Any Advice on avoiding this pain?
I've only been playing for about 6 months but I have recently developed a pain running from my thumb to my elbow in my right arm (picking thumb and arm). I have backed off to only a few minutes of practice at a time to give my arm rest and started icing it after practice. Is there some mechanical issue with how I might be holding the pick or strumming that could be causing this or is it most likely just over use. I had been practicing 1-2 hours a day. Are there muscles that just strengthen and I just need to get past the muscle building time. Any wisdom to share from the veterans out there?
# 1
You always wanna be extremely careful that you are not hurting yourself when practicing. So trust your instincts on that. The only pain you should fight through is your left hand fingers and the "outside" pain when fretting and bending and all that. Anything else should make you tired in an even and relaxed way.
As a new service here on Guitartricks.com, we are starting to post casual video responses to forum questions. Soon they will be featured on the site for everyone to see, but for now I am sending you a link to youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFCZ6KeQMtY
And here it is in writing!
It sounds like you might be strumming from your elbow. A lot of people (Including myself until 2 years ago) get the main strumming and picking motion by moving their underarm up and down vertically. This means the motion comes from the elbow, and it's extremely energy consuming, tiring and very limited when it comes to speed- I know you're probably not thinking about speed at this point, but somewhere down the road you may wanna play fast!
The ideal strumming and picking motion should come from rotating your underarm. Think of your underarm like a power drill!
1) The first way to feel what I'm talking about is by angling your wrist 90 degrees and strumming like that, making sure that you are rotating your underarm to get your RH moving up and down. Your elbow must be almost completely still!
Once you get a feel for it you can slowly start straightening out your wrist, but focus on keeping the "power drill" going.
2) Alternatively you can try to strum while being really loose in your wrist when strumming. That automatically gives you some of the right movement! But I recommend the first way I described.
Hope this helped you. Make sure the pain is gonna before you resume your practicing. It's good to ice your arm, but limit it to 10 minutes in the morning and 10 in the evening.
Let me know if you have any further questions!
Anders
As a new service here on Guitartricks.com, we are starting to post casual video responses to forum questions. Soon they will be featured on the site for everyone to see, but for now I am sending you a link to youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFCZ6KeQMtY
And here it is in writing!
It sounds like you might be strumming from your elbow. A lot of people (Including myself until 2 years ago) get the main strumming and picking motion by moving their underarm up and down vertically. This means the motion comes from the elbow, and it's extremely energy consuming, tiring and very limited when it comes to speed- I know you're probably not thinking about speed at this point, but somewhere down the road you may wanna play fast!
The ideal strumming and picking motion should come from rotating your underarm. Think of your underarm like a power drill!
1) The first way to feel what I'm talking about is by angling your wrist 90 degrees and strumming like that, making sure that you are rotating your underarm to get your RH moving up and down. Your elbow must be almost completely still!
Once you get a feel for it you can slowly start straightening out your wrist, but focus on keeping the "power drill" going.
2) Alternatively you can try to strum while being really loose in your wrist when strumming. That automatically gives you some of the right movement! But I recommend the first way I described.
Hope this helped you. Make sure the pain is gonna before you resume your practicing. It's good to ice your arm, but limit it to 10 minutes in the morning and 10 in the evening.
Let me know if you have any further questions!
Anders
# 2
WOW! I can't believe the incredible personalized help! You are absolutely correct in how you described my arm action. I can see so clearly what you mean and how to correct it. Thank you so much! I already loved being a member of GT but this takes it to a whole new level.
# 3
*APPLAUDS*
Awesome video Anders, while casual, nicely done and informative! One more reason that my slacking beginner butt loves GT and all the work that everyone does for it. Top notch indeed! I was also happy to see that my laziness paid off in keeping my elbow from moving.
AustinGal, don't think I need to say this, but am being forced by the wife behind me! She says that if the pain continues, get it checked out. There could be some underlying issues not caused by playing, but aggravated by it.
Awesome video Anders, while casual, nicely done and informative! One more reason that my slacking beginner butt loves GT and all the work that everyone does for it. Top notch indeed! I was also happy to see that my laziness paid off in keeping my elbow from moving.
AustinGal, don't think I need to say this, but am being forced by the wife behind me! She says that if the pain continues, get it checked out. There could be some underlying issues not caused by playing, but aggravated by it.
It's better to regret something that you have done than something you haven't.
# 4