Hi, I’ve had left thumb pain after several weeks of practice; no wrist or finger pain. I’ve read past chats about pain in hand/wrist/thumb, and advice seems to point to continued practice and it’ll go away. I’m wondering about how to discern if it’s arthritis or muscle pain (the latter will go away; the former will hurt more if I continue). I am over 55, so arthritis is definitely a possibility. Others with similar reports? Perhaps hand stretches? I hate to give up playing…
thanks
It is quite likely that you are pressing too hard with your thumb… A lot of beginners do that at first, and develop pain.
The solution is to learn to play with the minimum pressure, but still get the strings to ring.
Massage of the painful spot before and after practice can speed recovery.
I don’t know if this helps but remember you can get some pressure on the guitar neck by pulling back with your upper arm a little rather than digging in for dear life with your thumb. Certainly over time the muscles in your hand will get stronger with playing. I don’t know how much you are practicing but maybe aim for more sessions of shorter duration if possible
Hi Nancy @nmreges, welcome to the community! Based on what you describe it might not go away with practice. Tom and Matt have already pointed to some possible sources of the pain as well as how to adjust your technique, and Tom mentions massaging the painful area. I’ll add another resource here: this is the first of two videos on tendonitis remedies presented by a physical therapist who has treated musicians. I was having pain in my right (strumming and picking) hand, and found his techniques surprisingly helpful - my pain has reduced to discomfort, and when it increases I remember to adjust my technique. I’m sure I have some arthritis as well, but it hasn’t been a problem. Keep us posted on how things are going!
And…maybe take a minute to introduce yourself over here? 
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Welcome! I commiserate with the thumb pain. I am in a constant battle with what apparently is a feeling that I have to squeeze the living daylights out of the guitar neck.
I know I don’t. I play just as well when I don’t. But still, I do.
Try playing some without touching your thumb to the neck. Catch yourself and relax, keep at it and while our oh so slow brains learn to let up the death grip, stretch your thumb regularly and if it is hurting long after the squeeze is done, give it a couple days rest while you practice right hand technique.
If you have true arthritis, thumb braces, doctors visits, heat.
There is a great exercise for the left hand - play without touching the guitar neck with your thumb.
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For finger tips yes but for thumb pain ? Where was the advice ? If your thumb is hurting, you are either pressing too hard or placing the thumb in the wrong position. Continuing to practice like that will just make the problem permeant. You need to fix it first and then practice the right method, with the right pressure.
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You’ve gotten some good advice, and as @TheMadman_tobyjenner suggested more practice isn’t going to fix it. As mentioned, don’t squeeze so hard and maybe rest it for a couple of days and use ice, too. I had shoulder, elbow and wrist tendonitis in my strumming arm this summer and took nearly 2 weeks off playing and icing the joints a lot. I also adjusted the way I hold the guitar. I’m fine now.
Good luck.
Grateful for all the responses I received…thanks for taking the time, everyone who shared their suggestions.
I am restarting the guitar after learning it first at age 14, playing alot of folk songs and chords, then life happened and I stopped. My dream is to play acoustic guitar.
I’ll rest it, loosen my death grip with my left thumb, and see what happens.
Thank you.
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Hi Nancy,
I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left thumb CMC joint by Xray. Hopefully, this is not your situation, but if so, and for anyone else dealing with it, catching it early and protecting the joint is important in managing the inevitable decline. I’m not going to stop playing until it is no longer possible. Surgery is an option but full recovery time for me @72 is estimated to be a year. I’m not going to stop playing for a year. So, I went to a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). She provides me with a variety of suggestions to help me manage it:
- Exercises to strengthen the muscles and to keep the area flexible.
- Braces, Kinesio strips and gloves. I got a brace from Bracelab that is protective for many activities. It turns out I can play guitar with it on. Its comfortable and doesn’t hinder most movements. I tried a Kinesio wrap. It feels great, but it leaves adhesive on the guitar neck that difficult to get off. I’m going to get a fingerless glove to try, too.
- Dry needling. The idea with this is to relax the muscles and relieve pain. I tried it. It felt great, though I don’t think it had much impact overall. It may be a more useful technique when the joint degrades more.
- Advice. Save your thumb use for the things that matter most to you and stop doing / find alternatives to things that hurt and aren’t as important. Guitar playing is at the top of the list for me.
HTH,
Dave
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