6 Ways Guitarists Can Reduce Hand and Finger Pain
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Last Updated: Dec 11, 2017
In another blog post I talked about switching to ultra-light guitar strings to help alleviate finger and hand pain. That sparked emails from readers asking if I have any other hand-saving tips. In fact, yes, there are a few other things you can do to make playing guitar less painful.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, so when it comes to hand pain that is the result of a medical condition (arthritis, repetitive strain injury, etc), I can’t guarantee that the suggestions in this article will eliminate your pain. But, they just might. Or, at the very least, they may reduce your pain to a manageable level.
1. Lower your action (string height)
String height or “action” is measured from the top of the metal fret to the bottom of the guitar string.
I’m always amazed when I pick up someone’s guitar and discover that their strings are a mile above the fretboard. I can barely press the strings down, and I’m an experienced player! Even more amazing, they have no idea that it’s a problem, and that it could be better. If you’re finding it extremely painful to play your guitar, one of the most important things you can do is lower your action (string height). Don’t attempt this yourself unless you know what you’re doing. Take your guitar to a qualified guitar tech or repairperson and tell them you’d like “the lowest action possible without causing string buzz.” If you’d like to learn more about action (string height) or guitar setups, I wrote a couple articles for you:
- “Action! A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding String Height”
- “Guitar Setups. What They Are and Why You (Might) Need One”
2. Use lighter strings
Sore fingers? Try ultra-light guitar strings.
Another thing I commonly recommend to people suffering with excessive finger or hand pain is to use the lightest guitar strings in existence. However, they’re a little difficult to find because the string manufacturers don’t advertise them. So, I compiled a definitive list of all the lightest electric and acoustic guitar strings for you in this article:
“Fingers Sore from Playing Guitar? Lighten Up!”
You don’t have to stick with them permanently, but at least give them a try. Once your finger or hand pain subsides, you can move up to heavier strings if you’d like. I, however, now use ultra light strings exclusively on my acoustic guitar–and I absolutely love them. I suffer from arthritis in my fretting hand, and these strings have helped immensely.
3. Press closer to the fret
This is one of the most common technique mistakes I see: 
Pressing as close to the metal fret as possible (without muting the note) requires less downward pressure than if you press down somewhere in the middle of the fret. Not only is this just good fretting technique, it translates into less finger and hand soreness. You’ll be able to play longer before having to take a break–a necessity if you’re trying to play through full songs.
4. Warm up
Because of my arthritis, I now have to warm up first whenever I set down to play guitar. If the pain you feel in your hand is in the tendons, joints, or muscles, then you should be warming up before you play (after you’ve seen a doctor, of course). If you’re not yet having these kinds of symptoms, warm up anyway. It’ll help you prevent injury in the future. Essentially, your “warmup” can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you’re playing very slowly and carefully at first, and playing things that aren’t too taxing on your joints, tendons, and muscles. Keep yourself playing at a very slow speed for 10-15 minutes, and resist the urge to speed up and start jamming. Only after 10-15 minutes of taking it slow and easy should you begin to increase speed and difficulty. You’ll feel the difference, and you’ll play much better if you warm up first.
5. Stretch
Okay, admittedly this one’s a case of “do what I say, not what I do.” To be honest, I rarely stretch before I play, even though I’ve been advised to do so by doctors and other guitarists.
Fact is, spending just 2-3 minutes carefully stretching your fingers, wrists, forearms, and even shoulders before playing guitar is a very good idea, especially if you’re dealing with a medical condition that interferes with your playing. It’s also a good idea to occasionally stop and stretch during your guitar practice.
Here’s an excellent how-to article on stretching: Keep it Loose: Stretches for Guitarists
6. Try finger caps
Silicone finger caps like these may help guitarists who suffer with certain medical conditions
Firstly, I’ve neither tried these nor am I endorsing them, and I wouldn’t normally advocate putting something on your fingers. However, there are some (rare) medical conditions that may prevent some people from playing guitar, because they bruise easily. If you’re one of those trying to manage such a medical condition, finger caps like these may finally allow you to play guitar. If you try (or have tried) them, please let me know in the comments below.
Final Thoughts
I can’t even begin to guess how many ex-guitarists I’ve met over the years who tell me they gave up guitar due to finger or hand pain. Some quit while they were still learning–before they could really get very far. Others were more experienced players who eventually quit because they developed arthritis or some other medical condition. It’s a real shame–I hate hearing that hand pain caused someone to give up the guitar. However, you do have options, and I hope that something (or a combination of things) from this article help you get back to playing. Of course, if you have pain in your hands that will not go away, it’s time to visit a doctor.
