Fret hand forearm pain

[cityjack]

Evening all,

I am just learning to play my basic chords. I can get about 15 minutes into practice until my forearm outside gets hard and cramps. I have to stop because I cannot do anything further.

what can I do to limit the pain or help before it even starts? Stretches or something? I have never had any issue with my arm with any other activities and never an injury. 59 years old.

Any tips would be great.

Thanks

Sid

[Rev Roy]

I didn’t start playing until I retired at 63. Pretty much started doing these stretches on day one. I’m 70 now and have never had any significant hand/wrist/arm issues. Maybe they will work for you too…

[s2y]

Could be a few things. Have you ever taken lessons and discussed proper technique? Has the guitar been set up? My off the cuff guess is that the action might be too high and your fretting hand is working too hard.

[TTiimm]

I'm 58 and just started.

Play until it hurts then stop and take a walk. Play some more until it hurts and the have dinner. Play a little more after dinner and when you have had enough, put the guitar away and do it again tomorrow. You will have good days and bad days but eventually you will be able to play for longer periods without pain.

It's like running or cycling. You don't run marathons or ride the Tour de France on the first day. You have to build up strength and endurance.

Don't force it. Just take breaks when it gets too intense. You'll be fine in a few weeks.

Have a look at https://midlifeguitar.com/beginner-g...strated-guide/


-Tim-

[Jamolay]

Originally Posted by cityjack

Evening all,

I am just learning to play my basic chords. I can get about 15 minutes into practice until my forearm outside gets hard and cramps. I have to stop because I cannot do anything further.

what can I do to limit the pain or help before it even starts? Stretches or something? I have never had any issue with my arm with any other activities and never an injury. 59 years old.

Any tips would be great.

Thanks

Sid

You say “forearm outside” which is a little anatomically ambiguous. Do you mean the dorsal forearm? The side where the hair grows? If so, my thought is that you are flexing the wrist too much. That makes the extensor tendons of the forearm stretch and work too hard. Your wrist should only be slightly flexed if at all.

[TTiimm]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

I didn’t start playing until I retired at 63. Pretty much started doing these stretches on day one. I’m 70 now and have never had any significant hand/wrist/arm issues. Maybe they will work for you too…

I just tried this. It's really good. Thank you!

[rstaight]

You may be applying to much pressure creating tension in your forearm. It's easy to do.

Start playing a chord. Then start relaxing your grip until you no longer get a clear chord. Then reapply till your notes are clear. You will be surprised how little pressure you need.

[cityjack]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

I didn’t start playing until I retired at 63. Pretty much started doing these stretches on day one. I’m 70 now and have never had any significant hand/wrist/arm issues. Maybe they will work for you too…

Thank you so much Mr. Roy. 63 huh? Inspiring to say the least. These are the exercises I was looking for.

Have a great day and thank you.

Sid

[cityjack]

Originally Posted by rstaight

You may be applying to much pressure creating tension in your forearm. It's easy to do.

Start playing a chord. Then start relaxing your grip until you no longer get a clear chord. Then reapply till your notes are clear. You will be surprised how little pressure you need.

I'm definitely thinking this is the issue. I know I'm pressing hard because I have a hard time fitting my fingers into the space. Especially the A chord when all 3 fingers are bunched in there.

Thank you

[cityjack]

Originally Posted by Jamolay

You say “forearm outside” which is a little anatomically ambiguous. Do you mean the dorsal forearm? The side where the hair grows? If so, my thought is that you are flexing the wrist too much. That makes the extensor tendons of the forearm stretch and work too hard. Your wrist should only be slightly flexed if at all.

Exactly, the dorsal side sir. I feel once I anchor my thumb, and I do have long fingers, I really curve my wrist to get around so I can push directly straight down with the tips.

Lesson? I have my very first lesson scheduled for next Saturday. I thought the same thing about action. As YouTube as my guide, I took some measurements with feeler gages at the 12th fret. Low E was at or real close to 2mm. High E was a tad less. I spoke with the instructor to be yesterday, he said he'd take a look at my action and we could visit the luthier if need be.

I'm looking forward to the lesson. Youtube and free courses are great, but I am a person of structure. Also, every ten years when I try this guitar thing, I get to knowing 4 or 5 chords and then hit a wall. Frustration comes next and into the closet it goes.

Thanks guys.

Sid

[Draft Guitar]

Are you leaning your guitar back too much so that you can clearly see the fretboard? That would cause you to contract your wrist too much. If so, try to keep the guitar more parallel to your body.

While stretching is important, you should also work on your forearm strength, not just for playing guitar but for pretty much most of the things that you do in life. I went through this a while back and was able to resolve the issue completely with some simple exercises that I do daily. This video should help. I realize that the video is focused on elbow pain, but it really helps with forearm muscle pain and cramping as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kTNk3qEuLM

[rmp]

Originally Posted by cityjack

Exactly, the dorsal side sir. I feel once I anchor my thumb, and I do have long fingers, I really curve my wrist to get around so I can push directly straight down with the tips.

Lesson? I have my very first lesson scheduled for next Saturday. I thought the same thing about action. As YouTube as my guide, I took some measurements with feeler gages at the 12th fret. Low E was at or real close to 2mm. High E was a tad less. I spoke with the instructor to be yesterday, he said he'd take a look at my action and we could visit the luthier if need be.

I'm looking forward to the lesson. Youtube and free courses are great, but I am a person of structure. Also, every ten years when I try this guitar thing, I get to knowing 4 or 5 chords and then hit a wall. Frustration comes next and into the closet it goes.

Thanks guys.

Sid

The internet stuff is great, but you will get no feedback on things like position, posture and technique from these things.

There's no substitute to a one on one, in person lesson schedule.

You should not be feeling this kind of pain, oh,, there WILL be pain (Fingertips mostly and maybe some hand fatigue),, but it should not be like what you describe.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by cityjack

Evening all,

I am just learning to play my basic chords. I can get about 15 minutes into practice until my forearm outside gets hard and cramps. I have to stop because I cannot do anything further.

what can I do to limit the pain or help before it even starts? Stretches or something? I have never had any issue with my arm with any other activities and never an injury. 59 years old.

Any tips would be great.

Thanks

Sid

Hi Sid
Learning to play is a relax issue, not a strength/flexibility issue. Cramps are no fun, but usually are a result of increased tension on a particular/specific muscle or muscle group.

How you hold the guitar will affect it. Are you playing/learning sitting or standing? You can wear the strap any time to help hold the guitar in position.

The guitar setup to play easily is another factor. How hard is it to press the strings?

How to relax arm/hand muscles when they are tense…
Drop your arms straight down beside your body, relax the hands and shake them out for 10 seconds or so every few minutes.

[rstaight]

Originally Posted by cityjack

I'm definitely thinking this is the issue. I know I'm pressing hard because I have a hard time fitting my fingers into the space. Especially the A chord when all 3 fingers are bunched in there.

Thank you

I know a few players that bar the "A" chord with their index finger. They then apply a small amount of pressure with their middle finger by pressing on their index finger. Of course you need to mute the "E" string.

This method also lends itself to an A7 by adding the "G" note. (Third fret, "E" string)

[Jamolay]

Originally Posted by cityjack

Exactly, the dorsal side sir. I feel once I anchor my thumb, and I do have long fingers, I really curve my wrist to get around so I can push directly straight down with the tips.
Sid

This might be part of it. Curve the fingers, only a little bending at the wrist. With the wrist bent like that, the dorsal forearm muscle are at a significant mechanical disadvantage and will develops tendinitis and be over worked.

I am glad you will have an in person lesson. Your instructor can look at what you are actually doing and offer more accurate advice!