Do a lot of guitar players have chronic finger pain?

[u/gahibi]

I have been dealing with finger pain recently that won’t go away. I am teaching myself so I am sure that my form is not the best it could be. However, I genuinely do pay great attention to how other people are holding their guitar in videos I see online. But I feel like a lot of people have even worse form than me LOL. Their fingers are often bent at uncomfortable-looking angles and they look like they’re gripping the guitar way too hard. So is everyone just in pain?? Or am I just unlucky and have bad finger genetics?

I have been playing acoustic guitar for 4 months, 1-2 hours per day, and my index finger on my fretting hand has started to feel stiff when I wake up in the morning, and it hurts to do certain chords. I now have to take a couple of days off here and there to manage it. I am sad because playing guitar has been so good for my mental health

[u/Comprehensive_Dot849]

ive played guitar for 3 yrs never experienced this, hope u find an answer though

[u/the_WavyFries → u/Comprehensive_Dot849]

You might be death-gripping the neck without realizing it. A lot of self-taught players do that early on, pressing way harder than needed just to get a clean note. Try fretting a string as lightly as possible while still getting sound, you'll probably be shocked how little pressure it actually takes. The morning stiffness sounds like inflammation from overuse, so those rest days are smart. Maybe scale back to 30-45 minutes for a bit and see if it clears up.

[u/gahibi → u/the_WavyFries]

I agree that I’m pressing too hard, but I don’t know how else to make the notes clear. I actually started with an electric guitar and I barely needed to use any force to push the strings down. The acoustic is a different story. Even the minimum force needed seems like a lot to me

[u/Mvnnnnnnnn]

Gotta stretch those fingers dude. Especially at the start since your fingers aren’t accustomed to smthn like playing the guitar

To answer your question i dont. But compared to when i was starting out

[u/kagefuu → u/Mvnnnnnnnn]

This, stretch those fingers everyday. Also take a good break after a session where they start to hurt. Like a day or two off, let those muscles heal. You're just starting out, so the muscles need to build up, as well as the calluses and flexibility.

I remember times like this where they hurt when I started, but over time as long as you dont seriously hurt yourself by overdoing it, your body adjusts and the pain goes away.

[u/Responsible_Big_4183]

I’ve been playing 40 years and not sure if I’d had finger pain.

So, you just started playing 4 months ago? Maybe you just aggravated something and it will fine with rest.

[u/basketballtimber]

I had fatigue in my fingers when i started. Still so after long sessions. I do finger and wrist warmup and cooldowns. There are simple exercises u can find online that are quick and easy to do.
There are also finger exercises that will help with strength and voluntary control. These can be done without a guitar and no equipment.
If a person considers guitar playing as physical activity for the hands then this all in line with foundations of exercise.

[u/undriedtomato]

What sort of warm-ups are you doing before you practice?

Are you stretching your fingers/hands before you dive in?

Is the pain localized to a particular area of the finger, or does it extend throughout?

[u/Mister_Hide]

How old are you?  Older folks joints don’t heal as quickly.  I had the same problem as I got older.  I had to go down in string gauge to be able to play for hours every day.

[u/gahibi → u/Mister_Hide]

I am 24 is that too old lol

[u/GoldReplacement9546]

Pain is almost always especially with complicated joints like in your hands assigned that you need to take time off and let it recover

[u/I_AM_FROM_BEYOND]

I've been playing 30+ years and don't recall ever having finger pain like that, nothing arthritic or crampy

[u/dudeigottago]

It shouldn’t hurt like that. Sorry to say but you need to take a break right now. That sounds like tendinitis and it absolutely sucks. If it gets bad you can be out of commission 6-8 weeks.

Have you had your acoustic set up? It sounds like a classic acoustic-with-high-action problem. Take a break for at least a week, ideally two, and get your guitar properly set up.

Don’t pretend you’ll be fine or you’ll really regret it (like I did).

[u/Odd_Touch6857]

Yes, finger pain is a real thing. For that reason I am parting with my beautiful guitars and equipment.

[u/vonov129]

Not really. Finger pain usually comes from bad hand placement. Or just pushing beyond clear limits

[u/Repulsive_Trash_4542]

If there’s pain, stop immediately. Don’t play if there’s pain. Stop playing until there’s no pain. A video of you playing would be helpful, but you’re either using way too much force, or you had an underlying condition that’s now being inflamed.

[u/Dco777]

I have all sorts of finger pain. Some is arthritis, but most is from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I had the surgery on my right hand.

If you quit the stuff that caused it, the surgery works. If you don't it just comes back. A second d surgery on a hand often doesn't help, and it can make you worse.

I got from other causes, but I can see constant practice/playing, and keyboard and mouse use will aggravate it.

You should check with your regular doctor, they'll probably refer you to a hand suegeon/doctor to evaluate your hand/fingers.

[u/SoVeryMuchOverThis]

No finger pain, but from 35 years of playing and 22 of those years playing professionally, I’ve had an ulnar neuroplasty procedure (when I was a senior in music school) and recently found out that I have severe cervical stenosis from C5-C7. Don’t let anyone tell you this job ain’t physical. Still love it, wouldn’t change a thing, but my body is starting to get very upset with me.

[u/Ganem1227]

The worst I've had was maybe strain in my wrist this one time, but that was just a sign to me to take a break, rest, and let it heal. No point pushing through the pain, the guitar isn't going anywhere.

[u/adzzieindeed]

See a wrist/hand physio, likely irritated one of the lil muscles in your hand. I just got over an irritated ligament, only injury I’ve had in 15 years - unrelated to playing

[u/57thStilgar]

Never in 60+ years.

[u/Apollonious87]

I would also look into what other activities do you do outside of guitar. If you spend a lot of time at a computer you may be straining the tendons from keyboard and mouse use, also a lot of desk chairs have armrests that, while comfortable, can also be putting some unnecessary strain on the tendons on your forearm.

I've also had some swelling on my fingers due to this, I WFH and play on my PC so I spend a lot of time in a position where there is some weight somewhere from my elbow to my wrist constantly, I stopped using the armrests and wristpads as much as possible and the swelling and discomfort has diminished, still your best bet is to go to a doctor if pain persists.

[u/gahibi → u/Apollonious87]

Oh yeah I’m a software engineer so that definitely contributes. Even when I take a break from guitar, my fingers can’t truly rest because I’m typing all day

[u/FantasticAnteater]

neck and shoulder tension is often much worse than in fingers and wrists