Question:
Are you currently suffering from hand or finger pain when you play guitar, and have you tried anything to alleviate it? Let me know in the comments section down below.
Losing hope. Older fast finger picker, guitar player, studio musician – some piano. I am seeing another surgeon in May. My non-guitar-playing little finger is toast, nothing between any joints – been that way a long time – I taped but now constant pain at light bump – swelling. Little finger is used on limited piano M1 Pro 88 but concerned if I can play after fusion. Sometimes feel that the little finger is going to break joints. 1st question is if a little finger is fused can I stil play the piano or is it over? Major concern is now finger picing thumb. Use thumb and 1st finger to pick. Swelling is horrible. searching treatment options even silicon implants. My music – even older is my life. Any suggestions appreciated. Very depressing.
I started playing guitar again after a short break (roughly 30 years) and found that I could still play. I kind of picked up where I left off. I played daily for months. I stopped noodling and started taking it more and more seriously, learning proper technique, studying music theory, listening to music critically, stretching before I practiced – being methodical, mature and responsible in my new approach to guitar. The more I played the more I felt like part of who I was had been locked in a vault and just let out recently, ironic because we were all heading into lockdown. Flashforward to a few weeks ago. I felt a “pin prick” under my ring finger nail. It hurt slightly, so I stopped for the day. The next day, I couldn’t play at all or use my left hand. It took at least 2-3 days to get better. When I got better it happened again but this time on my pinky. I did light stretches, mobility exercises, nerve gliding and that sort of thing. I’d feel better, play lightly and the next day have pain. It eventually enveloped much of my left arm. I had numbness (ring, pinky mostly), weakness (lack of grip), some tingling, stiffness and pain (ache in wrist, elbow, sharp finger pain that I mentioned). Those exercises seemed to bring immediate pain relief, but overall it wasn’t getting better. Then I stopped stretching altogether. Everything felt almost back to normal after that. Now I’m afraid to start playing. I still have no real idea what happened, why it happened or how to prevent it in the future. The only thing that I did differently before the first incident was start stretching as part of my warm up. The only thing I did when I noticed the symptoms weren’t going away was stop stretching. Due to the covid situation where I am, and other factors, seeing a regular doctor is going a while. Seeing a physical therapist may not be possible any time soon. Not sure what to do in the mean time.
Hi Jon.
If the pain seems to disappear when you stop stretching, then there’s some kind of clue there. I’m not a doctor, so I couldn’t tell you what it is unfortunately. However…
(Disclaimer: please do your own research on what I’m about to tell you, don’t just take my word for it. Or, seek the advice of a real medical professional)
For many years, it was considered common sense to stretch before exercising (running, lifting weights, etc). It was believed that this helped prevent injury.
However, that doesn’t seem to be the recommendation anymore, and there have even been studies that suggest stretching before exercise can impede performance in various ways and possibly even destabilize joints.
Stretching and flexibility are still good, but the recommendation now seems to be to stretch instead after exercise, or to do “dynamic stretching” during exercise as part of an active warmup. Or, to stretch separately… when you’re not exercising.
I have to believe this applies to guitar stretches as well, and I’m considering updating this article to somehow reflect this. However, again, since I’m not a medical professional, I have to be careful with such advice.
So, in summary, you may be onto something here–with your discovery that you only have the pain when you stretch before playing. So, instead of stretching before you play, stretch afterward or at other times–when you’re not planning to play guitar anytime within the next hour or so.
Definitely DO warm up though. In fact, if you’re doing a good warmup, you’re technically getting some “dynamic stretching” in anyway. Just go easy and slow at first, and that’ll safely warm up your muscles and lube up those joints.
I think a proper warmup is far more important and prevents injury better than stretching (my personal opinion).
Thanks, I think this is sound solid advice actually (or “non-advice” if you prefer) and I was intuitively arriving at this conclusion, too. I started practicing again today, actually, and I found that 1) I could play without pain and 2) that doing mobility exercises first, then light practice, allowed me to “warm up” sufficiently to finally stretch.
I also recall that when I had a sciatica flare up, I saw a specialist who pointed out that stretching wasn’t going to solve the problem because you’re stretching both the muscle and nerve. It sort of follows that stretching cold, tense muscles might actually be pulling on nerves and tendons before increased blood flow hits them. I have a feeling that increased circulation needs to happen first.
