Christian Whitney Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 i started playing snare about 2 months ago and i made my hs drumline callbacks. when i pratice some times i get a sharp pain in my left index knuckle (the one right nest to the stick) i was wondering if there is a way prevent that?? plz help oh and our griping style is L. Traditional R. american Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 i started playing snare about 2 months ago and i made my hs drumline callbacks. when i pratice some times i get a sharp pain in my left index knuckle (the one right nest to the stick) i was wondering if there is a way prevent that?? plz help oh and our griping style is L. Traditional R. american It's kinda like tennis elbow,..................keep playng! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Inside or outside of the knuckle (against the stick side or upper side)? Sounds like you may be tensing up, which will cause pain every time. That said, there's also going to be soreness as your hands adjust to doing things you've never had to do before as well. Make sure your grip is correct each time, and be sure to stay relaxed. If you do that, any pain you have will go away with time and repetition. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Whitney Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Inside or outside of the knuckle (against the stick side or upper side)? Sounds like you may be tensing up, which will cause pain every time. That said, there's also going to be soreness as your hands adjust to doing things you've never had to do before as well. Make sure your grip is correct each time, and be sure to stay relaxed. If you do that, any pain you have will go away with time and repetition. Mike its on the stick side Edited June 28, 2011 by Christian Whitney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarimbasaurusRex Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 While I have great respect for both posters above, I have to say STOP! Show your instructor the problem to find what you are doing wrong. A sharp pain in the joint is probably a pinched nerve and will need time to heal, so take a short break and fix your technique. And as Mike said, RELAX. Tension is the usual culprit and is caused by poor mechanics. If your "machine" is operating properly, there should be no joint pain. Muscle pain is another story! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 While I have great respect for both posters above, I have to say STOP! Show your instructor the problem to find what you are doing wrong. A sharp pain in the joint is probably a pinched nerve and will need time to heal, so take a short break and fix your technique. And as Mike said, RELAX. Tension is the usual culprit and is caused by poor mechanics. If your "machine" is operating properly, there should be no joint pain. Muscle pain is another story! I think this is an excellent post. I've been playing rudimental snare almost exclusively for 35 years and in that time I've taken a couple of long periods off where I lost my interest. When my son was born 11 years ago I started again and we've been through most of ScoJo's licks. Recognizing that my hands are 50 years old, I clearly remember how much my hands hurt when I started playing again. I could hardly hold a pen. Then I ran into a renowned jazz drummer friend of mine who plays like butter and he saw immediately that I was causing the pain in my hands by clenching. My grip is find and technically sound, but I was crunching so hard that from the elbows down I was nearly cramped. Once he showed me his warm-up and relax routine, and I started practicing at relaxing, my pain went away almost immediately. I would vote for relaxing before I'd make a bigger deal out of it. Share it with your instructor so he can correct any grip problems he sees, then mentally slow down. Actually think about your hands as you play and imagine each relaxing as you stare at it. I practiced one finger at a time, which may not be practical for you. But I'd sure work hard on that in favor of potentially losing your spot in the line. If, after focusing on relaxing for two days doesn't show a significant difference, then I'd go talk to someone. I'm no M.D. but I can imagine what you're going through (well, barely) and have had a few years practice at holding sticks. Use your best judgement and take everyone's opinion into account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Doherty Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Lots of good advice here. No Dr. either, but since the pain is on the inside it seems to make sense that it's a sore muscle at best or pinched nerve at worst. STOP is the immediate answer. We've all heard about playing through pain, but pain can be a serious indicator of injury that will not get better with aggravation. Meanwhile, when taking time off, try Icy Hot for a while. If there's no relief after a few days, it may be a pinched nerve. Also consider a rubber squeeze ball to build strength, if the problem is strictly muscular. Drug stores may have physical therapy quality balls. A tennis ball is probably too hard. Also start your exercises very slowly and play with a more relaxed grip. You can maintain your grip form without having to squeeze down if you start at a slow tempo and leave it there for longer than you have been. Another possibility is that if Christian is really young and has small hands and is playing with a 3S size stick, that the stick is too big and the only way to control the stick is to constantly squeeze down. If this is the case, after rest, try a smaller stick. All this being said, if the pain is absolutely centered in the joint, it could be ligament strain. Possible therapy, with rest being first, is Icy Hot. I thought I saw a topic on the Planet addressing pain. Shall we look through the site again and see if there is anything? I know the Cadets started a pain program (and I don't mean giving it through 12 hour rehearsals) several years ago and they may have a reference to provide qualified advice. Probably other major corps have done the same thing. Call them after Finals Lastly, Christian, go to Web MD and see what they say about pinched nerves, ligament strain, symptoms, solutions, etc or Google "finger Pain" or whatever you think will get you good information. My Father's nickname was Doc Doherty, but I don't know anything more about medicine than he did. he was an Accountant. We can both put calamine lotion on poison ivy and brew up a batch of Thera-Flu. Speaking for all responders, if I may, nothing in these posts is a substitute for your Doctor's diagnosois and treatment. Kevin Doherty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Lots of good advice here. No Dr. either, but since the pain is on the inside it seems to make sense that it's a sore muscle at best or pinched nerve at worst. STOP is the immediate answer. We've all heard about playing through pain, but pain can be a serious indicator of injury that will not get better with aggravation. More good advice... I'll add, that I had a similar problem while on tour back in the middle ages. Back then I was extremely skinny 5'11 and about 115, on a good day. I had no fat reserves on my fingers that others had to cushion the stick (older people have a similar problem when the fat in their heels diminsihes). So I was in constant pain. I altered my grip a bit by squeezing more with the middle finger (we played match grip) and it was unnoticable while playing in the line. If I knew what I know now, I'd also be icing a lot just like a professional athlete. For the OP it might be a good idea to see a doctor and ask about anti-inflamatory meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I've gotten cramps in my forearm and bicep muscles before from pushing it too hard, but if it's something that might be in a nerve or joint it could be a lot more serious. I would have it checked out by a professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Doherty Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Plenty of good advice, but very disappointing that the person who asked for advicei is not responding. Why bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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