How To Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury

RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) can occur from any movement that is repeated many times. For most people it is the clicking of a mouse and the tapping of fingers on a keyboard, but it can also be contracted by playing a musical instrument. Other such conditions that can be aproduct of RSI are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tendonitis.

Ways Of Preventing RSI

01. Check Your Fretting Hand
Having a poor hand position can be a factor is having more tension in your fretting hand, this is usually because the placement of the thumb is too high and that the wrist has to bend to allow the fingers to do their job. Depending on the size of your hand and how comfortable you are with playing with your thumb quite high this should be seen as a problem that needs sorted -- look at your wrist and that should tell you everything.

2. Check Your Guitar Height
Never ever play with a guitar too low down. It does not look cool, it does not enhance playing but it does encourage injury. Playing with the guitar quite high is actually more comfortable and allows for better playing in most cases. Again the indicators here should be the wrists and how straight they are.

3. Check Your Picking Hand
Anchoring your hand, forearm, pinky or any part of your body to the guitar creates more friction and more tension in your muscles. Fact. The decision as to whether they create enough tension to be a problem is yours. If it is then it would involve learning a new way of picking all over again -- this is worth it as I'm sure you'd rather play guitar than not even be able to grip things (happens in extreme cases).

4. Relax
Like above -- any unneeded tension can attribute to more pressure on your limbs. This can result in having a sore shoulder when you play to your hand going numb. At no point is guitar supposed to hurt when you're playing (apart from calluse building in your finger tips). If you are having such problems then just try to play something easy with no tension -- think light. Sometimes tension is a result of muscle memory and needs to be wiped out through lots of practice. This should involve relearning something slow -- speed when you can't play very fast causes most people to lock up their hands a bit too much.

Guitar Exercises

The usual exercise of going 1-2-3-4 on the E string and moving up a string and up a string is good as it forces you to use all of your fingers and is a good indicator of improper technique. Your fingers should be able to easily fret after a little bit of practice and some improved finger independence. If this isn't the case then your thumb is probably too high.

Warm Up Exercises
Athletes warm up before running -- guitar is a physical exercise too. Try creating different stretches and such to help counter RSI. Something like putting your hand out before you like you were high-fiving someone, straightening your arm and gently pulling back on all of your fingers with the other hand until you feel a stretch in your wrist is a good little warm up.

Also try to stretch the wrists gently in any other direction you can. You might also considering doing stretches for your picking arm too if you are just geeting use to not anchoring as this arm is going to be feeling tired at the end of a playing session (tired not sore -- it's muslces that need to build up).

Build Up Endurance
The strength of the wrist depends on how strong your forearm muscles are. So some good exercises would be something chin-ups if you are lucky enough to have the facilities and the strength. Otherwise there are other exercises you can use.

For example, I use a tennis ball in each hand when I'm walking somewhere or waiting on a bus or watching TV and, with all of my fingers over the top I sit and squeeze them. This would build up muscles in your forearms and would also improve finger strength too. The stronger a muscle is the more it can endure before injury.

Golfers are known to always carry strong rubber balls for the same purpose and many of them (due to increased muscle in their wrists and forearms) have longer drives than before. Padraig Haddington uses a product called Powerball that does the same job except it puts a small amount of pressure on your muscles indirectly. It is recommended by chiropractors which brings me to my last point.

Seek Professional Advice
If your wrists are hurting (and I mean in every day activities like picking something up) then go and seek medical advice from someone who is actually qualified. Rest any type of exercise that could have an adverse effect on your wrists and follow the advice of your doctor and you should be fine.

Comments

[thoun]

interesting ...
All beginners should read that

[Iron_Beast]

Great one

[AmandaR*420]

this is quite helpful to those who are unaware of the risks....
nice job

[metal4all]

can you get RSI from walking too much? that would suck major balls. well written article by the way.

[power1]

you dont need to pretend that your 'above' the advice that the article tells you, if you didnt need the info you never would have clicked on the link

[les_paul_01]

helpful. cheers

[speedinc]

Lately I've had a sore wrist (picking hand) if I play for long periods of time. This is helpful. Good job!

[yorkmann]

love it....thanks ill take all this into consideration....thanks for the strength part by the way that'll help mr play me solo in my band :S

[Let it Happen]

great man, thanks! i've been practicing this one hand tapping thing for hours on end, and finally developed a great big blister on my middle finger. It was so bad that I couldn't play for a couple days. I read though that it was just from overplaying and should go away in a couple of days. and it did.

thanks again for the article!

[ghostmouse859]

I just got RSI, and now that I have read this, I feel a bunch better on what i can do to prevent this from ever happening again, becuase this really sucks.

[hywelgreg]

Fanx for the advice. ive had a strain in my wrist but didnt no wat it was. fanx again

[Panterica]

Could RSI cause numbness?? I'v had very little feeling in my pinky and ring finger for about 2 weeks now and I'm wondering if it's from too much guitar.

