roberto216 - Posted - 04/12/2011:  10:05:34

The next morning after playing my mandolin, I wake up with a very sore hand (particularly the knuckle of my index finger). Fingertips are fine, it's the hand itself. I'm 47 and started playing 3 months ago. Played some guitar for years before this but never had this problem.

Anyone else had this problem and any suggestions on how to eliminate it? Thanks.

Woodman - Posted - 04/12/2011:  16:08:41

If you're talking about the left index finger I share the problem. Mine stems from a tendency when holding 2 courses at a time with the finger pad, to let the first joint bend back. I'm getting better at keeping it straight or slightly bent the right way and it has helped a lot. Or maybe I've just developed more strength there.

Something else someone pointed out when I complained about that problem was that you can get at least 1 string in each adjacent course to sound out clean using just the finger tip. At normal playing speeds it's not really noticeable and the tendency to let the first joint bend back is avoided altogether.

Aaron Hardebeck - Posted - 04/12/2011:  17:40:07

I had similar problems when I started out, but after time it went away. So I suggest you slow down slightly and just keep at it. I suppose the mandolin must put more stress on the hands than the guitar, because I had already played the guitar for several years before picking up the mandolin.  

Woodman - Posted - 04/12/2011:  19:01:49

On the other hand (no pun intended) arthritis in the 2nd and 3rd joints of my thumbs turned guitar playing into an ordeal for me. Mandolin has enabled me to revive music making as a part of my life. Can't express how much that means to me.

mandoman - Posted - 04/15/2011:  18:17:04

I have been having a lot of wrist pains.  Who knows-these might be in your future too/  The mando is the only  instrument that makes my wrist hurt after a few hours of playing.

mandovoodoo - Posted - 04/16/2011:  16:38:33

Might consider getting setup done and some ergonomic coaching.

dhhinckley - Posted - 04/16/2011:  17:11:11

Also a longtime guitar player, I had a problem with pain in my hand after several months playing mandolin. I noticed it in the base of my little finger and in the space between little and ring fingers on the back of the hand. I very consciously tried to press more lightly on the strings and changed technique (just playing parts of a chord, sliding up rather than stretching  to fret notes up the fretboard) to avoid the kind of stretch you have to do to make a closed G chord, for example. I'd say don't try to play through the pain as it took many months to get better. I know that when learning I'd hold chord shapes a long time while looking at tabs to figure out new songs; I try to let go and relax instead of holding onto the chords while working out new stuff. I do agree with another poster here that mando seems to put more strain on the hand than guitar.

quote:

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Originally posted by roberto216

The next morning after playing my mandolin, I wake up with a very sore hand (particularly the knuckle of my index finger). Fingertips are fine, it's the hand itself. I'm 47 and started playing 3 months ago. Played some guitar for years before this but never had this problem.

Anyone else had this problem and any suggestions on how to eliminate it? Thanks.

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Edited by - dhhinckley on 04/16/2011 17:12:04

PaulR - Posted - 04/17/2011:  20:26:12

I've had finger joint pain recently. My index fingers are bent at the outside knuckle from arthritis, but things didn't start hurting (not much, yet) until I got into jamming. I alternate guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and, at the end of  the Friday night jam, I can feel it. It sometimes aches when I practice, too. It may not be arthritis in your case, but you might want to get it checked out by a physician. You may find out that it isn't arthritis, which would be a relief.

In my case, mandolin doesn't seem to strain my hand any more than guitar or banjo, but I think it depends upon the playing style and the action of the instrument.

Mandolin Ant - Posted - 04/18/2011:  09:36:14

Biggest problem I have is my Wrist and elbow. I think I am just too tense when I play. If you watch the pros, they always make it look it look effortless. Nice and relaxed.

Stringnut - Posted - 04/18/2011:  16:11:54

One thing I recall from a Steve Kaufman camp. He said guitar players are used to planting their thumb in the middle of the back of the neck a lot but you can't do that on mandolin or you will wind up with a very sore left hand/wrist. With the mandolin you need to wrap your thumb around or lay it along the top edge of the neck with the palm of your hand flush against the back of the neck as much as you can especially when chopping chords. If you plant your thumb in the middle of the neck for extended periods of time you will have a lot of fatigue problems. That was a hard adjustment for me to make after 40 years of playing guitar but it worked for me. Hope that helps some of you all, too.

Dan

Mandolin Ant - Posted - 04/20/2011:  08:25:14

Good Advice Dan. I come from a guitar back ground as well and thats exactly the problem I've been having. Chopping along while jamming with some bluegrass buddies, I find myself doing just that. I still need to relax more when playing.

dhhinckley - Posted - 04/25/2011:  01:08:37

Also just ran across a discussion of cubital tunnel and Guyon's tunnel syndromes. The former seems like it might be what is affecting my hand. It seems to have to do with having your elbow bent tightly over a long period of time, as when sleeping ... or playing mando obsessively. I get the pain when playing mandolin, not when playing guitar. The difference in elbow position might explain it; I'm trying to hold the mandolin differently so as to have a straighter elbow. But it's a tiny little thing, isn't it? 

roberto216 - Posted - 04/29/2011:  09:34:02

My hand is doing better lately. Periodically during practice, I will shake my hand out. When I'm done I do some finger stretching movements. These seem to be helping and I will continue them as it takes very little time.

BTW - My Eastman MD-505 was a recent purchase from the Mandolin Store and seems very well setup. I don't think it was contributing to the sore hand. I hope not because I love it!

MandoMarko - Posted - 09/03/2013:  15:32:12

After playing for a year, I've recently developed a pain in the saddle joint of my left (fingering) hand. I searched online and it seems to be similar to what a lot of people say they get from texting on their smartphones, though I don't do a lot of that. Wondering if there are any exercises or therapies that would make it better, or whether it will go away in time.