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Message 9296
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| Subject: | Re: [RESOGUIT-L] Ouch w/ the left hand; length between fingertip and tip of pick | | Date: | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 23:45:28 (-0700) | | From: | Lynn Oliver <chief06 @.......net>
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| In reply to: | Message 9278 (written by Sean Terry) |
>
> Second, with my bar hand I've been getting a fair amount of diffuse
> hand pain, which varies with amount of practice obviously. I use a
> finger/hand gripper exercise contraption to strengthen both hands,
> which helped me when I first started dobro, but that is becoming
> less successful. Should I give the hand a break, or keep working it
> and strengthening it until it goes away? I don't want to do more
> damage, but it's also hard to give up practice when I want to.
It sounds like you may have too much tension in your hand when holding
the bar; you shouldn't need to grip it tightly. When I first switched
from a Tipton-style bar to a Stevens my hand wanted to cramp up, but
as soon as I learned to relax my grip it was fine. You may want to
try different types of bars to see what is most comfortable.
See if you can control the existing pain using ice after each practice
session, never more than 20 minutes at a time. Work on your technique
until you are pain free, then look into stretching and strengthening
exercises. If the pain is increasing you will need to give it a
chance to heal and may need some treatment; unfortunately if you have
strained the tendons you are looking at a prolonged recovery period.
The good news is that you generally will be able to play, at least
some, while the tendons heal.
The exercise contraption may actually be part of the problem, as most
exercise only the muscles that curl your fingers, but not the
corresponding muscles that straighten your fingers. You always want
to strengthen muscles in pairs.
Lynn
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