One final point, I wonder if those “pin prick” or “shock” feelings that happened in the ring and pinky finger tips were even related to the other pain (which was, tendinitis I’m guessing). I’m wondering if had more to do with the string pressing the non-callused part of my finger into a nerve ending.
Anyway, I’m going to ease my way back into practice the way we’ve mentioned, until I can see someone, at least. I was was getting very worried that my guitar-playing days were over just as they were getting started. Feeling a bit more hopeful now.
Hello,
I have a suggestion to share for those of us with arthritis. I started using Voltaren Gel and after a week was able to play longer with less pain. It may not work for everyone but does for me. Good luck and keep playing!
Hello I only been learning for a month now and my finger joints, wrists and hands hurt. I try stretching then only practicing a few minutes in the mornings and then evenings. I am a disabled vet and has nothing but time. Found out earlier I was holding my guitar wrong and think or hope that’s my only problem. Please let me know if anything I can do to heal myself after finding this out. I love playing but don’t want this to cause me to stop. Thanks in advance!
Hi Gregory.
To be honest, if you’ve only been learning for a month then much of what you’re going through is probably still the normal pains of learning to play a fretted, stringed instrument. Not only is it a somewhat unnatural position for our bodies to be in, those dang strings hurt!
That said, it is still vitally important to make sure you’re holding your guitar properly, sitting with correct posture, using correct arm/wrist position, etc. It sounds like you’ve taken care of this part, but it still wouldn’t hurt to have a single in-person lesson with a guitar instructor to make sure you’re doing these things right. Videos are okay, but they can’t look at you and give you personalized feedback. Every person’s body is different and this is where having a person actually looking at you and assessing your situation can be important.
For me, I’ve found that the Classical position (guitar supported on the left thigh instead of the right, with the left foot elevated via a block or proper guitar footrest) works best for me. I absolutely can’t play with the guitar on my right thigh like many people. I just can’t.
But at the end of the day, even when all these mechanics are right, your wrist and joints (not to mention your fingertips) are going to hurt a bit until you build up flexibility, strength, and stamina in this weird, unnatural position. As a beginner, the most important thing is that you don’t play too long. Don’t try to “push through the pain” or you’ll potentially injure something.
Stretching first, then gently warming up with easy, slow chromatic scales for at least 5 mins are vital and will help. But, when the joints start to actually hurt, it’s time to stop or take a break, maybe stretch a bit and/or shake-out your hands. Gradually, you’ll be able to play for longer and longer periods before the pain starts to set in.
You didn’t hint at how old you are, but if you’re a bit “older” like me you may have the additional challenge of arthritis to content with–even if it’s just minor. If that’s the case, then stretching and warming up are even more critical (I warm up for a full 10-15 mins before I allow myself to go all-out). It’s also even more critical that you stop and/or take a break when the pain starts to set in.
Hope that helps!
I only experience pain in my thumb and pinky. And it only happens when I play songs with an excess of barre chords. It almost feels as if my pinky begins to lock up and I can’t put pressure on the strings.
Both my fore and middle fingers can’t bend anymore due to arthritis. Wondering if there is a thimble-like cap that has an extension which would be facing the guitar that would serve as the tip of a finger pressing the strings so non bending fingers can still complete a chord? I hope you understand what I mean. Thanks so much for your time.
Hi Leticia. I do understand what you mean, but unfortunately nothing immediately comes to mind, and it’s hard to generate ideas without being there in-person and seeing just how much mobility you have and to experiment with things.
One possibility that springs to mind is open and alternate tunings. By tuning your guitar to an alternate tuning or an open chord, you can actually get quite a variety of chords and melodies with just one or two fingers (in your case, your ring and pinky fingers). Search Google for phrases like “alternate guitar tunings” or “open guitar tunings” and you’ll find a myriad of examples you can try.
A more extreme option would be learning to play left handed. So, your bad hand (which I assume is your left) becomes your strumming hand. You may be able to hold the pick between your (straight) index finger and thumb. If not, you can hold it with your middle finger and thumb (I actually do this from time to time). If THAT doesn’t work, then try holding it with your ring finger and thumb.
Hope that helps!
Wow, you are an inspired guitar man! Thanks for putting in a lot of thoughts and ideas into your response. The alternate tunings may work for me as my right middle finger is actually worse than the left. Can’t thank you enough! God bless!
You’re welcome Leticia! If you have time, definitely come back and let me/us know if any of that worked out for you.
Hi! The alternate tuning is awesome! I’ll definitely learn it after I get a guitar with a wider and thicker neck so finger curving is reduced a bit.
