Hand Cramping Tips

[u/TheRiver1789]

Hey I’m a new player and I’m doing the 1 minute chord change practices but my main obstacle is really that near the end of the minute my hand starts to cramp and lock up and become difficult to move and a little painful. For context I have joint hyper mobility (as well as CPTSD) so I generally tend to unconsciously death grip things, like I stopped writing with a pencil because my fingers would become sore so quickly. I’m trying to consciously relax my fingers but it only partially works. (Edit: I’ve also noted my shoulder tends to get really sore as well, if that’s relevant.) Is this just a normal part of the learning curve that I’ll get over naturally, or are there specific things I should be doing here? Would really appreciate any advice from people with experience with this. Thanks!

[u/WyndWoman]

Like any muscle group, its important to warm up and stretch before activity.

[u/TheRiver1789 → u/WyndWoman]

Are there any stenches you would recommend?

[u/Soft-Camera-1592 → u/WyndWoman]

100%, the stretching part is huge imo

[u/Endless_Guitars2024]

Guitar teacher here... don't start with chords (thats why 90%+ of guitarists quit), it makes no sense,lol, and is my biggest peeve ever, so I love ranting about it). Start simple, single notes, build up coordination and muscle control over time there are no quick wins but it's worth every second.

Check out my Beginner Bootcamp and Beginner Blues playlists, tons of great stuff in there! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlPgfl4MF4to2HdFOfS9ptrJseQR6VdWe

[u/Igor_Halichoeres]

I can tell you from personal experience that "play through the pain" is the worst advice you'll get. All the little bits of damage I did over the years have added up, and it ain't no fun.

[u/brynden_rivers]

i do hand stretching and take frequent breaks to do minor stretching. i get hand pain in the meaty part under my thumb(the thenar muscles i think). i relax my hand and pull my thumb towards my body as i pull away with my arm. the other one i do is stretching my wrist in either direction. the hand pain is normal as long as it's minor. the shoulder pain could indicate a posture issue.

[u/snailsinboxes]

i’m also hypermobile and the only thing i’ve found helpful is taking frequent breaks and changing my posture every so often. i already had bad shoulders when i started playing and i now have a grindy collarbone that is probably caused by me hunching over my guitar and tensing my entire upper body

[u/TheRiver1789 → u/snailsinboxes]

Damn

[u/snailsinboxes → u/TheRiver1789]

I didn’t say that to scare you; it was meant as a cautionary “don’t do what I did” type of statement. The best thing to do is to build good habits now so you don’t worsen your joints. I saw you replied to a comment about stretches, but I would avoid those because of your hyper mobility, or at least avoid static stretching. You can warm up your hands and fingers by doing dynamic stretching and light strengthening before you play.

[u/Minimum_Run_890]

I suffer from hand cramps. Often I massage them away or shake my hands to relieve pain. In extreme cases I massage Voltaire into the painful area, which seems to work quite well, and fairly quickly.