Wrist supports

fobster

I've been having pain in my arm and hands for the past 2 weeks or so. Went to the physio and they gave some arm stretches to do and other bits of info etc.

Still haven't bothered touching the guitar. Was wondering does anybody know or use good wrist/hand supports for preventing and helping reduce pain etc.

Something like the gloves on this page would be ideal.

http://www.scenicnewengland.net/guitar/acoustic/hand/injury.htm

Johnny Storm

I don't know if these are any good or not but....

http://www.newgrip.com/guitar_playing_wrists_elbows.html

FWIW The above were mentioned on the forum at BuckDharma.com and Buck (who does know a thing or two about playing the guitar) made the following comments:-

Buck Dharma wrote:

I have repeatedly stressed proper wrist alignment on this forum. Again, this is universal advice.

Practice with your wrists as straight as possible. Force yourself to play that way during practice, even if you can't play as fast or as easily as you can with your wrists bent.

When you are playing with proper alignment, you will know right away which fingers are the weakest. Work on bringing them all up to snuff, so you can play a chord progression, scale or melody line smoothly and in tempo. Go as slowly as you have to play the chord, a scale, or a run properly, and build speed as you master slow tempos.

It makes your fingers work harder, but you will build finger strength and ease stress on your wrists and elbows. The more you play with proper alignment, the better you will play, as your fingers will be stronger than they were before you started paying attention to it.

I advise all electric players to play at least some acoustic also. It's good for you, even if it's not your main instrument.

I just ordered a set of those wrist bands. I like to try new stuff, and the testimonials sound sincere.

...........

Set the goal to keep your wrists (fret and pick hand) as straight as possible (up and down mainly, but left and right too) when ever you practice and modify the way you hold the guitar to permit good alignment. Now, you'll find it's harder to play that way, and your fingers will work harder to cover the fret positions you are used to playing.

Of course when you are performing, you may need to revert to old behavior to play what's expected of you, or cover difficult stretches and fingerings.

But if you practice properly, new finger strength will come, because you had been favoring your fingers at the expense of your wrists, and you will play better all the time and have less problem with wrist pain.

I had to do this about 10 years ago. My left elbow was killing me, and I realized it was because I was bending my left wrist too sharply almost all the time. When I started practicing with straight wrists, I knew my pinky and ring finger were going to have to do much more work than they had been. I basically re-learned how to play, but it's been worth it. No more pain, and my fingers are stronger than they were.

It sounds like the wrist straps are helping to keep your wrist straight, as well as compressing the inflamation.

Voodu Child

Nobody here can give you accurate information on wrist supports etc. It wouldn't be appropriate tbh, and I think it's probably covered in the charter.

You pain could be caused by dozens of things - underlying medical problem, poor form when guitaring/typing/gaming/writing etc. Im sure these were covered by the physio, but regardless, it's up to yourself and any professionals to find out what's causing the problem, how to alleviate it, and what/what not to do in terms of continuing to play guitar etc.

Something to bear in mind, is that a lot of the advice you'll see on the internet is complete BS, and a lot of the 'health gadget' type things you see (wrist supports, strength trainers etc.) are total crap and will do more harm than good. That's why i don't really advise trying to get anecdotal info about such things there, or in any other general forum.

feylya

This isn't a medical forum and your doctors should be your first and only port of call.

That said, I'm going to leave this thread open to get opinions on those wrist supports.

maximumleo

Been there before myself. Before looking for supports, you really should make sure that you are playing with correct technique, as improper tech could do damage.

Firstly, despite how cool it may look, never wear your guitar too low. By too low, I mean below the waste. Personally, I wear my guitar at the lower rib level for better reach and less strain, but if looks are important, try to find an optimal balance.

Secondly, always ensure you are properly warmed up before playing. Think of warming up the hands as important to a guitarist, as warming up the legs are to an Olympic runner. Warming up correctly will often reduce pain, and has been known to improve recovery time (I will cite myself as an example). Start off with simple (often boring) scallic exercises like the 1-2-3-4 pattern on each string, and progress from there.

Lastly, if you still require a wrist support after this, I recommend getting either a Vulcan Wrist Wrap or Scholl ProSport Wrist Support. I broke my playing hand years back and was required to wear one for a support for a time, and both of these performed aptly. Try using some Deep Heat or Deep Freeze (not sure which is better, but I used either depending on weather conditions ) after playing too.

Hope this helps, and sorry if the last bit sounded like an advert

pug_

I started a thread about wrist problems a while back, and only figured out this week that it was because I hold the guitar neck too far away from my body when I play. Just a bad habit I got into somehow, and now I'm finding it a cnut to get out of it again.

I don't know anything about wrist/hand supports, but if you can figure out what's causing the problem in the first place you might save yourself a lot of hassle down the road.

Music4life

First off dont play if your in pain its seriously not worth it.Just do the stretches & you should maybe try some deep heat.Warm up before playing & everything should be fine:D

fobster

Reason for the post was to get opinions on wrist supports. Understand completely about this not being a medical forum.

I think rest is the best idea at the mo.