Need help relaxing thumb

[Coma]

About two months ago I injured the thumb on my fretting hand and have been unable to play up until now. Doctor says it was probably repeated over-straining of the thumb joint (or something akin to that). So while I'm happy to finally be able to play again, I now tense up my thumb even worse than before (possible because it's grown weak during the resting process). But I want to make sure this doesn't happen again, and I think the best way to do that is playing with a more relaxed fretting hand.

So does anyone have experience dealing with (and resolving) something similar? I'm not a beginner, so chances are this is a bad habit I've picked up over the years.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

Easy, Masking tape and a paddle pop stick.

 

[Securb]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

Rest it and do easy calisthenics with it. Rotate it in circles to keep it loose. Once it starts to feel better lightly push it against the forefinger to build strength, dont push it. Treat it like an ankle sprain, first walk, jog and then run.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

How do you normally position your thumb? Everything I've read say that you should keep the thumb placed on the back of the neck.

Also doing hand exercises before you play can help loosen up your joints a lot.

 

[emilio]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

Technique brother. Same thing happened to me for some time until I worked on my technique. Sometimes the habit comes back, especially on bar chords. Like a beginner start slowe because when speeding up, people like us tend to tense up as well causing this pain we feel. I don't this it's so much about exercises as it is technique since in this case the pressure in which we fret is causing the strain on the joint. Maybe stretching to help relax.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

How do you normally position your thumb? Everything I've read say that you should keep the thumb placed on the back of the neck.

Also doing hand exercises before you play can help loosen up your joints a lot.

Technique brother. Same thing happened to me for some time until I worked on my technique. Sometimes the habit comes back, especially on bar chords. Like a beginner start slowe because when speeding up, people like us tend to tense up as well causing this pain we feel. I don't this it's so much about exercises as it is technique since in this case the pressure in which we fret is causing the strain on the joint. Maybe stretching to help relax.

+1 to both of these.

Technique is really important. If your strap is too low to play without kinking your wrist, raise it. If your guitar has a thin shredder neck that's impossible to play without top-wrapping your thumb, you might want to find a different guitar with a thicker neck.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

All good suggestions. I've got a similar (but probably worse) problem. Take it slow and gentle to a gradual recuperation. Work on "better" technique. And a custom brace may even be beneficial.

 

[Coma]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

Easy, Masking tape and a paddle pop stick.

Huh?

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Need help relaxing thumb

+1 to both of these.

Technique is really important. If your strap is too low to play without kinking your wrist, raise it. If your guitar has a thin shredder neck that's impossible to play without top-wrapping your thumb, you might want to find a different guitar with a thicker neck.

When Dave Mustaine hurt his hands a few years ago, he said he switched to thicker necks because they facilitate better playing posture, especially in the hand.