Marty Friedman gave me tendonitis

General Music Discussion
#1

Hey Everyone - I am writing to you in utter frustration. Last year I came back to playing guitar after about 25 years of barely playing. I quickly became re-addicted and played daily for a straight year. Obviously, my chops started coming back so I thought I’m finally going to take a shot at the famous Tornado of Souls solo. I practiced it relentlessly, especially that cool stretch lick about 3/4 through (had to get it up to speed). Long story short, I developed significant pain in my left wrist (fretting hand). That it’s the tendon emanating from my pinky makes me think it’s Marty’s fault for that 7 fret stretch :slight_smile:

Anyway, it started in May and I tried to back off but also play through it (but no more Marty). I have seen a hand/wrist orthopedist. First visit they actually said to just wear a brace when I play, but it still persisted. So, I stopped playing 6 weeks ago and I did see a slight improvement after 2 weeks but the improvement didn’t continue. At my most recent visit (5 days ago) they gave me a steroid shot (just this once) to see if it would lower inflammation enough to kick healing into higher gear. I suspect that it didn’t work even though pain has come down. I can just tell.

So my question is, has anyone gone through this and have any advice, or just how they ended up? There is a lower probability scenario where I never play again. I was so psyched that I found my way back into our world after all those years, and now I’m honestly not sure if this will ever heal. It just doesn’t seem to change. I know this is a lame topic, but have nowhere else to go with it.

Thanks,
Scott

1 Like
#2

Something similar happened to me when I was about 21. It does heal eventually.

Something helpful to me: I stopped using index/ring/pinky for the 1/3/4 shape.

1 Like
#3

I would consider somebody like an Alexander Technique person that specializes in music, and they can look at how you hold your wrist, how much you bend it, etc. Indeed, it might be worth posting a short video of yourself playing, just in case you’re doing something that looks unhealthy.

Also, never trust a single physician, and be sure to get a 2nd opinion.

Best of luck and wishing you a quick recovery!

3 Likes
#4

A massage therapist and physical therapist can help you. My tennis elbow flared up after over a decade of no issues and the Armaid has been really helpful https://armaid.com/products/armaid-1

#5

Man, I went through a Paul Gilbert phase and started using index/ring/pinky for 1/3/4 and 1/3/5, after a while made the joint at the base of my ring finger hurt for months, works great for him but not for me!

I never stopped playing but that is probably the best idea, felt like it was always gonna hurt but it did go away eventually, just go easy on yourself @Need4speed :slight_smile:

1 Like
#6

Thank you for responding and the well wishes. I just so happen to regularly record myself. I assure you, it’s not for vanity sake as you’ll soon hear. I do it to monitor progress. Here is a video of me playing the offending solo around the time (4/19/25) when the tendonitis started to develop. In the video I am still learning the solo so it’s not very good. Even some of the seemingly simple bends are hard to nail. What a player. https://youtu.be/3ITYCNqzi8s

2 Likes
#7

Marty has mega bend control - it’s one of my absolute favorite things about his playing. So cool.

It’s currently marked private.

1 Like
#8

Sorry about that. I’ve made it public now.

#9

Okay, first off, that actually sounds really good!

I have one suggestion and it’s unrelated to picking, ha: I find bends easier and more consistent to control with my thumb over the top of the neck. Almost every great player I can think of does that too. Might be worth a shot!

#10

Thanks. It’s good to hear someone that had something similar and recovered. Appreciate the response.

#11

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll give it a shot.

#12

That’s pretty good, dude!

I wish I could be one these players who can say they’ve never had any injuries. But I’ve had a bunch. Somehow I still play at a pretty high level, though. But I’m constantly hunting for alternative fingerings, trying different positions, and finding workarounds. For me, overcoming injuries is just part of the thing. Kinda like how MMA fighters always step in the cage with some injury or other.

1 Like
#13

I’m another player who had some major RSI issues when he was younger, around the same age as Eric, and I can weigh in a little too.

Honestly, for most players thumb-over-neck should be your default position for MOST playing. I say most because it’s not the only way to skin this particular horse, but at rest you want a straight wrist angle, with as little bend as possible, and thumb-over-neck is the best way to do this with a “conventional” guitar position. But, whatever the case, you want a perfectly relaxed bend with no tension in your wrist at all, for the greatest possible portion of your playing.

