Recently one of my students mentioned that he has occasional weakness in his picking hand. When I asked what he was doing about it, he said he thought it was diet related, and made some changes. The red flags immediately went up for me!
While its’ good that he was taking some action, guitar players should take all such symptoms very seriously, and get them checked out thoroughly. Weakness, numbness, soreness and pain are early indicators of problems that can quickly get out of hand. Early intervention is the best way to stop an occasional problem from becoming a crippling disability, and there are many types of health practitioners who can help you diagnose and treat incipient problems.
Believe me, I know from experience! In the early to mid ’90’s I suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome in my left wrist for 5 years. Though I visited an osteopath, and then went to the Miller Clinic or Performance Injuries in New York City for retraining and physical therapy, my ability to play and practice was severely curtailed. The problem was managed, but not solved during this time, and it continued to spread and worsen until I had so much pain that I couldn’t sleep on my left side. It wasn’t until I visited an acupuncturist in 1995 that I was finally healed.
There are two lessons that I learned from this experience. First, don’t overdo it and don’t play through pain. At the time of my injury I was teaching about 25 students per week, playing both acoustic and electric guitar in two bands, studying classical guitar, practicing at least 4 to 5 hours a day, and working out with weights several times a week. My career was beginning to take off, and the last thing I considered was slowing down. By the time my symptoms progressed to the point that I couldn’t squeeze my left hand to play a barre chord, it was too late.
The second lesson I learned is that it often takes a lot of trial and error to solve the problem of a performance injury. Though I visited many qualified professionals, many of them were unable to help me; some administered therapies which worsened my injury.
That is why prevention is so important. If an injury goes too far, it can take years to heal.
Recently I have experienced some problems with my right hand, and I have greatly curtailed my practice schedule, and even canceled gigs for a short time. The good news is that my healing is well underway. And as a side benefit, I have changed the focus of my playing away from technique and toward creativity. Since I am rarely practicing before a gig, not all of my chops are accessible. However I find that I can relax into spontaneity and improvisation in my shows, and make music that is interesting, fresh, and moving. So perhaps I have learned a third lesson: when life tries to move you in a new direction, don’t resist - go there!
During this latest period of injury, I have done a lot of research into performance injuries. Here is an in-depth article that I highly recommend for anyone who is dealing with performance injuries.
