Maybe "hurt" isn't the best way to describe it. It's more like it exhausts my hand, specifically the area between my index finger and my thumb. After only a minute of barre chords, my hand hurts because the muscle feels so worn out. It's been this way for a long time and every time I practice them, it comes back. Also, I've noticed the longer I push myself to practice, the larger that area of my hand gets. I try to only put enough squeeze pressure to sound the notes, but even if I lighten up to the point of muting strings, it still happens.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it simply a matter of building up the strength of my hand? It might be my imagination, but it seems to happen in the same amount of time now that it did two months ago, despite that I have been practicing.