It might interest you to know that I found a product called EZ-Fret Guitar attachment. I bought it in case the alternate tuning still won’t work for me. Along with that I also purchased guitar picks made of stainless steel which I hope to alter so they can work as substitute for fingertips in my left hand. Wish me luck! 🙂 I’ll write an update sometime in the near future. Thank you!!
You’re welcome Leticia! I’m glad I was able to help. I’m familiar with the EZ-fret and similar attachments, but didn’t think you’d be interested in those. They tend to limit you to just the “campfire chords”… but are certainly an option if you just need to create the basic 1st position chords.
Hi! Happy to let you know that I am following your suggestion on the alternate guitar tunings. The other options I tried weren’t encouraging. I’m now seriously studying the alternate tunings from a remarkable site which generously offers learning materials. So glad I found your site and that you led me to the best option that will once again bring fulfillment in my life with guitar playing. God bless you, sir!
Thanks for the update Leticia and I’m so happy that you’ve found a way to enjoy playing guitar!
I don’t really play as such, I just pick up a guitar now and again, but playing definitely causes my fretting hand to show strong arthritic symptoms. I never used to have any symptoms whether playing or not but now, especially after playing, my fretting hand first finger is badly affected and often cannot clench a fist with my first finger, it is solid and won’t flex into a fist shape. If I lightly flex it then after 10 or 15 mins it can flex and form a fist shape but my first finger still has arthritic pain. The second finger of my fretting hand has some symptoms but nowhere near as bad as the first finger.
Due to covid procedures any consultations with my doctor have been by telephone and they’ve done a blood test for rheumatoid arthritis which was negative so although they’ve ruled out rheumatoid arthritis they suspect osteoarthritis. And refraining from playing guitar has definitely helped lessen the symptoms but as soon as I play again it comes back all the stronger so I’ve found that for me it is better to refrain from playing.
One piece of advice I’d give if we weren’t living in a COVID-lockdown-world right now is to seek out a physical therapist. Many PT’s can help with symptoms of osteoarthritis, and can introduce you to exercises, stretches, etc. that will help relieve symptoms and restore some mobility to worn-out joints. It’s definitely not a cure, but it can help–especially if you let them know what you WANT to do (e.g. play guitar).
Great article! I walked away from a career in guitar about 20 years ago because of excruciating pain and hands that kept locking up when I played for any length of time and several misdiagnoses. It turned out for me, to be from problems caused by a pretty severe type of anemia that was never diagnosed. Who would have thought ? So years later, I am returning to guitar and not really having too much problem. For me, warming up and stretching, posture have been key elements. I run my hands under warm water, before anything else. But then warm up exercises, stretches, and checking posture. The other thing I noticed is that when things start to tighten up, i found i was holding my breath. So it sounds weird, but paying attention to breathing seems to have been another key. Jeff Watson mentions this in one of those old Star Licks videos, and I wish I had taken that more seriously! ☺️
Hi Niamh. All good points, and as I said in my email to you… welcome back to the guitar family! I’m glad you were able to finally get to the bottom of your issue. I know how frustrating it can be to have “mystery symptoms” that doctors can’t seem to diagnose. 20 years is a long time, but you can definitely get your guitar playing back to where it once was. Thomas McRocklin quit playing guitar for about 20 years as well, and since making a comeback his career has really soared.
Ah thank you! And I did wind up following him on Instagram – thank you for the tip!
Great advise!!!! I was getting seriously worried (and depressed!) thinking that I may have to give up playing guitar… Now I have all heard great things to try… Thank you so much!!!
Hi Marion! I’m glad I was able to help. Hang in there!
I have osteoarthritis where the base of my thumb meet one of the wrist bones. So I have bone on bone grinding. There is surgical procedure that involves removing the small bone in the wrist and then bridging the gap that was left, with a small piece of tendon from the immediate area. I know this might sound gruesome to some, but this surgery apparently works very well according to those who have had it done. Since I am not ready to make that leap just yet, my orthopod provided me with the best brace ever, that allows me to play guitar and do most other things with a lot less pain. It’s not bulky and i like the fact that it’s mostly plastic and does not become saturated or smelly with water or sweat. Here is a link for the exact one the doctor provided. Not sure why its so expense online, he only charged me $60, but I have seen it as low as $75 on other sites. I have an average size hand, and use a size 3. Can also just search MetaGrip.
Really enjoyed this one thanks for your time and help
You’re welcome Shane, I’m glad you found it helpful.
Great advice here. I would also add poor posture, ergonomics, and technique as potential issues.
