packs a day is paying for my taylor!!so taylors are actually like....medicine!yes,thats it ...medicine,and i need another prescription!!lol...maybe a nice 410..or one of them new classical taylors!!!mmm,it is christmas time?maybe?........calling doctor bob....

sammywhat · #12 06-13-2008, 08:04 AM

I know that this thread hasn't been addressed in quite a while, but I'd like to add something none the less for those of you, like myself, that have been wondering about that numbness in the thumb (or down your left arm or right arm or first finger or the like)... The problem could be coming from your neck. There are nerves that follow from your spine to your hand (obviously), that may have some kind of trauma or "pinch". This could be from a fall or car accident... even something that happened a long time ago and is now just catching up with you.

My suggestion would be to see a chiropractor. It's not the end all, but it could be the start of getting a look-see at what ails ya.

I've been experiencing similar issues, and finally decided to see my old Chiropractor. He took some x-rays and found that my neck curve was a little abnormal. I wonder if it's from looking down at the fret board/picking hand all these years!?!?

Anyway, I recently feel down some alge covered steps out back. That is why my left arm and thumb and elbow are feeling the numbness/tingling thing.

But it might have been amplified by the fact my neck curve isn't what it should be!! BTW, I'm 44 years young and want to let you all know that if you ever feel tingling down your left arm... it could also be the onset of a heart attack!!! Don't be alarmed... just see a professional.

Thanks for your time.

S

sammywhat · #13 06-13-2008, 08:11 AM

I know that this thread hasn't been addressed in quite a while, but I'd like to add something none the less for those of you, like myself, that have been wondering about that numbness in the thumb (or down your left arm or right arm or first finger or the like)... The problem could be coming from your neck. There are nerves that follow from your spine to your hand (obviously), that may have some kind of trauma or "pinch". This could be from a fall or car accident... even something that happened a long time ago and is now just catching up with you.

My suggestion would be to see a chiropractor. It's not the end all, but it could be the start of getting a look-see at what ails ya.

I've been experiencing similar issues, and finally decided to see my old Chiropractor. He took some x-rays and found that my neck curve was a little abnormal. I wonder if it's from looking down at the fret board/picking hand all these years!?!?

Anyway, I recently feel down some alge covered steps out back. That is why my left arm and thumb and elbow are feeling the numbness/tingling thing.

But it might have been amplified by the fact my neck curve isn't what it should be!! BTW, I'm 44 years young and want to let you all know that if you ever feel tingling down your left arm... it could also be the onset of a heart attack!!! Don't be alarmed... just see a professional.

Thanks for your time.

S

ljguitar · #14 06-13-2008, 10:32 AM

didn't see that this was an ancient thread...oops

RareBird · #15 06-13-2008, 10:47 AM

I've had the carpal tunnel release surgery on my left hand and have unresolved carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. It has never produced "numbness". It's more like a "stinger" on the palm side of the wrist that goes right up the "life line" toward the middle of the palm.

Numbness can be caused by pressure on the veins in the "funny bone" area of the elbow. Pressure does not mean that you have to be pressing your funny bone against the arm of a chair--although that will do it--but it can come from your own musclature being asserted too long in that area. My advice would be to try to be mindful of blood flow through the elbow and perhaps try to play the neck away from your body for periods to straighten the elbow and thus take the pressure of ligaments and muscles off the funny bone area so that blood can go all the way to the fingers with regular pressure. Your fingers are "going to sleep" because you've restricted blood flow to them somewhere. My guess is the elbow. But of course, seeing a doctor is not bad advice for precaution. (If it were a stroke, you'd have the numbness all the time.)