Arm pain after playing

Vaiai

I have gigged and rehearsed weekly for the last 3 or 4 years but recently after playing it's sore to to straighten out my left arm. Fine when playing though. 
Also it is more sore if I clench my fist then bend and straighten it. Not something I have had before.
Any ideas? 

DulcetJones

The best thing to do is see a Doctor.   Is your left hand your fretting hand?

sweepy

is the little finger and outside of your ring finger experiencing numbness ? if so, it could be Ulnar nerve damage 

Vaiai

Left hand is my fretting hand Dulcet. No numbness tho

richardhomer

Do you wear your guitar low? 

What gauge strings do you use?

lovestrat74

What guitar? Is the neck slim?

Vaiai

Both guitars have chunky necks and I don't wear them low slung. I use 10-52 on Tele and hyrid set on the PRS (although I just got that recently) I play the Suhr 95% of the time and have done regularly live and rehearsing for 4 years - it's fairly recent

mistercharlie

Vaiai said:

Fine when playing though.

Obviously you should just never stop playing. 

JD50

Could it be down to your technique?

I was getting hand cramp across the centre of my hand as I used to wrap my thumb over the neck.

I've been forcing myself to position my thumb on the back of the neck & its helped a lot, especially when playing my Mustang which has a super slim neck.

Vaiai

JD50 said:

Could it be down to your technique?

I don't think I am doing anything different but willing to try different things - I'm 47 and have played the same pretty much since I was 15! I was more into Ibanez style necks back then and into my 20's - have played chunkier necks since then and used the same Tele for the last 3 yrs
I am not a thumb over neck player either. Although, I do sometimes do that on longer gigs when barre chords start to hurt now I think about it...

JerkMoans

In the words of the fair Mrs Moans, who is herself a doctor: ‘tell him to see his doctor’.

You don’t want some sort of RSI or tendonitis cramping your rock n roll style.

Vaiai

JerkMoans said:

In the words of the fair Mrs Moans, who is herself a doctor: ‘tell him to see his doctor’.

You don’t want some sort of RSI or tendonitis cramping your rock n roll style.

No, I def don't want that. I just joined a new band and have a 50 song set to learn in 7 weeks

Phil_aka_Pip

"Doctor, it hurts when I do this"

"Well, don't do it then"

Phil_aka_Pip

Seriously though, is it joint, tendon, or muscle pain? Can it be relieved by for example Iboprufen Gel? Does it happen when you stand to play AND if you sit to play, or just one of them?

viz

richardhomer said:

Do you wear your guitar low? 

Does it wobble to and fro? Sorry, couldn’t resist.


Is the source of pain the elbow? You might have tennis elbow. I had tennis elbow some years back and certain activities brought the pain on, unrelated to the activity that originally kicked it off. 

Phil_aka_Pip

My Dr gave me a gentle exercise to cure tennis elbow and it worked. I'll try to describe it if the OP turns out to have TE ...

merlin

Could be either tennis elbow, golfers elbow or both. If you get your ring and little finger going numb then it's tendon/nerve compression in your shoulder. If it's numbness in your middle, inder and thumb then possibly carpel tunnel issues. 

See your quack doctor most definitely. ASAP. 

mbe

Are you a smoker?

DulcetJones

I'm assuming you play with a flat pick, I had the same problem in both arms a few years back,  after about 15 years of playing nothing but classical guitar, the last 10 years of which I was playing over 100 gigs a year and practicing a lot on off days.  Between the fretting hand and the fingerpicking hand being overworked I developed RSI (repetitive strain injury/tennis elbow) in both arms.  My Doctor diagnosed it as such and said it wasn't causing permanent damage but it's going to hurt until I stop playing for a month or so.  He also recommended that I change styles and  do exercises, as   Phil_aka_Pip  said.  They are easy and they work.  My Dr. also told me to get a simple arm brace and wear it just below the elbow to relieve the pain.  Most drug stores sell these and it was amazing how much relief they offered.   Firmly grip your ailing  arm just below the elbow and see if you feel a difference.  Anyway, see your Dr. for sure.  As it turned out for me, I was burning out mentally as well at the time and wanted a change, so it wasn't a big problem for me to take break and redirect my energy.  I now play some fingerstyle but mostly use a pick and play more steel string electric and acoustic with a band and have no pain at all now.

flying_pie

I'll message you 

Grunfeld

Vaiai said:

I have gigged and rehearsed weekly for the last 3 or 4 years but recently after playing it's sore to to straighten out my left arm. Fine when playing though. 
Also it is more sore if I clench my fist then bend and straighten it. Not something I have had before.
Any ideas? 

Unless I've missed it, you've not said where in your am you are feeling pain.
I'm guessing elbow?  But you could mean your shoulder, wrist, or even your neck for all that. 
If the pain is bothering you then yep, have it checked out by a doctor or even a physio who would check and be able to tell if you need to be packed off to a doctor.  Many doctors will likely send you to a physio anyway if your problem is musculoskeletal.