Your wrists should be straight or sightly curved. Some guitarists play with really bent wrists (I used to myself), and that can lead to carpal tunnel and other issues. Self-taught guitarists are more likely to learn to play with bent wrists, and will need to retrain themselves.
Your fingers should be curved, liked you’re holding a clementine, even when fretting, and you should fret with the tip rather than the pad (the one exception being when you bar strings).
Your fretting thumb should not exert pressure on the back of the neck. Some guitarists squeeze the neck with their thumb – particularly when playing bar chords or tense – and this will lead to thumb, joint, and tendon pain. Your thumb should be there just as an anchor point, exerting no pressure, and fretting should come from pulling your fingers into the neck with your arm.
Lastly, you need to stay relaxed, from your hand to your arm to your shoulder. It’s natural to tense up – particularly when nervous or stressed such as when playing live or trying something difficult. People tense up when trying to play really fast, or playing a difficult section, and this is counter-productive. To play fast and play well we need to stay relaxed, and this will require constant monitoring and maintenance before it becomes second nature.
“Your fingers should be curved, liked you’re holding a clementine, even when fretting, and you should fret with the tip rather than the pad (the one exception being when you bar strings).”
Depending on the length of your fingers and the width of your guitar neck, fretting the lower pitch (thicker) strings with the tip rather than the pad can significantly bend the wrist – for single note playing on the thicker strings, I suggest experimenting to find out what sounds and feels best – no one fits all solution !!
You’re right, there are exceptions – such as when barring strings as well.
Using your finger tips rather than the pads is still something you should strive for when possible.
Apologies if my comment wasn’t seen in the broader context of the whole of your original comment, not just the one paragraph I quoted and in particular, your recommended posture/technique when positioning the thumb on the back of neck. If the thumb is held in that position whilst trying to play something which requires say the first/second fingers to reach across to the lower strings then the wrist bend’s considerably. For this kind of fingering, if the thumb is brought up around the side of the neck then the wrist is straightened again. This has the effect of angling the tips of the fingers which might mute adjacent strings if that’s a problem – not necessarily a problem. When picking individual notes on a lower thicker string rather than say playing open chords, I see no problem in laying down the pad of the finger on these thicker strings. Please note that I have no wish to advise people on how they should best play guitar and that players should be encouraged to experiment rather than clinging to a “one fits all” solutions which inevitably in experience leads to issues. Many thanks
You’re quite right, and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that there’s no “one fits all” solution.
I think we’re both just trying to help other guitarists out, but you illustrate that there are many exceptions in guitar and so there’s no one rule for where your fingers go – sometimes you want to use the tips so other strings ring out and other times you actually want to use the pads so other strings get muted, usually you want to have the thumb on the back of the neck but sometimes you want to have it come up and around like for bends. Just like there’s no one single correct grip in tennis, likewise there’s no one single correct place for where your thumb should be on guitar.
Maybe the best advice is that it’s worthwhile to find a good guitar teacher that can take a look at your form and technique and spot potential issues. 🙂
Also, a more bent wrist allows the fingers to be potentially stretched more than a fret apart if needed whilst a flat wrist feels less stiff when fingering adjacent strings – all depends on the person and the style of playing !
A straighter wrist generally minimizes discomfort, pain, and potential issues like carpal tunnel.
There are things that require bending your wrist, like reaching across five frets on the low E string, but keeping your wrist as straight as possible – by raising your guitar up higher, or switching to a classical style seated position – may make such reaches more comfortable.
“I think we’re both just trying to help other guitarists out”
I wasn’t directly trying to help other guitarists out – I was just concerned about the advice being given to others about how they should play guitar, so I was responding to that.
“Maybe the best advice is that it’s worthwhile to find a good guitar teacher that can take a look at your form and technique and spot potential issues.”
I think this is a much more helpful and safer response in general to concerns people post – and if you had said that originally, I might not have been prompted to respond with counter arguments on playing technique.
Best wishes
”Your thumb should be there just as an anchor point, exerting no pressure, and fretting should come from pulling your fingers into the neck with your arm.”
This is what I struggle with. I keep applying pressure with my thumb to do bar chords quickly and my whole hand ends up cramping, thus hindering my play. Open chords songs are much easier for me because of that. Gotta work on it I guess. I’ve been playing for way too long to still have issues with that…
I met Michael Hedges five times. He was getting a bit older and he would use yoga and stretching before each performance. He was getting up into his late thirties–hehe- but he swore by it. Not sure of the set of techniques he used, but I was never disappointed as a fan. Also, breathing (especially when you are playing fast) is something to focus on.
