General Music Chat

I am a right handed guitarist and am experiencing a tingling sensation in my left hand while playing. Feels like my hand is falling asleep. Goes away in a few minutes. Anyone else had the same experience? Cause & cure?

Cure: 4 - 5 weeks of no guitar playing.

I used to often get a tinglin' feelin' in my right hand back when I was about 14. Seemed to happen less after I started playin' the Farfisa organ, and even more rarely after I got married!


seriously though, Bob, maybe you should check this out.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2088349_know-se ... ngers.html

Get yourself checked out for 2 things - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome & ulna nerve prob's. Ulna nerve stuff hits the ring & pinky finger - I got that & it SUX!

Either one will give you tingling sensations.

Take some time off if you can. this sh*t is serious!

Even if you can't take some time off. You don't want this to be a lifelong problem. Plus IMHO, try an anti-inflammatory diet. It will help with the pain more efficiently than aspirin or other pain meds.

I have severe Carpal tunnel in my left hand. That's how it started, sort of.

First, I noticed when playing bar chords, either for extended durations, or just many full bar chords in one progression, that my left hand would get fatigued.

Then I noticed the tingling rarely, when playing, shaking it off would work.

But then... It started happening more often, and for longer durations.

and then...... I strated getting the tingling / falling asleep hand/arm at night, I began to wake up at and constantly re-position when sleeping.

I finally went and got a EMG test done, and they confirmed MILD carpal tunnel. I honestly thought the diagnosis (mild) was a bit of an understatement, considering the discomfort and fatigue.

So I was told to take vitamin B6 and 12 suppliments, and to wear a nocturnal brace at night, as a method of "managing" the CT.

So, it seemed to help for a while, although, the guitar fatigue and numbness was a considerable obstacle. I was gigging frequently, playing in two bands, filling in for others, etc..

I was fooling myself thinking it was being managed.

So about two months ago, it got worse, A LOT worse. The brace at night seemed to sometimes make things worse, felt like fire was shooting through my veins in my arm and wrist. I was getting sharp pains in my hand also.

My hand would go completely numb playing basic chords like C and D and G.. It got to the point that I could barely make it through a gig, and it was painful as hell, and also I made major mistakes and fell out of parts due to the fatigue.

The numbness and tingling became persistent, no matter what part of day it was, I was numb and tingly at the same time, it was even starting to affect my driving . I couldn't hold my cell phone up to my ear without extraordinary discomfort. I had to constantly flex and adjust my hand to relive the discomfort.

They sent me to chiropractors, massage therapists, etc.. NOTHING WORKED.

Finally I convinced my NEW doctor (the old one just refused to refer me to a surgeon) to send me to the surgeon, who agreed to do the surgery, but first wanted to give me a steroid/cortizone shot.

I objected, but he insisted on it.

Well.. it certainly didn't cure me, but it's been a HUGE help. The CT is still there, the numbness, tingling, and pain is ALL still there, but very diminished, to the point that I can easily (compared to before) get through gigs.

It's been a godsend in that regard, just because the shot(s) allow me to at least TIME the surgery to a specific point in time where the band will be less busy (late next month). The shot lasts 4-5 weeks and then wears off. I will get one more at the beginning of next month, then get both wrists done at the same time.

I feel for you, CT is MUCH harsher and painful than most people believe or realize, and it will destroy you if you don't aggressively take care of it-

dont buy into the chiro BS, it's not a joint problem, it's a tendon issue.

Oh, and while my right hand felt fine when I had the testing done, they assured me that if you have it in one, you got it in both, and they were acsolutely correct. My right hand is about a year behind the left one, just from teh guitar useage, but I can feel it now, and it's just starting to get that numb, tingly feeling, and bother me when I sleep... it's only a matter of time, so take care of it at the same time.

Good luck.

Here's something that I notice with guitar playing as opposed to flute playing. Guitarists and actually all string players must press hard on the strings in order to produce a nice clean sound. Flutists need to touch their keys lightly because, believe it or not, we do a lot of shredding One reason you can press hard is it makes playing fast passages more difficult. That being said, many flutists suffer from carpal tunnel which is usually caused by pressing the keys too hard. The flute should be adjusted so that it requires a minimum amount of pressure which also helps in deterring carpal tunnel. Stringed instruments can't do that.

Let me relate something else to you. I kinda hinted at it before. I used to have the worst pain in my knees...I thought that I had arthritis. It came at a time when I was gaining weight so I began doing Atkins just to lose weight. My achy knees went away. Don't say that my pain went away because I lost weight. This is not true because I gained all the weight back plus I picked up 2 extra lbs. BUT, my pain never returned. I also had mgraines 2-6 times a month. My migrainse vanished completely. If you want to manage inflammation not only remove sugar ( bread, rice, potatoes ) but don't be afraid of fats. I would wager that you will find greater relief by eating what I eat. I am serious about this.