I think Joe Satriani is worth watching for this - just grabbing a video here at random:

Watch this and pay close attention to his thumb, it’s usually peeking out over the top of the fretboar, and when he hits somethign particularly stretchy, he’ll slide down from a “blues” thumb-over-neck position to a more “classical” thumb behind neck one, but then immediately pops back. Not for nothing, Satch has had a very long and very accomplished career, with only minimal RSI issues (I can remember him talking about it a little after the tapped arpeggios from The Power Cosmic tapped exercise, and that’s about it).

Beyond that - RSI is a tendon health issue, and hydration can help quite a bit here. Ditto with ibuprofin to reduce swelling espeially up front while your body heals.

Also, neck thickness matters - again, somewhat thicker necks tend to give a more relaxwed wrist than a very narrow one. I got into trouble binge-practicing really stretchy licks on a RG520 with a Wizard neck, but even at the worst my American Strat wasn’t too uncomfortable. Taylor Guitars at one point considered a thicker “RSI friendly” neck option as a custom option - it was their forum where 20 years ago I confirmed it wasn’t just my experience, and neck thickness really was a factor.

Finally, a really low-slung guitar certainly feels rock and roll… but in a “normal” orientation, this increases wrist stress. Notable exception here is as neck angle increases that becomes less true - good guy to watch here is Slash, and his almost comically vertical guitar orientation when soloing. It looks affected, sure… but watch his wrist. Super relaxed and straight.

Trying to think what else was important… but taking some time off really help

For now, think of tendon inflamation as feedback from your body that your form isn’t efficient. The other advantage of a very relaxed wrist and hand is, with less initial tension to overcome when moving, movements are faster. You’ll be a better guitarist for going through this, if you do listen to your body.

1 Like
#14

It’s public now. Always forget that part.

#15

Thank you! Gave me quite a bit to think about. I do have my thumb over the neck on most bends but to be honest I’ve never paid attention to any other time I either am, or are not doing that. The biggest surprise for me is that when I think back to late teens /early 20s I would often practice 4-6 hours per day and never ever had any kind of injury, never mind this bizarrely stubborn one. Now at 52, when the first sign appeared I blew it off as temporary soreness, like you may feel from lifting weights. I kept playing for about 6 weeks (with a brace), like an idiot. You mention hydration. I am terrible at being properly hydrated so maybe that’s something I can work on too. Anyway, really appreciate you taking time to provide this useful insight.

2 Likes
#16

Lots of good advice already noted here, but I’ll throw in my 2 cents. A number of my favorite players have large hands (Vai, EJ, Gilbert, etc.). I don’t, so playing their real stretchy licks is hard and can lead to pain. Instead of playing them the same way, I try to find ways to re-finger them with not so much of a stretch. It doesn’t always work, but may be worth a try. Consider a lighter string guage too.

Also, I recently found that after a practice session, grabbing a light dumbbell (5 or 10 lbs) and moving it around slowly in different directions (twisting your wrist, bending the elbow, etc.) can help reduce tightness and pain. Lastly, ice it as a final step.

2 Likes
#18

Sounds good!

One thing you might want to experiment with is the hand position Marty uses during the section in question - notice how the side of his index finger is actually contacting the side of the neck. Paul Gilbert does stretchy stuff (actually, almost everything) like this, as well. It makes the fingers more diagonal in relation to the frets, and generally feels more comfortable to me.

1 Like
#19

All great suggestions. Thanks.

#20

I do this all the time, and I’ve been told I have larger hands than most. I personally don’t like the feeling of big stretches.

For some reason, people have been more open to more ergonomic playing (shorter straps, classical position), yet the thought of reworking fingerings seems to be foreign.

2 Likes
#21

I tried a little re-fingering in the past, but Marshall Harrison really opened my eyes to this concept (and several other concepts) recently. An example is Paul Gilbert playing a Bmin arpeggio on the B string - frets 12-15-19 (ouch!). Instead, play the lowest note on the G string, fret 16.

1 Like