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Index Finger Soreness

Started by AndyDierker, July 26, 2002, 12:14 PM

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AndyDierker

Alright. I notice that sometimes after I play for a few hours, my index finger on my left (snare) hand really starts to ache. It feels like I pulled it or something. It really hurts to curl it up on itself to grab something.

It's been doing this for a while. I've only been drumming about 3 years, and I'm only 18, so I don't think it could be any serious health issues.... could it? I figured us kids were pretty resilient.

I dunno. I haven't experimented enough to know exactly why I get it sometimes and why I don't get it others, but I know it really hurts and effects my playing.

Any help?? Thanks boys.

BAnimalG

I don't know if you already do, man, but make sure you are stretching before and after you play.  Hope this helps!

Bart Elliott

Here's a few ideas that may show you where the problem is; it may be one or more of the following:

  • Your grip is too tight, especially at the fulcrum. It's like taking a baseball bat and smacking it on a brick wall. If you're gripping the bat tightly, you'll feel the shock go right up through your arms. It's hurts!

  • Your hand is not relaxed when you play. Tightening up while you play can really make you hurt ... even damage your hands.

  • You're not stretching out before you play or practice. Your hand has two types of tendons ... flexors and extendors. You need to stretch those out by bending each finger back (slowly) towards your the top of your hand, then (slowly) towards the palm of your hand. Do this with each finger, including the thumb; take your time and count to 20 on each direction ... being sure to get a nice slow stretch.

  • Forcing the stick into the drumhead or rim can cause the shock vibrations, like I mentioned earlier, to really mess you up. The more relaxed you are ... the better. Think of throwing the stick ... but don't let go of it.

  • Playing for extended amounts of time can just mess you up. You need to take breaks, drink lots of water, stretch out AFTER you play as well as before, etc. You need to build up your endurance ... so go slow.

  • You are an agressive picker when it comes to cleansing your nose. Try blowing and using a tissue ... or switch off, using the index finger on your other hand.
8)

felix

QuoteYou are an agressive picker when it comes to cleansing your nose. Try blowing and using a tissue ... or switch off, using the index finger on your other hand.


HA...that's my problem!  You're the best Bartman!

felix

You know what I don't do is stretch after I'm done playing-  I'm going to try that malarky and see if I notice any differences.

rlhubley

What grip do you employ??  I'm thinking matched.  This is neither negative or positive, btw.  I just want  to first establish your grip is cool.  If you are doing something strange while just holding the stick, you will feel something strange when you sound vibration through it!  Seriously, guys who grip the stick like a hammer are gonna have some issues to resolve,   is that guy you???

If your grip is cool, then i can think of 2 other possibilites:

1:  You use really bad sticks that vibrate way too much in your hand and send that energy into you itty bitty finger, which, (like a little bitty girl) can't take the pain.  

2.  (the most likely cause of your symtom)  You are gripping to tightly.  Think about your right hand, do you ever feel the pain there?  No?? well, mirror whatever your right hand is doing on to you left hand.  STOP CHOKING THAT STICK!  It sends all of the vibration into one spot, and(as you now know) hurts.  

An experiment for you:
play for about 5 minutes or so with your rh doing the back beat on the snare and your lh on the hat.  ( a 2 handed 16th note rock groove will be easier if you coordination is not happening enough to keep on the lh on the hat)  After the 5 minutes is up, do you feel the pain in the rh?  If so, we have a problem.  If not, then do the mirroring previously mentioned.

If your rh does hurt, that means both of your hands suffocate the drumsticks and/or you choke the stroke.  This is not normally felt by your rh hand because you are not playing the consistent hard backbeat with the right hand.  If you are tight, you've gotta work on loosening up.  I can say this 1000 times, but you need a teacher to show you what if feels like to play loose.  If you are loose but still get this pain, it's because you are choking the stroke.  What I mean is that you are throwing down the backbeat with all of that force, and then letting your hand absorb the reaction.  Remember Newton's law "every action has an equal but opposite reaction"?  The nataural reaction is for the stick to bounce back up from where the stroke began.  IF you stop it, your body has to provide force to stop that energy, which is NORMALLY done by TIGHTENING UP THAT MUSCLE!!  This is not healthy.  If you are doing this, take a break and go bounce a ball for a few minutes.  Notice how the ball bounces right back, you don't stop before it gets back to you, right?  then don't do that with your backbeat either!!

Dirty-D

I got that a lot when I played snare on the drumline at my school.  There are some situations where it is really difficult to not to grip the stick too tightly.  The drumline instructor we had was big on playing from the wrist, which was what caused most of my problems.  We eventually got him to let us go to a more relaxed grip, but the problem is just that it is hard to play powerfully, and get the full volume out of the drum(high tension marching snare) without a firm grip.  On the set it is a different story.

xl83

hey, andyd. ..  i had/have the exactly the same problem..  

and as the two others above said, its becausse our grip on the left hand is too tight...     my left hand is @$%# underdeveloped in comparison to the right one, and my grip left sucks terribly..   so, not to loose the stick, i always automatically hold it much too tight, wich caused the pain because the vibration goes direct in the finger.
and to solve that problem i do with my left hand what made my right grip so much better than my left. it has more practice..  from playing the hats all the time with the right hand...   wich means in an average beat the right hand has 8 strokes when the left one has 2 or 4 mostly...
so i started exercising playing open, with my left hand on the hihats..   improved my coordination and my left grip...




i hope you understood what i tried to say in my poor english