[soad_malakian]

cool....i used to anchor my fingers towards the guitar but now i dont. Advise is obviously helpful

[Jeff Isaacson]

way cool that info was helpful
i never knew any of that

[Vman666]

thats was handy all right...like...I kinda already knew all that...but it took someone saying its true for me to actually give a shit...Ive always warmed up first though...nice one

[klown_1980]

great info,i have been playing for years and i never knew about (rsi)and some of the other things in the article,great job every guitar player should know this stuff..

[metallica_1993]

thanx 4 the advice, luvin it...

[Mortigi Tempo]

playing your guitar low does look cool

[wolftorin]

my freinds got rsi and can barely move his wrists as a result he has to wear a support. thanks for tellin the masses about this.

[LongLiveRock628]

love it. i never play the guitar low down and on guitar hero the ps2 poser guitar game it says "helpful hint: when playing the guitar, adjust it so it will be low dont play it near the chest. you are not the beatles" or something like that so i saw that and was like wtf is that this understands that its more comfortable and better

[NickRaciti]

Thanks, I'm keeping my hand more relaxed now, and it's helping out with my speed and presision.

[deadpoolxs]

great article! very useful for everyone.

[Bryce-433]

No, you don't get RSI from walking. We're talking about wrists and hands and fingers, not ankles and toes and feet. Otherwise thanx for this article.

[MoshkI]

good article...i had my left hand injured three months ago..due to playing violin..now im rehabilitating my hand by playing guitar...i think guitar is much more complicated than violin though...nice article

[I_Dont_Know]

i got it in my right hand twice from guitar, and then got it in my left hand =|, (carpel tunnel syndrome) it's really annoying =(.

[Marshall787878]

hah i have never got carpel tunnel i watch how i play very closly but my pink and ring on my pickin hand rest on the guitar is that alright,i find it alot eaiser to palm mute when there not hovering

[Annihilator]

I find that anchoring my pinky helps relax my hand a little, and i suppose i use it as a guide to tell where my hand is when im not looking at it(picking hand). Anyways, good article!

[partyanimal]

Carpal Tunnel hurts like a b*tch

[Scourge441]

I find that anchoring my pinky helps relax my hand a little, and i suppose i use it as a guide to tell where my hand is when im not looking at it(picking hand). Anyways, good article!

Anchoring your pinky is really bad for your wrist. Yes, if it floats, you won't be as accurate, but practice will take care of that problem. A floating pinky shouldn't make your hand more tense.

[chaz1990]

ive got a big willy

[General Toby]

ATENHUT! PRIVATE THAT WAS SO WELL WRITEN YOU HAV MADE THE GENERAL PROUD, GIVE YOUR SELF A PAT ON THE BACK!

[I_Dont_Know]

partyanimal wrote:

Carpal Tunnel hurts like a b*tch

amen

[suhaipxxx]

thanx its usefull

[ihaveatail]

Wow never thought I could get hurt this bad.ty for the well written article.

[JuJuMoeNest]

I heard about this one exercise for your forearms. All you need is a Sunday paper(since those are the thickest) and all you do is simply crumble a page at a time with one of your hands. I usually do it whenever my fingertips are too sore to press on the strings.

[Tristan-ah]

Hey, I have RSI, Doctors say its Carpal Tunnel, I don't know if they actually know from just looking at it lol but anyway, the problems there and i've got a tight time period to get rid of it.
Should i be doing strength exercises in my bad hand, (to build strenth)? Or should i rest it?
Thanks in advance
Tristan - Guitarist in Distress

[simonenko]

intresting..nice job

[strong_wizard]

Just don't try and self diagnose: Not every pain is RSI, you might want to have things looked at or get a second opinion, because you should do all you can to prevent ANY type of injury.

[strong_wizard]

Oh, good article

[sidoody]

my hands shake...what does that mean

[sidoody]

my hands shake...what does that mean?

[FretboardToAsh]

that depends on the situation, is it late at night?

good article btw, I would like to know more about this Carpal tunnel too

[captin_mustard]

beign a begginer i found this helpful to me

[xXx_Holia_xXx]

thank god i read this... ^_^

[AsILayhXc]

thanks.. I was getting slight pains in my shoulder and paid close attention to all of the tension in my body.. now I play relaxed with no pains

[JL_Shredder]

Thanks. I didn't experience any discomfort, but I've had a fear of getting RSI. And you're right about playing with the guitar so low. I think it looks stupid.

[anaz]

reliable..trusty..worty...thanx...good 4 beginner

[micksbiggestfan]

I never knew it was RSI. Recently I have experience minor pain in my left(fingerboard) wrist and the inability to bend it back all the way using my muscles. I don't wear my guitar low but perhaps I will reconsider how I play. Nice Article.

