muscles pain (update )

[wishforbass]

I did my best to play the bass in right way .
But latley after a week practice I did ,my thumb muscles gets super painful .
I keep my thumb behind neck sometimes a little upper for hammer one .
My muscles in thumb are super painful and I can't find why its like that .
I have to push my thumb to back of neck for hammer on and bending and notes on frets 1 till 3.
Is it normal after one year of playing a litlte playing leave me with sire thumb muscles ?!


Here example of my playing




I have pain in my left thumb muscles ,is it from muscles weakness or I'm doing something wrong ?

 

[Gorn]

All your fingers look tense. Relax your whole hand a bit. Try to keep your fingering more fluid. You'll find it takes less effort and your playing will sound cleaner.

 

[wishforbass]

All your fingers look tense. Relax your whole hand a bit. Try to keep your fingering more fluid. You'll find it takes less effort and your playing will sound cleaner.

When I hammer on I kind of push my thumb on neck to support my hand .can it be that

 

[fearceol]

My guess is that you are pressing down too hard with the thumb when you fret. To see just how little the effort that is required to fret a note cleanly, every now and then try playing without the thumb behind the neck. Do this exercise from time to time for a few minutes to remind yourself, and until your hand/thumb "gets the message".

 

[wishforbass]

My guess is that you are pressing down too hard with the thumb when you fret. To see just how little the effort that is required to fret a note cleanly, every now and then try playing without the thumb behind the neck. Do this exercise from time to time for a few minutes to remind yourself, and until your hand/thumb "gets the message".

I do this exercise ,I can go without thumb except when hammer on and when vibrate on lower frets , specially playing e and f by hammer on on f and then vibrate f .

 

[Mushroo]

I do this exercise ,I can go without thumb except when hammer on and when vibrate on lower frets , specially playing e and f by hammer on on f and then vibrate f .

Maybe take a break from practicing hammer ons, until your thumbs heals and the pain goes away. Are there other things you can practice that don't cause pain?

As a general comment, compared to a few months ago, you look much more relaxed and comfortable, like you are having fun! You are going in the right direction, keep up the good work.

 

[wishforbass]

Well today I had too much pain that even picking up bass was hard .my thumb moved hardly and my hand had pain

I went Doctor and he said my muscles are super sore and inflamed .
He wrote massage therapist one session and rest a week .
He said over using your muscles cause too much pressure in area and lead painful hand but it can get serious if u don't rest .


I don't know why this happened .
Maybe adding one hours training daily cause it ,or wrong style maybe lead this .


I hope get heal soon and this won't happen again .
I have to use cold water and warm water press .and use a weird hand protector.

 

[Mushroo]

Well today I had too much pain that even picking up bass was hard .my thumb moved hardly and my hand had pain

I went Doctor and he said my muscles are super sore and inflamed .
He wrote massage therapist one session and rest a week .
He said over using your muscles cause too much pressure in area and lead painful hand but it can get serious if u don't rest .


I don't know why this happened .
Maybe adding one hours training daily cause it ,or wrong style maybe lead this .


I hope get heal soon and this won't happen again .
I have to use cold water and warm water press .and use a weird hand protector.

In June you got some excellent advice about relaxed playing technique and NOT playing through the pain! I'd suggest to go back and read through the conversation from 6 months ago: How much is slight bent ?!

In particular you should watch the videos that @fearceol shared with you in post #7. Wrist/hand/finger/thumb pain is a serious warning sign! You are making good progress, but stay relaxed and don't overdo it.

 

[Gorn]

Watch videos of the greats and look closely at their fretting hands. They move up and down the neck with as little effort as necessary.

 

[Gorn]

Look at his left hand. It's effortless. That's what I still strive for in my playing.

 

[wishforbass]

Look at his left hand. It's effortless. That's what I still strive for in my playing.

Something that is very different is that when he wanna play on g string his thumb go down but for me my thumb go up on neck .
Maybe that's a reason ,I don't know .

 

[Gorn]

Something that is very different is that when he wanna play on g string his thumb go down but for me my thumb go up on neck .
Maybe that's a reason ,I don't know .

You're over over thinking it. Just play gently. Fretting doesn't take that much effort. Take a week off and when you come back try to make a conscious effort to play much more relaxed.

 

[foolforthecity]

Amongst other things, your ring finger shows me an indication of undue stress as it appears to not be used much if any, and it's curling back off the fretboard. You'll want to try and utilize all fingers and try to keep them relaxed and over the fretboard rather than curling up and away. Also change up exercises so that you don't repeatedly do the same motions for an extended period of time. Work on a light crisp touch and don't try to press the strings through the fretboard. You have to consciously work on all this until it starts becoming ingrained and natural. Also consider keeping your plucking fingers closer to the strings even during rests. Check your plucking arm as well...in the video it appears that your arm is pressing pretty hard against the body edge. Good luck with getting your hand back in shape!

 

[Thumpin6string]

How is your bass setup? If the action is high, that could cause problems trying to fret the strings. I have my action set low enough to need little effort to fret the strings, but high enough to have no fret buzz. It takes very little effort for me to fret or do hammer ons. Maybe a pro setup is needed?

 

[WardEarth]

Yeah lets see a picture of your action. 2 pictures, 1 near the nut and 1 near the 12+ frets

 

[Fender_Bender]

Also, if you jump into playing fast without a gradual warmup your thumb can cramp up or cause pain. Used to happen to me.

 

[wishforbass]

Also, if you jump into playing fast without a gradual warmup your thumb can cramp up or cause pain. Used to happen to me.

How should I warm up ?

 

[WardEarth]

First off, you don't want to hurt yourself any more than you already have. So if it gets painful, just stop and rest. I have the feeling that you may be fretting harder than you need to, so try focusing on fretting as lightly as possible. This is fairly hard for a lot of people. I still work on it and I've been playing 15 years.
As far as warming up, a before bass warm up might be good. Only you know what is best for yourself, but maybe try making fists then open your hand wide, nothing strenuous. 5-10 minutes of that might be good to get blood moving.
Once you start playing, you should play slow easy stuff. If the hammer on is what is causing difficulty, don't do it. A regular note isn't that much different.
A few hours or a day after playing, stretching and massage could help. Staying hydrated is always health, eating good also important.
Good luck man, heal up.

 

[fearceol]

How should I warm up ?

First, before you even touch the bass, spend a few minutes doing some gentle stretches like this. There are lots more on Youtube if you search. You should also stretch AFTER a playing too.



Then pick up your bass and spend a further few minutes SLOWLY playing some scales and/or arpeggios above the fifth fret. Why above the fifth fret ? Because the stretch further down can be too much when the hands have not yet warmed up.

 

[wishforbass]

Yeah lets see a picture of your action. 2 pictures, 1 near the nut and 1 near the 12+ frets

Here few pic


My hand + my action lvl