cramp in my bar thumb

Ed Altrichter · From: Schroeder, Minnesota, USA

The last few times I've played my National
tricone reso, the thumb on my bar hand locked up
and curled over and I got a cramp between that thumb and my hand.(In the fleshy "web" area). I had to stop playing and had to massage the hand and thumb to get them to straighten out.
I'm wondering if that is because my bar is
too heavy ? I've been using a RR1 (Robert Randolph)
Shubb bar for several years and it's been ok up
til now. Is there a certain bar that's recommended
for playing that kind of guitar ? I use hammer-ons quite a bit. Ed

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

Could be technique. If you have too much tension in your hand it can cause cramping and other problems. Try playing relaxed and see if that helps (of course that is not as easy as it sounds...).

Jeff Hyman · From: West Virginia, USA

I'm no doctor, but I wonder if this has anything to do with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/DS00326/DSECTION=symptoms

William Hoff · From: Missouri, USA

I recently got a new D6 and I'm experiencing the same thing. I've been doing some serious playing and extended sessions so that might explain it. I hope it gets better soon cause it's a pain. It could be old age too.

Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

Are you currently taking any sort of medicines that might be dehydrating your system? You might try drinking more water all through the day.
I've experienced this same problem with hand cramps in the past, but didn't connect it with anything else at the time. Then, last summer, while helping a friend put in a concrete patio , I let myself get extremely dehydrated in the heat. I experienced the worst cramps I've ever had, and they continually traveled all over by body, sometimes hitting me hard in several places at once. I've had cramps before, but I've worked construction all my life, and this is the first time anything like this has happened. It was serious torture, lasting well into the night. I've even eaten a banana every day for the potassium, but that superstition didn't help a bit this time.
Some of what happened to me can probably be attributed to my getting older, but I lay at least part of the blame on my allergy medicine. When I first started having allergy symptoms and taking medication for it, I remember experiencing some dry mouth, but soon got used to the feeling, and forgot about it. It never dawned on that I should probably take in more water during the day (and less coffee and diet coke) while taking this medicine, especially during the hottest part of the year.
The doctor said, too, that dehydration doesn't usually happen in just one day. It's a cumulative effect, adding up over a period of days or weeks. I haven't had any cramps in a long while now,and I've found that today I can even get by fine by cutting my dose of Zyrtec in half, and remembering to drink plenty of good ol' sky juice.

AJ Azure · From: Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.

hydration, potassium (bananas) and magnesium supplements will help with cramps

Joe Rouse · From: San Antonio, Texas

Throw in calcium with those other suggestion. Potassium helps a great deal for me but taken with calcium I have no cramps...but like so many of us I forget during the day to take my vitamins and drink the fluids I should and then wake up with cramps in my feet, calves, and hands. If I wake up in the night with cramping I take 1 teaspoon of plain old mustard and swallow it down and in 5-6 minutes the cramps will go away. I didn't think the mustard would work but it did for me...another homeremedy is apple cider vinegar and honey...about 8 oz. apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of honey...mix it real well and start drinking , I do 2 oz. and then another 2 oz...some of these remedys may work for you...jr

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I think Lynn hit the nail on the head. I don't know what the Robert Randolph bar is like, but have you tried a bullet bar? You can play with little to no tension with the right bar. Your hand should merely guide it, except when you're lifting to play some of that fancy single not stuff.
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Alan Kirk · From: Scotia, CA, USA

STOP PLAYING for a few days!

This happened to me a few years ago, because of my...

1) Failing to check in with my own body/fingers WHILE PLAYING and becoming aware of the absolutely unnecessary tension I was creating, when I should have been ALLOWING myself to relax WHILE PLAYING.

A relaxed muscle is a more efficient, expressive muscle, ready to do your bidding. Unconscious tension gets in the way of artistic expression. You are wasting so much energy by allowing yourself to be tense--a tension that blocks the link between the conscious and unconscious mind that is so necessary for expression in music.

2) Trying to play too fast before warming up.

3) Not taking enough breaks, especially when practicing repetitive patterns.

4) Not doing enough stretches, before during and after playing.

REST is the natural healer. If you continue to play while experiencing "the grip," you will make the situation worse. I knew a killer banjo/dobro/pedal player back in the 1970s who completely lost his ability to fingerpick because his hand got stuck in "the grip" position.

TAKE A FEW DAYS OFF!

WHEN YOU GO BACK TO PLAYING, BECOME AWARE OF THE TENSION TO WHICH YOU ARE UNCONSCIOUSLY SUBJECTING YOURSELF. DEVELOP NEW PRACTICE ROUTINES THAT GIVE YOU LOTS OF BREAKS. EVERY MINUTE OR SO, WHILE PRACTICING, KEEP PLAYING WHILE YOU FOCUS ON HOW MUCH TENSION YOU ARE HANDICAPPING YOURSELF WITH. You must monitor/be aware of the signals your body is sending you.
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Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

The banana a day for potassium sufficiency is beyond an urban myth.
It would take eating an entire bunch (about 60) of bananas every day to even begin to accomplish the goal. But they are good...

Ed, you're probably gripping the bar much too hard anticipating the hammer-ons. If you don't use slants maybe using a Stevens type Dobro bar would be better. But overall, it's best to use a bullet style bar and re-check your technique, as mentioned.

Ed Altrichter · From: Schroeder, Minnesota, USA

Sounds like some good advice, thanks guys.
I've been taking calcium tablets for years for
leg cramps; I know that works. I think it
probably is caused from tension then, cuz It
doesn't happen when I play the Dobro or the lap
steel, only with the National reso, which I think
has a higher resistance factor because of the
heavier strings I have on it. If that's the
problem, then I'll just spend less time on the
National than on the other instruments. (It's hard
to stop once I get started though, because it's so
much fun to play !) Ed

Anthony Locke · From: Texas, USA

I've gotten that from time to time, then I realized that I was pushing too hard on the bar to get the notes instead of using my right hand and picking a bit harder. Try that and see if it helps.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I have some nerve problems from my spine, and I've found it helpful to slit a piece of vinyl or rubber tubing and slide it over the top handle part. I also made some LARGE bullet bars out of 1.25" delrin that are easy to hold. A piece of 3/8" rubber fuel line is what I have on a Lap Dawg.

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