I’m 70 years old and have been told I have practically no cartilage between the bones in the fingers of my left hand. I’ve also been told that’s from arthritis and there’s really not much I can do to alleviate the pain. The doctor recommended wrapping my hand with KY tape at the joints of each finger. That’s very time consuming and restrictive. Can you recommend anything else? I notice the finger caps you mention. Where could I get those? I used to play professionally in my teens, 20s, 30s, and beyond and I guess time is catching up to me. Any suggestions appreciated.
Hi Ron. In the article, there is a link to the silicone finger caps just below the picture in the description. But here is a direct link to them on Amazon for you: Silicone Finger Caps on Amazon. However, the finger caps will only help with fingertip pain. They won’t help alleviate the symptoms that are the result of your arthritis. Unfortunately, my experience with arthritis is limited (mine is bothersome, but not nearly as bad as yours… yet), so the suggestions I give in this post are about the best I have. If yours is more advanced (and it sounds like it is), you’d probably get better advice/help from a physical therapist, if possible. They can show you exercises to help improve mobility, and if you tell them that your ultimate goal is to be able to play guitar, they may even have specific exercises to target those types of motions.
After 54 years of playing I developed dyshidrotic eczema, so my callouses just fall off from time to time, leaving a raw bloody mess. I’m experimenting with Gorilla Tips (silicone) over nylon strings. There is some promise with this, I can play single notes as fast as I want with much less pain. You can’t slide at all, the tip will just stick to the string so I need to change how I switch chords. Next I plan to try to coat the silicone with Sally Hanson’s Hard as Nails to see if that would allow the fingers to slide at least a little, and am switching the #11 faltwounds on my archtop to Silk n Steel for a while..
Hi John. Definitely keep me posted and, if you have time, come back and let me know how some of those experiments work out. That is definitely a drawback to the silicone fingertip covers–they make sliding difficult or impossible.
Hi there John, I have experienced this sort of thing due to playing too much. My fingers would be destroyed after playing for 10 plus hours a day. One thing that really helped me was to apply super glue on my finger tips and carefully use a finger nail file to smooth it out. This has helped me tremendously. Best of luck to you.
my friend was told by a doctor he can no longer play guitar. its bad for him. (he has arthritis) are there any guitars that are especially for this? that he can still play? ( he is 17 )
Hi Momna. To my knowledge, there aren’t any guitars that are specially constructed for people with arthritis. I would recommend that your friend consult with a physical therapist who might be able to teach him stretching and warm-up exercises for his hands and fingers that might help. That, combined with a very low string height and very light strings might help your friend tolerate (but probably not eliminate) arthritis pain when playing guitar.
A recommendation … for tender fingertips … OralGel. Just put it on, let it dry, and play. I am currently dealing with significant pain in my second joint, first finger. And it frequently becomes disjointed as I sleep. I feel certain it is from holding my pic too tight (and being old). So far I haven’t found any perfect solution.
Hi Jim–thanks for the OraGel tip, I’ll give that a try sometime! If anyone reading this tries it before I do, please post here and let everyone know how it worked out.
I started getting pain in the base of my thumb and wrist of my fretting hand. After a while I was losing feeling in my thumb. I really had to cut down my playing time because I was in so much pain even after warming up and stretching my wrist and fingers. I started searching for products to help with the pain, even tried wearing a brace on my fretting hand but it was very uncomfortable. I did find this product and wanted to share. It’s called a Sips-Grip, saw it on Facebook. I tried it and it actually helped. It’s actually quite simple, it fills the gap between my fretting hand and the guitar neck so I can hold the guitar neck with the palm of my hand and really not use my thumb at all. Just thought I’d share.
Very interesting. This is exactly why some people feel that fatter guitar necks are more comfortable and result in less pain/strain. A fatter neck fills that palm-gap a bit more, and this device seems to play on that principle by filling in the gap. Thanks for sharing!
Thumb pain the the fretting hand is pretty common, and often is a sign of poor technique and tensing.
Many people will squeeze the guitar neck, using the thumb as a clamp to pull their fingers towards the neck to fret the strings, and this is wrong. It’s particularly common when learning bar chords, but can be seen whenever people tense up – because they’re nervous, because they’re stressed, because they’re struggling, etc. Your thumb is not designed to exert pressure that way, and this leads to pain in the thumb and thumb joint.
