Can an RSI not hurt when playing guitar?

Playing Technique
#1

ok, this might be a bit of a weird question…

for the last couple of days my right thumb-joint has started hurting, like I sprained it. thing is, I can’t think of anything I did recently that might have brought it on. I have been upping my guitar practice of late, and have been practising different picking styles, but my thumb doesn’t actually hurt when I play…!?

I might lay off for a few days to see if it improves, but I was wondering if this is a likely source of the pain, to those who may have some expertise in this area, obviously.

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#2

Definitely give it a rest, it may not be guitar that is causing the issue, but no point in potentially causing more issues, which will put you out of the game for longer.

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#3

obviously if you’ve upped your hours lately, and been experimenting with new angles etc, you could easily have some inflammation going on.

  1. dont do anything that hurts (obviously). avoid weird angles etc

  2. back off the hours until it chills

  3. GRADUALLY build up practice time

  4. learn to TOTALLY relax the hands while playing (as far as possible)

just use common sense, like avoid marathon sessions. avoid straining. DONT force anything

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#4

this is all good advice. but the weird thing is that this new picking technique I’ve been working on uses less energy and my hand is MORE relaxed, which is why I’ve switched to it for faster lines.

anyway, you’re right. although I think I must have hurt myself doing something else and forgotten, I’ll back off for a while just to be sure.