Fret hand numbness from playing bass guitar very fast
by Mike
(Chicago)
Hi - I picked up my bass after 10 years retirement. I play very fast. I play lots of chords with all 4 fingers stretched to the limit. I play similar to a classical guitar player. My problem is my fret hand (left) is numb most of the time. I take lots of magnesium. I rinse in hot water for 10-20 minutes at least once a day. I am beating myself into shape again as I have been practicing at least 4 hours a day for over a year now and as much as 12 hours or more in a day.
My numbness is in all 4 fingers and my thumb BUT mainly it is in the index finger next to my thumb and the webbing in between the thumb and 1st finger and the 1st, 2nd & 3rd knuckles after the fingertips, (NOT the fingertips themselves or the fingertip knuckle section) and it hurts so bad and is so swollen I can hardly bend them.
I stop playing immediately and shake vigorously to relieve the pain temporarily and continue what I was working on till I can't play any longer again and again and again repeating my efforts over and over.
I don't want to damage anything but I am on a mission; a purpose, so I know I am pushing and pushing in an extremely focused way to get the results I want. I need my left hand to be a cooperative component of my purpose. It cannot be the weak link.
I will back off for a day if I must. I don't know what to do. My Dr says maybe its a circulation issue. I take lots of niacin, arginine & hawthorne for the circulation.
I also take hydrocodine, advil, sometimes soma & diulaudad and that helps but I want to REALLY fix the problem as I want to do a full 2 hours of live performance at my extreme physical playing level with no pain. I will be working with professionals and celebrities so I need results.
----
Joshua Answers:Hi Mike.
You're taking hydrocodone and dilaudid for numbness?!? Do you
have pain too? Or just numbness. Because those are serious painkillers and will have no effect on numbness (aside from your perception of it).
I'm curious if you have more going on that you've described, or if you're just anxious to play through the symptoms.
So that's good you're taking Magnesium. How much?
Hot water is good, but I'd rather see you Ice Dip as described on the
How To Reduce Inflammation page.
Certainly you have some
Tendonitis dynamic at play, which includes the
Pain Causing Dynamic.
If you're not familiar with what Tendonitis is, read this page and the links off of it:
What Is TendonitisI rather suspect that a bunch of your numbness is coming from up at the front of your neck/chest/shoulder. But I'd need to know more.
If you're serious about getting back to playing symptom free, then you're going to need a plan a bit more detailed than your doctor handing out pharmaceuticals and cluelessly stating 'maybe it's a circulation issue'.
Granted I'm biased, but I suggest my
Reversing Guitar Tendonitis ebook. And once you're into that and see what happens, we may or may not point you to specific work to open up the front of the neck/chest/shoulder.
A
Phone Consultation may be a good match for your motivation level too. I'll ask questions, you'll give answers, I'll set you up with a specific plan and follow up.
It just all depends.
----------------------
Please reply using the comment link below. Do not submit a new submission to answer/reply, it's too hard for me to find where it's supposed to go.
And, comments have a 3,000 character limit so you may have to comment twice.
----------------------- Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com