Great Exercises to Alleviate Forearm Pain from Playing the Guitar

Sometimes, it is quite easy to just forget just how demanding guitar-playing can actually be on a physical level. In fact, it would not be uncommon to find guitar players that suffer from various problems, such as tendonitis, which is a tendon inflammation; and carpel tunnel syndrome, which occurs whenever the median nerve gets compressed around the wrist and leads to forearm pain, paresthesias, or hand muscle weakness. These problems could prove to be debilitating; however, they are definitely preventable. Several essential things can be done to protect yourself from suffering from these problems, though – whether it's right now or anytime in the near or distant future.

First of all, it would be essential to remember to stretch prior to practicing or playing the guitar in order to help prevent any injuries and let you play the guitar much more effectively. The greatest way to go about this would be to begin by doing some fingers stretches – one finger at a time. Begin by putting your left thumb in the palm of your right hand and slightly push back. Don’t push too far since it might hurt, but do push far enough to feel some sort of stretch. Hold this position for around half a minute. Then, do the same thing with all of your left hand’s other fingers and repeat the exact same stretch with every finger on your right hand.

Another stretch that would be great to prevent wrist pain and forearm pain would be as follows: begin by placing your palms together right in front of your chest. Then, slowly push your elbows out while bending your wrists. Hold the position after you find a great stretch. Then, rotate both of your wrists forward so that your fingers point away from you. Again, hold the position after you feel a good stretch. After you stretch, it would always be smart to do some warm-ups by practicing several chords, scales, or riffs.

Several things need to be kept in mind whenever you play the guitar, which can also help in preventing any potential problems. First and foremost, try to keep both of your wrists straight at all times whenever you play the guitar. If both of your wrists tend to bend when you play, unnecessary strain could be caused and could make it much harder for you to move any of your fingers. Although there are several passages and chords that might require you to slightly bend both of your wrists, it would be best for the long run to keep them straight as much as you can. Just try your best at doing so and try to avoid pressing hard on the strings than you really need to since this could cause a good deal of strain, as well.

 

One other essential tip would be to take fifteen minute breaks after every hour of playing the guitar; however, if you need a longer break, you can take one of those, too. Also, if you feel any forearm pain and discomfort whenever you play the guitar, it would be essential to stop what you’re doing right away. If you try and play through the forearm pain, it will only get worse. Therefore, do yourself a big favour by stopping the minute some forearm pain appears.