right hand issues...swelling...anyone have similar?

[shredmaster]

hey guys, haven't been on the board in awhile...hope you are all fine.

i have had a problem with playing lately. for some reason my right hand / fingers "swell" after i play for about 10 minutes! hard to explain. there is no pain. my fingers are longer and thin but after about 10 minutes it doesn't look like my hand....like sausages........kinda stubby. can't explain it better than that. feels like there is blood rushing to my hand but there is no pain or discoloration; just some stiffness....pressure like a balloon being inflated. there is a difference between the right and left hand. the right looks like yngwie's hand and the left like steve vai's.

i hate it and don't like to play for that reason. i stop playing and it's ok in less than an hour. i'm not doing anything crazy...regular scales....normal strumming, etc.

been playing for 17 years......don't remember it being like this! i'm only 32!

anyone know of or had something like this? as i type this my fingers look normal.....thin and longer.

this may sound stupid but i had to ask....it really bothers me.

[nott^^]

Probably due to Winter-like conditions? A friend of mine has that problem, his hands start to swell like balloons. But it could be some sort of blood-circulation problem, u'd better check that out... my 2 cents.

[IbanezroadstarII]

weird.... how cold is it in your house?

[Ibateur]

Didn't the former KISS guitar player (Mark St. JOhn - Animalize) have this problem?

If you don't know what it is, and you are concerned, then visit the doc mate. That's the most responsible thing to do for yourself.

[Sunrise]

Just a thought ... does it only happen when you are playing with a strap cos it can limit the flow of blood back out of the arm causing the hand to swell.

If not its probs more due to bad circulation, which you can tell by emulating a baseball pitcher (honest) .... try throwing an imaginary baseball as hard as you can ten or so times ... just like a pitcher, if you find your hand starts swelling it's cos the blood has rushed there but cannot be returned up out of the arm fast enough. This condition can happen when strumming a guitar.

[darren wilson]

Just a guess, but maybe you're putting too much pressure across your forearm and it's blocking the blood flow away from your hand? (blood flows in but doesn't flow out)

If this is a new problem that you've never experienced before, it might be worth getting it checked out by your doctor just to make sure it isn't a symptom of some other underlying condition.

[shredmaster]

thanks guys....i will check all those things out. great idea. maybe i will find a doctor that specializes in stuff like that for musicians here in chicago. it's a comfortable 70 in my apartment. i am sitting down when playing, no strap. i will try the baseball thing. thanks and i'll keep you informed!

[jemke]

A few years ago I bought the Pettrucci Rock Discipline video and started practicing. One of the first days of practicing I was so motivated that I practiced so hard that at the end of the day my left hand was so overloaded that I couldn't bend it anymore for an inch... Totaly overworked, not healty, I guess I skipped the warm up excercices

Maybe If you try not to start playing too intensively from scratch and warm up better...

[not2secure4u]

John Petrucci's Rock Discipline video ( I only got that one so I don't know any others) show you how to warm up your hands before playing so that way you can play longer without hurting your hands and building up gradually


nick