Hand cramp - you guys ever run into this?

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tallcoolone
tallcoolone
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Played last weekend--cool venue but they want 2.5hrs no break which is stretching my stamina at 55 lol. Next to last song right at the end my hand just 'pings' and tightens up into essentially a claw. As you can see below, I literally couldn't play the last chord. Shook it off for the last song--Kashmir is cool but pretty low effort.

I take a good multivitamin every day, any other suggestions? Stretching techniques?

 
Save the alcohol for after the gig. Drink plenty of water and get your potassium fix. I haven't had much luck with potassium suplements, but a banana a day keeps the cramps away. Hell, maybe eat two banannas a day if you want to get crazy.
 
If you are heavy handed with your fretting hand, lower your action, raise your volume, and lighten your touch. Definitely will ease up the tension and tendency to cramping in the hand and forearm. Staying relaxed at all times is something I have to remind myself to do all the time. Not string mashing is tough when you've been sweating for two hours and you got dishpan hands that is like fretting notes with a wet sponge.
 
I play fast, heavy stuff, and this is always going to happen, whether or not you have low action or light touch.

Best things to do are avoid drinking too much before, and don't bite off more than your hands can chew
 
I know I grip the neck like a vise so that without question is a factor. Something I def need to work on.

I'll have 2-3 beers during setup then another 2-3 during the show maybe a couple waters are a good idea too 🤔
 
DanTravis62 said:
I play fast, heavy stuff, and this is always going to happen, whether or not you have low action or light touch.
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Once I started experiencing some semi regular forearm cramping I knew I needed to reevaluate my playing form. It helped me to focus on being relaxed and not straining on, or attempting too long-fast passages without breaking it up some i.e not biting off more than my hands can chew. This is why my default volume setting for a normal gig is usually 7 or higher, so I always have enough power to get on top of the band and don't fall back to straining and digging in to deep with the pick to be heard.

tallcoolone said:
I know I grip the neck like a vise so that without question is a factor. Something I def need to work on.
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This is exactly what I was doing, driven by intensive bending and it was fueling tenderness and cramping in my forearm. But I can do it all without using a kung fu grip anymore and no pain unless I fall out of a relaxed state at which point I revert to excessive pressures. Give yourself some credit though, 2.5 hour sets are entering the "brutal" range. I usually do a 2 hour first set then break for that reason. Even that is about 30 mins more than would be ideal but I like to keep people in seats and money flowing into the tip bucket.
 
I get hand cramps and wrist pings all the time now.. pretty sure it is the work I have been doing for the last 20 years combined with all sorts of neck/back issues. I have started doing "hand yoga" as well as upping tings like magnesium .. hopefully it helps because it really is killing my desire to play
 
VonBonfire said:
Once I started experiencing some semi regular forearm cramping I knew I needed to reevaluate my playing form. It helped me to focus on being relaxed and not straining on, or attempting too long-fast passages without breaking it up some i.e not biting off more than my hands can chew.
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I'm not trying to be offensive here, but if you're cramping playing low gain boomer rock, yes, you do need to re-evaluate your form - what I was trying to say is that if you're playing a full set playing the forbidden beat over 180bpm, in a thrash, death/black metal, hardcore, or punk band; the cramping is going to happen at some point no matter what your form is, how light your strings are, how low your action is, what vitamins you're taking, how much alcohol you've had, whether mercury is in retrograde, or whether you have a marshall major dimed

There are limits to what the human body can take, and there are use cases where there is no defense or mitigation for cramping besides taking breaks between songs or sets/encores
 
DanTravis62 said:
I'm not trying to be offensive here, but if you're cramping playing low gain boomer rock, yes, you do need to re-evaluate your form - what I was trying to say is that if you're playing a full set playing the forbidden beat over 180bpm, in a thrash, death/black metal, hardcore, or punk band; the cramping is going to happen at some point no matter what your form is, how light your strings are, how low your action is, what vitamins you're taking, how much alcohol you've had, whether mercury is in retrograde, or whether you have a marshall major dimed

There are limits to what the human body can take, and there are use cases where there is no defense or mitigation for cramping besides taking breaks between songs or sets/encores
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Damn, I'm way to old to play metal then--that sounds like work!
 
tallcoolone said:
Damn, I'm way to old to play metal then--that sounds like work!
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It is o_O

Just as an experiment, pick your favorite extreme metal record (anything from Rust in Peace to Necrophagist) and try to play along with it - I don't mean learn it, I mean just try to play along with the whole thing, tempo wise, and see how your hands feel 20 minutes in

I've had this conversation with hundreds and hundreds of guys in other bands that play metal and punk and there's basically no way around this, you can do everything right and still cramp do the point that you're immobile

On the bright side, because of this, I also play in a boomer rock cover band that does 3 hour sets pretty consistently, and have never had problems - if you are having issues, all of the suggestions people have made are legit
 
DanTravis62 said:
It is o_O

Just as an experiment, pick your favorite extreme metal record (anything from Rust in Peace to Necrophagist) and try to play along with it - I don't mean learn it, I mean just try to play along with the whole thing, tempo wise, and see how your hands feel 20 minutes in

I've had this conversation with hundreds and hundreds of guys in other bands that play metal and punk and there's basically no way around this, you can do everything right and still cramp do the point that you're immobile

On the bright side, because of this, I also play in a boomer rock cover band that does 3 hour sets pretty consistently, and have never had problems - if you are having issues, all of the suggestions people have made are legit
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Yeah the most I chug onstage is Communication Breakdown lol
 
I had this happen in November at a gig. I had been having problems with my fretting hand a bit since a wipeout on a fishing trip in late September, but that was the only time it gave me any grief while playing. After the initial “oh fuck” it was kind of funny. Thankfully the song at the time was basically 2 chords, and for the solo I could largely just use one finger and move it around.
 
Don't fuck around with your hands.

In 2007 I was in three bands. Teaching and some studio work. Playing 7 days a week. Often 12 hour days.
My hand was locking up. Still does occasionally.
Anyway I lost my ability to play anything but slide for 9 months with out pain. I couldn't even play one song.
Eventually it came back. But the hand strength was never the same.
I could play bass for 4 hours easy. Now a hour maybe.

Anyway what others said about technique is important.

Two hours of playing isn't realistic. I suggest split in two with a short break.

Your body is telling you something. Take it seriously.
 
DanTravis62 said:
I'm not trying to be offensive here, but if you're cramping playing low gain boomer rock, yes, you do need to re-evaluate your form
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I watch a lot of YouTube videos of people playing guitar, and I see some of the weirdest, most unnatural hand positioning.. It's like you're looking at an injury waiting to happen.

Everyone's hands are different, but there are limits to what you can make a human hand do.

👏
 
Try to relax. You can still play hard without tons of tension. The stronger your fingers are, the easier it is to apply pressure without tension. Just look at classical guitarists and violinsts, even pianists. If you've spent years reinforcing a heavy-handed approach, it's going to take a lot of repetation for a more relaxed approach to become habit, but it can be done.

Hydrate, avoid alcohol and caffeine. Coconut water is a great source of both potassium and magnesium, but it can be an acquired taste.
 
Techdeth said:
Is this the only time it has happened ?
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No, I’d say one a year maybe? Always at the end of a long set—when I know there isn’t going to be a break I try and build up the stamina the week before, then no playing at all the day before. Took a few days off after this it’s feeling fine now
 
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