Terrible Wrist problems.

y0avz

Senior Member
Hello drummers,

I've been having this wrist problem for over a year now, after playing (matched grip) for about 15 minutes, I start having a lot of pain in the upper side of my left hand's wrist, which forces me to stop playing. I did a rent-gen shot, an ultrasound, and bone-mapping, and all came out fine and no problems were found.... needless to say I'm quite desperate.

any ideas?
 
If you've been down the doctors route and had it checked out as you say think I'd probably find a good teacher and ask them to have a look at your grip / technique.
 
What kind of doctor did you go to that ordered those tests? I'd see an orthopedic dr and one who specializes in wrists. I'm surprised they didn't do an MRI which would show them more of what's going on in your wrist with ligaments and such. IF you did see an orhopedic I would try to find another one for a second opinion. until then I'd hold off playing. If you are having pain that's the body's way of saying "Hey something is wrong STOP!"
 
I would look into reworking your hand technique to eliminate hand tension. The shock sent through a stick when it contacts a drumhead can do some damage if you are gripping too tightly.

Hard habit to break though.. I've been working for months on that one haha
 
I've been dealing with wrist pain for years. And it's actually not from drumming, it's from a pinched nerve from where my neck meets my shoulder, that was injured on three separate occasions in my life. It pinches the nerves to my wrist, causing wrist pain.
And while drumming is not the cause of my pain, drumming does aggravate it.

A few things that could help, mix and match for what is best for you:
  • Hit less hard. Not everyone can be Kenny Arnoff.
  • Take Glucosamine.
  • Try a bigger stick that absorbs more impact or try a smaller stick that you're forced to not hit as hard.
  • Get check out by a Chiropractor. Or several, some are better than others.
  • Wear basic ACE wrist braces when playing.
  • Check your seat & posture for anything that could be causing pinched nerves.
  • Spend less time on a computer (which I understand is near impossible these days).
  • Make sure you are properly hydrated when playing.


Also there are several prior threads on this subject here:


http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=612201&highlight=pain#post612201

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53834&highlight=pain

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56566&highlight=pain
 
I'm dealing with sore wrists right now, but I think it is from all the labor I've done on home projects over the last couple months.

Have you considered choking up on the sticks a bit? When my hands/wrists suffer from lactic acid (the burn), I try to move the sticks futher into my hand so I have less stick to move past the fulcrum of the grip.
 
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