[micksbiggestfan]

lowered guitars are sensless and harder to play

[micksbiggestfan]

Mortigi Tempo wrote:

playing your guitar low does look cool

You good sir, are a complete moron.

[Kynyster_K]

I've had RSI once... It sucks ass...
^^BTW^^ i think it looks bad ass, too... thats how u play killer awesome solos... watch a good music video dumbass... lead guitarists play solos super low... DAMN!

[Kynyster_K]

so... SHAMPOO MY NUTS "micksbiggestfan"

[Rubenize]

Great work on the article! It was well written and very informative! I'm definetly going to take a better look at my playing to hopefully prevent any injuries in the future.

[guitar*gal]

Thanx for the advice, didn't know you could get RSI from playing instruments

[Spacetoad]

This is good. For anyone interested in this, I suggest "Finding The Incredible Lightness," at the bottom of the "Correct Practice" page. It goes really deep into relaxing your fingers, arms, et cetera. There's also one about using a classical position for your left hand (thumb against the back of the neck,) called "Left Hand Dexterity" in "The Basics." This means your wrist is totally straight, if you do it right, and you can stretch your fingers further. I suggest that one, too.

[Benzie101]

metal4all wrote:

can you get RSI from walking too much? that would suck major balls. well written article by the way.

For a second there I thought you said wanking haha . Good article btw.

[bayotka2006]

tnx a lot..hahaha

[bayotka2006]

what if the pain starts from the upper portion of the wrist.?

[topfatcat]

I wish i would've found this and read it a couple of days ago as it would've been really helpful. My wrist has been hurting for a couple of days now from playing guitar and i was really annoyed because i didnt know how to prevent from happening again once its healed up. now i do ! thanks !

[wannaberocker60]

genious!! i never knew it could get that bad!! my wrists would get stiff but i never knew about rsi thx for the heads up

[wannaberocker60]

genious!! i never knew it could get that bad!! my wrists would get stiff but i never knew about rsi thx for the heads up

[Kines]

Note that "warming up" should be exactly that. You should not be stretching cold muscles and tendons. Stretching is not warm-up. Do some light activity like jumping-jacks or playing very lightly for a few minutes, that's warm-up. Then do your stretches.

This is exactly the way professional athletes warm up. They do some light activity to get the blood flowing before stretching.

[Spacetoad]

I just recovered from RSI in my right arm. It sucked. A little advice: If you get RSI, don't completely stop moving your arm! Do stretches and very light exercise. If you don't move it, you can get frozen shoulder, and that's not something you want to deal with. Anything that sends blood to the muscle, which speeds recovery is good. Get a massage, use heat packs, and get some arnica cream or gel.

[1339]

christ, i've been playing for 5 years, always resting my right hand somewhere on the guitar. I've just tried all the licks and solos I know without anchoring or leaning any part of my hand, and it was instantly a lot easier and sounded a lot better! thanks so much!

[replica_]

Kines wrote:

Note that "warming up" should be exactly that. You should not be stretching cold muscles and tendons. Stretching is not warm-up. Do some light activity

like jumping-jacks or playing very lightly for a few minutes, that's warm-up. Then do your stretches.

This is exactly the way professional athletes warm up. They do some light activity to get the blood flowing before stretching.

that boyo has got it completely correct NEVER stretch "cold" muscles. always do a little bit of exercise...do some light jogging by changing chords or doin the "spider" exercise. then do little scale fragments slowly then fast then slow then fast...like sprinting!!! do for five-ten minutes then then stretch.

watch john petrucci instructional video. it has a warm up section at start. very good

[replica_]

P.S. remember your working muscles here, very small muscles that cant take the load your legs can take. so be careful.

[ltd+esp=me]

i'm gonna start carrying a tennis ball gracias!

[DEATHbyBLOOD]

Very good information, good idea for a lesson. More info on how not to put your hands on the guitar would be helpful.

[cjmancol]

ur tips really helped me a LOT!!!
thnx!

[Zhuey]

Hey man thanks, awesome article, I've just realised that I have RSI...

[HomerSGR]

I probably play with my guitar to low...

[devilex121]

does RSI have anything to do with back pain? im thinking it might be because im playing too much guitar

oh btw good article

[amp920]

I just relized I have RSI

good article

[DIFTWOOD]

RSI, never got it. now i probably will never get it. thxs
(=

[Alix Withani]

I read this a while ago, followed some of it (although admittedly not all of it) and I reckon I still got RSI, bugger! Although i'm relieved that it isn't as bad a thing to get as I thought.

[Alix Withani]

just to qulaify my last statement.. i thought it was practically life-threatening (exaggeration)

[cajun_prince]

a good article indeed!

a have rsi on my left hand..

oh my.. gotta buy some grip enhancer now..

[XenititesX]

idk what this is, but sometimes when i chord or somethin my pinky feels wierd and i need to crack it. what is wrong here?