tendinitis!

Sadly I haven't been able to play guitar for about a week now.

Last weekend I did some heavy yard work using shears for a couple hours, I then played guitar for a few hours, and the next day my left forearm was really sore (or so I thought). I went to the gym anyway and lifted weights. The next day I knew my forearm wasn't just sore, something was wrong with it.

There was a lump on the top thumb side of my forearm, close to my wrist. After researching on the internet it sounds like tendinitis. So I've been resting it, stretching, icing it, and massaging it. It seems to slowly be getting better now, but I hope this isn't the kind of thing that will reoccur as soon as I start playing.

But I'm hoping it was just the yard work that caused it. Because I've been playing guitar for a while now with no issues. Then the one day I use shears for several hours I develop tendinitis.

Anyway, have any of you ever had to deal with this? If so, what happened?

Sorry to hear what happened. I hope it's nothing serious, but if it sticks around you may want to see a doc. I would say when you start playing again that you go slowly with some easy warm-up exercises for longer than you normally do. If you feel pain then stop for a while and try again. More pain, then maybe stop for the day.

If you can't play for a while then look into doing "mental practice":

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/does-mental-practice-work/

Most definitely see a doctor if the condition continues. There's a big risk of making things worse if the cause and repair of the condition isn't addressed by a professional.

Most definitely again, find methods and procedures that will keep the same problem from happening again, e.g., conditioning and stretching.

Take a look at this from Christopher but always be careful, http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=19585

Originally Posted by: mblaideSorry to hear what happened. I hope it's nothing serious, but if it sticks around you may want to see a doc. I would say when you start playing again that you go slowly with some easy warm-up exercises for longer than you normally do. If you feel pain then stop for a while and try again. More pain, then maybe stop for the day.

If you can't play for a while then look into doing "mental practice":

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/does-mental-practice-work/

I've had tendonitis in my achilles tendons and I can say that it takes time to go away and it's not worth "powering through"...you only make it worse.

The article on "mental practice" is quite good. I've done this without realizing what it was or that it was that beneficial. There are times where I'll go to bed at night after working on a challenging phrase of a solo on the guitar. I have found myself laying there, hearing the phrase in my head and picking apart the rhythm and visualizing exactly what finger goes where. I figure I'm lying there awake with the song buzzing through my head...might as well do something "productive". It's hard to say if it's the fact that I practiced it so much that night, or that I thought about it a lot afterwards, but inevitably by the next day, it comes much easier to me.

The mental practice article is good but, within the article is a link to another that I liked even more. "How Many Hours a Day Should You Practice?" http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-many-hours-a-day-should-you-practice/

That article goes beyond its title and speaks to effective practice and not allowing yourself to drift into 'mindless' practice, something I've been guilty of on occasion. There's a lot of good stuff in this blog...

Good news, I have intersection syndrome (forearm tendinitis). And the most common causes: rowing, weightlifting, or yard work (bingo!). So it wasn't any guitar playing that caused it... hallelujah!

Apparantly most people get better after having it in a splint for a few weeks. Cortisone shots and surgery are RARELY required. So I'm in a much better mood now!

But I've read countless articles of people getting this after using two-handed shears. So for all you: take frequent breaks when doing heavy yard work. Or use power tools/weed wackers!

Or pay somebody else to do it :-).

As a teenager, I earned my extra money doing yard work, and as a result, I absolutely DETEST doing it as an adult. Raking leaves is a dreaded task for me!!!

Anyway, that's good news...that would have been a major bummer if the doctor said "well...you really need to lay off playing your guitar!". To heck with that!!!

I probably could play guitar in moderation and still heal. But I'm actually laying off completely just so I can be 100% even faster. And even though the guitar didn't cause it, the inflammation in my forearm causes playing to bother it ever so slightly.

So I'm just trying to be smart. Trust me it sucks! I want to play so bad...

Hi bbszwa, I hope you get better soon! But your post makes me wonder if, more generally, we should be avoiding certain types of physical activity altogether if we want to play the guitar for the rest of our lives. It doesn't take much to damage your hands - for example I suffer from some arthritis which was worsened by playing for years as a goalkeeper in a local football team. I'm gutted because it now restricts my ability to play some barre chords. Anyway, just wondered what people think - and obviously it's difficult when you have to earn a living ......Steve