The thumb is there to act as a guide and anchor, but not to exert any pressure on the neck. The pressure on the stings should come from the forearm – rather than pushing the strings into the neck with your fingers you should be pulling them into the neck with your arm. Picture a rock climber pulling themselves up on their finger tips, that’s the same technique and motion you’re looking for to fret the strings – the strength comes from your arm. You should be able to fret the strings without your thumb on the neck at all – pull your fingers towards the neck, pulling the strings towards the neck and the neck towards your body. Your wrist should be straight. This will also teach you proper hand position.
Adopting this, you have to pay attention to your playing to make sure that there is no pressure or tension on your thumb. Your hand, arm, and shoulder should be relaxed. It’s natural to tense when we’re stressed – like when playing before an audience, or trying to play particularly fast, or a particularly challenging piece – and you have to periodically check up on your body to make sure that you’re staying relaxed. Your thumb should stay relaxed in a natural curve – roughly opposite your index finger.
And, of course, this is on top of the advice given here about having low action, light stings, and pressing closer to the fret.
You do not say how/where you deduced this as being a “pretty common” problem amongst “many people”- I was a bit surprised how common it is as I am a member of Jamplay (5 years) which in my opinion have some excellent experienced players who provide lessons and live Q and A but I haven’t come across this problem and your advice of using the arm to pull the strings onto the fretboard. There was one correction I made to thumb position following advice from one of the teachers; that is to allow the joint at the back of the knuckle to touch/pivot on the neck, rather than using the pad of the thumb which I guess when combined with pressure could risk pain.
Anyway, I am always open to advice so I tried your method but found it pushing my guitar body away from me putting pressure onto my right arm, which then needed correcting. I probably misunderstood your text – not easy to follow, sorry!
I may not have explained it well. What I tried to explain is fretting without squeezing the neck with your thumb. If you’ve been playing for years you’re probably already doing this, but beginners often squeeze the neck – particularly if they tense up.
Can you fret notes without having your thumb on the neck at all? It may not be comfortable, but you probably can, and that’s what I tried to explain – that fretting doesn’t require a lot of strength, doesn’t require squeezing with your thumb, and the force should come from your fingers and forearm as opposed to using your thumb as a clamp. It goes along with having a low action, and practicing fretting close to the fret and fretting as lightly as possible while still getting a clear tone to learn that you don’t need a lot of force, and that proper position makes it much easier.
As far as the frequency of thumb injuries, maybe I should have said “not uncommon” instead of “pretty common”? It’s an injury I’ve seen among beginner guitarists, particularly older beginners, and doing a Google search on “guitar fretting hand thumb pain” brings up many threads asking about it on Reddit and guitar forums.
Thanks – it makes sense to me now and is exactly what I’m trying to incorporate into my playing technique !
Further to my previous reply (where I could not find the technique of finger/thumb minimal pressure you described) but thinking it might have something to do with Classical Guitar technique, I found a website which describes a method called the Left Hand Thumb by Douglas Niedt. The information is copyright and I won’t comment further on it. I am unfamiliar with Classical Guitar technique but I will study this as it might help me with my learning. Thanks.
Thankyou for this article.
My fingers always get bruised while playing guitar so, i am going to check out the finger caps.
I’ve been playing in an almost strictly-rhythm context for 30-ish years. Recently I got the bug to pick up some lead technique (got tired of friends of mine lording it over me). Took a very back-to-basics approach to learning, and I started by doing continuous, timed chromatic runs several times up and down the neck at increasing tempo, to improve my timing and left-hand accuracy.
My problem is that, never having developed proper technique, I have a hard time bringing my pinky right down with the tip on the string behind the fret. At faster tempos, it almost always comes down along one side or the other (depending on how high up the neck I am). And this has caused chronic soreness in that last bit, the fleshy pad. So far the only thing that helps, temporarily, is to take a couple days off, but then I feel the loss-of-practice crunch.
This doesn’t seem to fall under tendonitis, arthritis or muscle pain. It’s like a blunt-trauma injury or crush injury. Am I doomed to just continue feeling this forever? Is there a way I can constrain my pinky to coming down properly on the string?
Hi Berr! I have the exact same issue, and my pinky (particularly the fleshy side toward the outside of my hand) often screams at me when I play something that requires a lot of pinky action. There are a few songs I play that require an actual pinky slide upward, and that starts to absolutely KILL my pinky after a few minutes. However, when I start getting to that point, I stop. I don’t try to “push through the pain.”
