Hand pain.

[Twincam]

Getting some pain while playing very repetitive parts.
I have always naturally had thinner neck basses. I have an old hand injury which limits me a bit anyway. At the moment I'm playing a fender usa p bass and it has a really nice neck i thought for a p bass and I love the bass.

As said I'm getting pain and cramp on occasion where I'm playing very repetitive lines. I do hand stretching and warm ups. Is there anything more I can do too limit the pain or/and extend my endurance before it sets in? I've tried just to practice more and go through the pain that has actually made my hand hurt even more after I stop playing, and once I did give myself tendonitis.

Thinner necks and especially thin necked short scale basses don't have this effect. I would like to really try get any bass no matter what neck dimensions to work for me.
But if I can't I will have to go back to a thinner neck.

[fretmeister]

Where in the hand exactly is the pain? It makes a real difference to treatment.

I get pain which is actually referred from an ulnar canal issue and I have proper exercises from a physio that really help.

[scrumpymike]

As fretmeister says, you really need an expert diagnosis first - and I'd be tempted to get a second opinion if drastic corrective treatment such as surgery is suggested. I ended up having carpal tunnel surgery on both hands.

[Twincam]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1454361443' post='2969042']
Where in the hand exactly is the pain? It makes a real difference to treatment.

I get pain which is actually referred from an ulnar canal issue and I have proper exercises from a physio that really help.
[/quote]

Thumb and fingers and cramp all up my forearm. Mainly at the bass of my thumb.
If I play a thinner neck I don't get any issues, maybe I need to give it a bit more time.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Are you tensing up without realising it when playing these repetitive parts?

[Lozz196]

When I bought my current US Standard Precision I had a bit of fretting hand pain for a couple of weeks, as the neck is noticeably deeper than the previous ones I had. Once I got used to it it stopped, but I was worried I`d have to sell the bass.

[Naetharu]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1454362984' post='2969064']
Thumb and fingers and cramp all up my forearm. Mainly at the bass of my thumb.
If I play a thinner neck I don't get any issues, maybe I need to give it a bit more time.
[/quote]

First, I would take the above advice and seek a medical opinion if this continues - there can be a lot of reasons for pain in your hands and/or lower arms when doing repetitive movements like playing bass.

However, anecdotally I can offer the following: I found almost the same experience when moving from a chunky neck (Squire VM-P) to a thin (Ibanez SR300). It was bad enough that I just stopped playing the Ibanez and bought a different bass. However, I have returned to the Ibanez for short playing sessions since as I love its sound for slap, and over time I seem to have become used to the neck profile.

To hazard a guess I would say that my hand needed to be in quite a different position to make use of the skinny neck on the Ibanez and I was finding it hard to make that transition when I went right to that full time from having played a P-bass for several months. So I guess my 'advice' would be perhaps try easing into the new bass slowly, and see if that makes a bit of difference?

[Coilte]

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1454364682' post='2969103']
Are you tensing up without realising it when playing these repetitive parts?
[/quote]

+1. You could also be gripping the neck too hard. The fact that your thumb is cramping would seem to support this assumption.

I would also recommend getting a medical opinion, as obviously everyone here is simply guessing.

[leftybassman392]

What's wrong with getting it checked out by your GP? No disrespect to any of the above posters (who I'm certain are all trying to help - and to be fair who have mostly recommended the professional option), but IME amateur medical advice - especially sight unseen - is rarely the best option.

Edited February 2, 2016 by leftybassman392

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1454362984' post='2969064']
Thumb and fingers and cramp all up my forearm. Mainly at the bass of my thumb.
If I play a thinner neck I don't get any issues, maybe I need to give it a bit more time.[/quote]

If it's your outer forearm I had the exact same thing about 4 years ago. Apparently RSI is caused by tendons being so used to being in the same position that they fuse together. Then when you want them to do different things they can't, so they hurt when they try to separate.
I went to a local sports physio who by manipulation & exercises (such as doing the hand signs from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind for half an hour a day ) separated them again (3 of them had fused in the groove that runs up the top of your fore-arm).
No such problems since.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Big_Stu