Pain in left index finger while playing

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:43 pm

I admit I have not been playing enough lately so I got off my lazy butt and started getting back to it.

I am having problems with pain in the large knuckle of my index finger of my left hand. I am a right handed player, so my left hand is for making chords.

I experience the pain when fretting a C major chord and my index finger bends around to get the C note on the B string.

The problem is worse when I am playing on Short scale guitars with thinner profiles and narrower nuts like my Jag-stang.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I am hoping it's simply my tendons/ligaments needing to stretch back out but I don't want to make it worse.

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:04 pm

If youre standing while playing, move your strap up. Just an inch will help tons. If sitting ot may be that ur keeping your thumb too high up. I had the same problem, strap and finger adjustments did the trick.

George · Post by **George** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:05 pm

i think it's your hand's way of telling you to branch out and try chunkier necks and wider nuts, possibly even longer scale

hand fatigue and aches is often associated with thin prolonged use of slim profiles and necks too small for the player

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:18 pm

That too. I never understood the craze for slim necks.

mixtape · Post by **mixtape** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:37 pm

ykk211 wrote:I never understood the craze for slim necks.

Small hands. For me, anything much more than a B width neck means hand fatigue like whoa.

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:40 pm

ahh, well i have large hands and it just cramps them. I would use gibson necks if they made bolt-ons

George · Post by **George** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:43 pm

i think its horses for courses

i have teeny tiny hands but i'm enjoying strat scale, slightly wider nuts, flat radius and slim profiles at the moment. i find shortscales and narrow nuts to be restrictive

i'm not sure why but i think its to do with being able to stretch out a bit, and you get more of a landing pad when travelling up and down the neck

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:15 am

George wrote:i think it's your hand's way of telling you to branch out and try chunkier necks and wider nuts, possibly even longer scale

hand fatigue and aches is often associated with thin prolonged use of slim profiles and necks too small for the player

I have played both short and normal Fender scales for a while with no problems. I did get rid of my Musicmaster project guitar for having overly chunky neck.

I am 6ft 3inches tall and I have pretty big hands.

I want to make sure it's not just atrophy in the joint before I start getting rid of guitars. I have been stretching the knuckle out today and it's beginning to feel better I think. I have dislocated two different knuckles before, so I know how to rehab and stretch them out.

I have been doing lots of measurements trying to figure out what my favorite neck dimensions are. Ideally, a C profile with a nut width between 42-43mm and 7.25" radius is what I gravitate towards. My Coronado II neck is probably my favorite neck followed by my Jazzmaster and Telecaster.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:16 am

I agree with George as far as small hands are concerned.

I injured my left index finger playing my Jag-Stang a few months ago, I think. I have tiny hands.

I'd been playing Les Pauls and Teles for ages and then picked up the Jag-Stang and had a ruddy good noodle for a few hours... it was WEEKS before I didn't have a twinge/tightness and a bit of swelling in that finger's knuckle again. I didn't notice it happening at the time but I definitely stretched/sprained it or something.

My CIJ Jaguar neck is way more comfortable than the JS neck... less cramped, I can actually do quick changes on extended/first position chords on the first few frets, all that. The whole "small necks are better for small hands" thing is a load of toss, as is "the JS neck is the most comfortable because it's so small". If all you play is power chords that's one thing, but a bit more room to move different chord shapes around can be beneficial too.

Give it about a month, dude. Sometimes these things linger, mine certainly did to the point where I almost made a doctor's appointment.

George · Post by **George** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:42 pm

taylornutt wrote:
George wrote:i think it's your hand's way of telling you to branch out and try chunkier necks and wider nuts, possibly even longer scale

hand fatigue and aches is often associated with thin prolonged use of slim profiles and necks too small for the player
I have played both short and normal Fender scales for a while with no problems. I did get rid of my Musicmaster project guitar for having overly chunky neck.

I am 6ft 3inches tall and I have pretty big hands.

I want to make sure it's not just atrophy in the joint before I start getting rid of guitars. I have been stretching the knuckle out today and it's beginning to feel better I think. I have dislocated two different knuckles before, so I know how to rehab and stretch them out.

I have been doing lots of measurements trying to figure out what my favorite neck dimensions are. Ideally, a C profile with a nut width between 42-43mm and 7.25" radius is what I gravitate towards. My Coronado II neck is probably my favorite neck followed by my Jazzmaster and Telecaster.

i'm not saying it's a silver bullet, but as paul said, first off i'd say take it easy on the guitar for the next few weeks and do some finger exercises (e.g. pressing all your fingertips against each other like mr burns has been great for my finger rehab after surgery) throughout the day to stretch them out. then start playing on some larger/thicker/wider necks and see you how you get on with it; then after that return to the problem guitar and see what happens. it may be you need to spend less time on them, but don't necessarily have to get rid of them. or it might be bad news.

it sounds like if jazzmaster and teles are your thing then maybe 25.5" is the way to go. shortscales aren't for everyone afterall as me and paul have attested. it might be a balancing act in that you can get away with a shallower thin profile, as long as you have a wide nut, or vice versa. but a 6'3" big handed player with a narrow nut and slim neck sounds problematic.

anyway, i would say any hand or wrist pains whatsoever that are not attributable to posture, should set off alarm bells. as much as you may love the guitar i think your ability to play healthily is what counts in a situation like this.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:07 am

cut that thing offff

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:55 am

Pour beer on it!

I moved to bigger necks & no issues since with cramping

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 2:44 pm

Update:

I took some time off playing and I am slowing climbing back into it.

I am staying away from Short scale necks for now and I playing my acoustic guitar.

I hope to work over to my electrics and then try the smaller necks after that.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:30 pm

stewart wrote:cut that thing offff

guess i was drunk on valentine's day then.

spirograph · Post by **spirograph** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:32 am

haha

i used to get a dull ache in some fretting knuckles, especially in winter. i figured i was playing badly, in some fashion. so i focused my 'practising' on pressure. i made a point of trying to play only as hard as needed, and to use only the muscles i need for any particular note/chord, and to relax them as soon as possible after letting go/on the way to the next note/chord, for as long as possible. the pains went away (entirely, forever, so far), and a whole new level of dynamic control and sensitivity opened up as a result. im also real particular about neck relief and pickup height now. more than string height or gauge (im happy with 11's on strat-scale length), and ive accidentally got faster too.

torchindy · Post by **torchindy** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:00 am

taylornutt wrote:
George wrote: I have been doing lots of measurements trying to figure out what my favorite neck dimensions are. Ideally, a C profile with a nut width between 42-43mm and 7.25" radius is what I gravitate towards. My Coronado II neck is probably my favorite neck followed by my Jazzmaster and Telecaster.
I may be preaching to the choir, but the best advice I ever got with regards to neck width is to try to find one that you absolutely don't notice while playing. If it feels hefty and fat, it's (ideally) too big and your fingers are trying to make up the distance that your palm should wrap around the neck. If it feels small it is. If you notice the edges of the fretboard it's too shallow or sharply carved, and if you notice the 'v' then V necks aren't for you. The best neck is one that you totally forget you're using, that fits your hand like it's not even there. It's a hard thing to describe, but I hope this makes some sense.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:04 pm

I played almost all my guitars today and very little discomfort to report. I am making sure my fingers don't twist too much on the C chord and it seems to be working.

I am parting ways with the Jag-stang since the neck profile is not working for me.