What you’re experiencing is actually pretty common since, for most people, the pinky naturally curves inward toward the palm of the hand. This makes it nearly impossible to bring the pinky down flat/straight onto a string–depending on what you’re playing. Since we’re all anatomically built this way, there’s not going to be much you can do to actually change the way your pinky is aligned or how it comes down on the fretboard. The fact is, it just naturally curves inward a bit, meaning you’re always going to come down on the side–usually the outside–instead of dead flat. So, you’re just going to have to build the calluses on those outside bits of your pinky.
What I’d suggest (and this is what I do) is to not play to the point that you HAVE to take a couple days off. First off, let it heal up completely, if you haven’t already. Take as much time off as you need. After you’re digit has recovered, only play to the point that it JUST starts to become uncomfortable. Then stop. Don’t play again until your normal practice time the next day–which’ll give your pinky time to recover. Wash, rinse, repeat. Pay attention to how your pinky is feeling and only increase your practice time by a few minutes if you’re feeling pretty good. It’ll take time, but you’ll gradually find your pinky getting tougher and tougher, and you’ll gradually gain the ability to play longer and longer.
A common mistake we guitarists make is to “play through the pain” and actually over-practice. Sometimes it’s because we’re simply having fun and don’t want to stop, other times we feel it’s some kind of right-of-passage. Whatever the reason, it’s a problem because when we hurt ourselves to the point that we can’t touch a guitar for days or weeks, it creates a significant setback in our progress as guitarists.
It’s much better to practice for only 10-15 minutes EVERY DAY rather than practicing for a longer period, but sporadically and only a couple times per week. So, in summary, I can’t give any suggestions as to how you can change your pinky’s angle on the string, but I don’t think that’s your issue. I think you’re pushing it a bit, and need to gradually build up that pinky callus.
Hey, nice post. Personally, lowering the action and using lighter strings is what I’d do. As for finger caps? I never knew they were a thing 🙂
Hi Andrew. I think the idea came from Tony Iommi–who uses custom-made finger caps (made from leather, I believe). I guess it was only a matter of time before some entrepreneur ran with the idea. Now, these silicone caps are all over Amazon and Ebay.
I’m wondering if there are any supplements I can take, vitamin wise?
Hi Dixie. I can’t recommend any vitamins, but there’s a cream that I use called Penetrex. I’ve often contemplated revising this article to include it, because I’ve had such success with it as a topical pain releiver. I love the stuff, but of course the usual disclaimer applies here: I’m not a doctor, and not qualified to give medical advice. Also, even though Penetrex works for me, I can’t guarantee it’ll work for you.
That said, if you do try it, please let me know how it went. I’m pretty amazed with the stuff.
Hi – This is really interesting – I have been a semi – professional in New England and Texas for over 30 years and my hands are turning on me. Playing a 3 hour set is getting hard. Hand arthritis runs in my family and all the guitar playing can’t help. I’ll try the 10 gauge strings and try the stretching. I’ll check back and let you know how it is going.
How about guitars? – I play mostly acoustic – a Gibson 185 EC now – Are there any easy playing acoustic guitars for working musicians. Thanks
JohnnyOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hey JohnnyO!
How “easy” an acoustic (or electric, for that matter) plays has far more to do with the string gauge and action than anything else. So, I wouldn’t worry too much about trying to find a different guitar. Try the lighter strings, and be sure your guitar is set up for the lowest action possible (at the nut and bridge) without too much buzzing.
I was diagnosed some years ago with tendonitis in both hands/wrists and shoulders, before I started guitar lessons and I can’t take any medication for this (the result of over 25 years of working in administration and constant touch typing!) My tutor showed me some stretching exercises, which I found really useful for my hands and shoulders. One thing I have found helpful when my hands ache is using arnica cream – although you have to keep it away from minor scratches or cuts – as this seems to ease the aching very quickly.
Although my doctor did advise me to rest my hands when the tendonitis flares up, I soon realised that this doesn’t work for me, in fact I tend to pick up some knitting or crochet as the movement seems to ease the pain.
I had problems with finger soreness so I tried the finger caps, they helped but want to stick to the strings when changing chords so it was a no win for me. Going to lighter strings next
Dave, thanks for commenting!
I suspected that that might be problem with finger caps of any kind. Tony Iommi somehow made them work, but of course that was after years of experimentation (and frustration, I’m sure) before landing on a custom-made solution that works for him. I think they may still be an okay option for total beginners, but as soon as someone starts playing faster and doing faster chord changes, cheap silicon finger caps will probably just get in the way.
I’m going to research some more and see if there is a better solution (e.g. caps that are custom fitted and/or made from better materials).