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One thing that can become a problem for guitar players (among others) is to end up with finger joint pain. It occurs mostly with the fretting hand, as expected. It can be a real mess if not dealt with as soon as possible. It is not only guitar players that get these types of joint pain, but it is quite common amongst others who use their hands for precision work.

Below is a story of one man who had this problem and tried to deal with it in different ways and went on to find that there are solutions that don’t require drugs.

There’s good news at the end where I found a video with some good exercises and stretches:

I’ve been playing guitar for over 25 years.  Last year, I found out that I have osteoarthritis in the finger joints of my left (fretting) hand.  I’m writing about it to help other guitarists out there who are struggling with the same problem and are having trouble figuring out what’s wrong (as I was)  & how to live with it.

Last January, I started out practicing guitar full throttle.  I set goals to learn a bunch of new finger-style tunes and to start arranging & writing.  I originally started this blog as a way to share my progress & tunes.  But a few months into the new regimen, the finger joints on my left hand (fretting hand) stopped cooperating.  They’d stiffen up, especially upon waking in the morning.  Playing guitar only made the problem worse.  I stopped playing for a while, thinking that I’d simply rushed into practicing too much and needed to back off & ease into it.  But the symptoms persisted.  As a guitarist, the first things you think about are carpal tunnel syndrome & tendonitis, but the symptoms didn’t match.  I scoured the Web and even researched warm-up hand stretches, hoping to find that my normal routine was incorrect or inadequate.  Nothing.

So I finally ended up at my doctor’s office about it, and she knew it was osteoarthritis as soon as I described the symptoms:

– stiff finger joints in the morning (cant make a fist)

– joints loosen up in hot water (like in the shower)

– mild to moderate pain when playing guitar, or doing other activities with my hands (typing, etc)

I couldn’t believe it!  I mean, I’m not even 40 yet!  Where’s the warranty?  She explained that osteoarthritis, unlike other forms of arthritis, is an overuse injury.  Basically, I’ve worn down the cartilage between those joints from shredding over the years.  Her solution: drugs.  First Advil, then prescription meds when Advil no longer does the trick.

I will tell you that Advil does indeed help, especially for gigs & long practices.  But one of my band-mates recommended a DVD called Healthy Hands, Wrists, & Forearms which has really helped me out.  It’s basically a series of self-massage & strengthening exercises that helps your hands prepare for and recover from all the wear & tear you put on them.  I highly recommend it.  My joint stiffness is still there, and occasionally I have some pain…but it no longer interferes with my guitar playing.

This post was sourced from

The Good News

OK, we get it, it can happen to anyone, and does happen to many. So what do you do to both prevent and help deal with existing hand pain form guitar playing. Well, there are many exercises that can help. The following video gives a good selection of effective exercises that any player can adopt to prevent problems with the hands. First he shows some stretches that we can do, and then some exercises to prevent injuries:

Great stuff, be sure to apply those stretches and exercises in your guitar practice and help prevent some of the most common guitar player injuries and make your guitar playing a long term enjoyable experience.