This is a compilation of videos and an article I wrote about keeping your hands healthy.  Video #2 is actually brand new and is a demonstration of an exercise from Jody Fischers 30-Day Guitar Workout (Book & Dvd) (30-Day`)


Part 1:



Part 2






Overuse Injuries

 

This thing saved my career (see #3 below)

 
    NO, really... it did.  After years of gigs, teaching, practicing guitar, going to the gym and then finally doing most of the construction on our studio, my hands quit on me.  Pain and loss of function made performing hell and practicing difficult (and unpleasant).  It really seemed that my Guitar playing career was done for.  Repetetive stress injuries are something that most professional musicians have to deal with at some point in their life.  Even non-pro's have to deal with the issue, even if the cause is not guitar related.  I have had students who spend their days in front of a computer, work with their hands or play tennis obsessively....all kinds of ways to wear your hands out.

    I have always been afraid of getting any kind of surgery done on my hands.  I have never met anyone who has had this kind of surgery done who is better for it.  Especially guitarists.  So I spent many years taking lots of Motrin and I just lived with the problem.  When things became unmanageable I finally went to our family doctor (and ex-guitar student), so he appreciated my concerns more than most doctors would) and he had a couple of non-invasive solutions for me:

    1 - Active Release Technique (ART)  PAIN PAIN PAIN.  It really hurts when they do it but it seems to work pretty well, and there are no drugs and no surgery.  Basically, the Doctor breaks up the knots and scar tissue by pushing REALLY HARD on the muscle as you move it through its range of motion.  I think that there is a similar technique called "Rolfing", but I have never experienced that...

    More information: www.activerelease.com

    2. Stretching Warming up by playing slowly and stretching your hands is pretty important.  It keeps you from having problems in the first place.  Here are links to a few resources I found on the internet showing some stretches:

        http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_office_fitness_clinic/hwf.pdf

        http://www.musicianshealth.com/stretches.htm

    3. The Wax Bath This has helped me the most.  I soak my hands in the melted Paraffin Wax almost every day.  The deep heat keeps the muscles flexible, the blood flowing and moves acid build-up out of the muscles....combined with daily stretching not only do I not have the pain in my hands and forearms that I once did, but my reach on the fretboard is HUGE.  I can play some pretty wide stretches on the Guitar that I could only dream about before.

HoMedics Paraspa Deluxe Paraffin Bath

   
    If I stretch and soak on a regular basis I don't have a problem.  If I neglect my routine the problems return.  I'd like to continue playing music for the rest of my life, so I keep up my daily regimen.

    The hardest part about helping students with this is that they might do the stretches, but seeing the doctor or buying the wax bath is something that most won't bother with.  Adults have a lifetime of injuries stored in their bodies...hands especially.  Sometimes the hardest part for someone 40+ years old is just getting their flexibility back in order to play Barre chords and stretches that are wider than one position. These 3 things have really worked wonders for me...hopefully some of you will try them with similar results!


   
      
   
Here is a link to the wax bath that I actually use....I like the bigger version with the 6lb capacity because it fits my hands more completely...