Originally Posted by: sebascampos1000

Im am a beginner guitar player. Over a month into playing I have started to fill stiffness in my left hand and I cant move my left hands fingers as easily as my right hands fingers. Is this normal? Should I be worried? What should I do? I stopped playing guitar for five days and my fingers still fill the same. Help please.

I’d say if you think you’re hurting your hands / nerves, see a doctor. Not worth all the damage you could do. I’ve never gotten stiffness, but over the long term I have gotten extreme hand pain which turned out to be Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. It’s like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome but originating in the shoulders. Very painful.

You should also consider your posture and make sure you’re not tensing up muscles.

Repetitive stress injuries are common in musicians, so if that’s what’s happening to you, don’t feel bad. We spend hours and days and years with these repetitive motions so injury is not unexpected.

And yeah, probably worth seeing a doctor just to make sure. (If you can see a physical therapist, they are very good at pinpointing these things.)

Hope you feel better!

-Carl.