my left arm hurts from fingers to shoulder from playing guitar

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Permalink Reply by Mike Dawes on November 20, 2009 at 5:55pm

It doesn't sound like tendonitis if your bones are crunching.

I had tendonitis for about 8 months in both arms, the key is to play very slowly in moderation.

play nothing for 2 weeks, then try 5 mins a day and if it hurts stop. The idea is to play as little as possible so your body can heal itself without detoxing muscle usage completely.

I'd also highly recommend Alexander Technique

Hope this helps.

Regards

Mike

www.mikedawesamyturk.com

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Permalink Reply by Do Mi Stauber on December 1, 2009 at 1:01am

I tried lengthening my guitar strap when I started taking voice lessons and was working on good singing posture while playing. My left arm and shoulder completely cranked out. It went away when I shortened the strap again. I recommend experimenting with holding your guitar in different ways (different strap lengths, on your lap, tilted in different directions). Good luck!! Play in your mind while you're healing!

Do Mi

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Permalink Reply by Jason Jimerson on December 1, 2009 at 3:54am

I've had a similar problem with my strumming arm. Not as bad as yours, but I can't completely straighten my arm as a result. First, you should ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist, so you can get some professional medical help fixing the problem with stretches and exercises. (I hate drugs.) I agree with the other guys, that you have to reduce playing and try alternative positions. Finally, have you considered playing a lap steel guitar?

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Permalink Reply by Dave Vohar on December 11, 2009 at 10:31am

Thanks for the post. I've got about the same problem. After trying to practice last night I decided to take a week off to see if that helps. I just have a lot of pain after playing and also can hardly hold anything heavy in the left arm. I've tried changing strap length and positions. Still the same. After playing for over a year it's odd to me that this happened.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Trissel on December 13, 2009 at 4:28pm

I can sure sympathize with you. I deal with chronic neck and shoulder pain, and for quite some time I couldn't play because of "moaning/groaning" nerve pain down my left arm. An MRI with the pain management doctor reveals I have cervical spondylosis, cervical radicliopathy, and stenosis. The stenosis is the nerve pain. I ended up getting a series of epidural injections, which allowed me to play again. Some of the nerve pain has returned a bit, but injections would work again. I take Lyrica which is for nerve pain, and helps with other types of pain as well. I'd get a 2nd opinion. Take an active role in your health care. Keep pressing on until you find someone who can help you. Muscle relaxers didn't help me much, but there are a lot of options out there: pain mgmt., chiropractic, orthopedic (doesn't necessarily mean surgery), physical therapy, and so on. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Blackwell on May 17, 2010 at 3:37am

What's the latest on your condition? I had similar problems years ago. Turned out I had herniated discs in my neck. After fusion surgery the problems went away. I would suggest you at least go see an orthopedic/neuro-surgeon who can quickly determine if this is your problem after an MRI.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Robinson on August 10, 2012 at 10:43am

I see this is an old post, but I'm sure other people will run across it in the future, as I have. This sounds to me like something I am currently suffering with -- a compression of the nerve that runs from between the C6 and C7 vertebrae. For me this comes from a combination of having a desk job at a computer and over-practicing guitar. In both instances, the culprit is largely bad posture with a face-forward problem (my chin goes forward, so my head is not above my shoulders, which slope forward, causing a strain in the neck and the resulting pinch problem). There are some good exercises on the Internet that can help. Ice and ibuprofen can help reduce the swelling in the nerve (heat can make the problem worse, muscle relaxers will not necessarily help at all). The other possible culprits for you are carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes. I hope you can get past this, but I do think you'll need to get an instructor that can help make sure you are in the correct posture and are not playing with too much tension/pressure on the fingerboard. 

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