wrist hurts?!?!?

[export99drummer]

okay, not really an export post, but i play with 6 piece export blahblah, but. i play to punk (blink 182) if anyone knows what 16ths on one hand can do to you, does anyones wrists hurt out there after they play? for extended periods of time ( 2 hrs per day ) ever since like... march of last year, if anyone knows whats up, drum positioning/batter head tension or just playing too much causes this.. and what i can do about it, any help is appreciated.

[MarkShiner]

You shouldn't be getting any pain when you play-- if you do, it's a sign that things aren't right with your technique or with your wrists themselves.

Is the pain in one wrist or both?

I do a LOT of drumming (I play for a living) and I never get pain. Talk to your doctor and get yourself a competent teacher who can check out your technique.

[Flipkid]

Do you play using a "matched" grip or "traditional" grip? How big (circumference) are your drumsticks?

[bigshuby182]

I had the exact same problem, playing the exact same music. Make sure your wrists are loose, not too tense, that helped solve the problem for me. Also, I took a week off, which I'm guessing helped the muscles in my hands and wrists repair themselves. If all else fails (sorry to say this), slow down, even if it means changing the songs a little bit.

[export99drummer]

well, my right hand wrist hurts sometimes after repetitive 16ths, i had a tough cymbal zildjian edge rock crash, it felt hard when i struck it, but now my a custom fast crash is way lighter/softer, it cfould be from bashing that thing, but its usually when i mess around with my ride... doin 16ths, i use matched grip, i was taught for the summer of 98, then quit learning and figured out the rest myself, probably it's my technique

[export99drummer]

oh yeah, is there any type of sport wear that can help wrist ? caus i hurt my wrist in a hocky game (holding the stick with one hand and trying to play against 2 handed people ) .... i use 5A vic firth sticks.. cuas they are solid and absorb some impact(plastic tip)

[OD-Drumr]

Man, there's nothing like a good stretch. It's very difficult to describe my stretching exercises here but you should go ask your teacher (even if it's been 4 years) for some good stretching exercises. I'll still try...

1. Grip your sticks on the ends with the (turn one of 'em so that both tips face out, this sorta evens out the grip), palms up, arms out. Your elbows will face down

2. Bring the right hand to a position as close to your left elbow as possible without loosening your grip on either hand

3. Pull your left hand towards your chest so that the sticks are vertical. Your left hand will be at the top and will face inward while your right hand will be at the bottom and face outward

now here's the hard part...

4. Continue the motion on the left arm until the sticks are horizontal again and in line with your body (it should look like they're poking out of your chest). The left hand is closer to your body with the wrist down and the right hand is further away with the wrist up. Your grip will loosen up a bit automatically, try to keep it firm

5. Extend the left elbow now so that both wrists face up again. Your elbows will face up now

6. Hold for about 10 seconds then reverse your motion to bring your wrists back to their original position

7. Do the same for the other hand

You can vary this same exercise by just gripping the sticks in the middle with your hands about an inch apart.

Do them before, during and after you play. It's helps to condition the muscles and eliminates alot of the soreness the morning after a good jam. Over time, say less than a year even, you can bring up your speed because of the constant conditioning of your wrist and forearm muscles. Every time you work them, stretch them.
Hope this helps ya.

[biodrumr]

It's definately a technique thing. I had the same problem. When I played quick beats on the hats, after awhile, I'd start to get pain. This was mostly because as time passed, my technique started to get sloppy. You definately need to make sure your technique is good, and you're not rolling your wrist as you get tired or compensating with different parts of your arm. It's important to stretch, especially when you're working on your endurance.

Ok, so I did all these things and still got the pain, so I went and saw the doc and found out I had a minor case of carpal tunnel syndrome. He said it was aggravated by the positioning of the wrist, but I could beat it. I ended up repositioning my hats, but I had to switch to a remote, the hats are now located right in front of my snare, above the bass drum. This allows me to play with my wrist in a different position (have you ever gotten this pain when playing quick beats on the ride?), and the pain hasn't been back since. Good luck to ya.

[Cholas]

My wrists used to hurt when I first started learning...and I'm a Blink drummer as well. For me it was always "Rock Show" that caused most discomfort. I kept doing all the rudiments*, starting slow then speeding up, again and again and again. Now I can drum "Rock Show" with no problem.



*Rudiments - You probably already know, but stuff like

RLRLRLRLRLRL
LRLRLRLRLRLR
RLRRLRLLRLRR
RRLLRRLLRRLL

so on and so forth

[luvmydrumz]

Od drumr is right on. Stretching is the best thing you can do. I actually broke my right wrist once, so you can imagine the pain I get sometimes. But stretching before you play, between songs and warming up slowly before a gig works.
I know these punk drummers are drumming on 10 all the time, but you need to relax while your playing. You can still relax and play fast at the same time. We were playing Green Day and Blink for some of our gigs and I can definitely relate with what your going through..........Just relax,and have fun!

[weezal]

What do you mean by "rolling your wrists??"

[Sloouh]

I presume he means pointing you're wrist skyward then letting it drop down in circles with you're arm flat.

[biodrumr]

actually, if you think of a proper standard playing position, with your thumb at the top of the hand, as a person gets tired, they tend to roll their wrist towards the inside, bringing the thumb to the inside, it switches the muscles that are required to create the repetitive movement, unfortunately, it's a considerably worse position, and will create pain much more quickly.

[weezal]

That is so true, thanx wookie

[biodrumr]

no problem, I was a big victim of it. You just gotta keep working on your endurance. Make sure to practice for a good hour at least when you have the time. There's really no other way to get around it if it's already a bad habit.

Chad

[chad_smith_rhcp]

ok i play on the drums bout 1hour a day and after bout 3/4 of an hour i get this shock thing through my right wrist that can sumtimes cause me to drop a stick, once it happens once if i try and keep playin i keep getting this shock thing, does anyone know what it is and how i cant stop it?!!? :confused:

[allmetallica87]

my wrists never hurt. idk man try some icy hot on them every night. i do it all the time even when i dont have pain. both ankles and both wrists. i dont know if it helps but its just a little theory of mine.

[Hevy]

Man, I've broken my hands in all different spots, numerous times. (Hockey fighter for years), and I play a lot of acoustic guitar and I drum about an hour a day. After all that, the only thing that hurts is my right wrist. Like earlier mentioned, to the point where I drop my stick. What I usually do is
1.throw the stick in my left hand across the room.
2.blurt out as many bad words as I can come up with, without sounding like an idiot.
3.beer/cigarette
4.Relax and the problem slowly goes away.
Like the responses I read above, I find if I just relax, I still manage to retain tempo and power, I justhave to settle down.

[drumbum1227]

i currently have inflamed cartilage from playing too much i still play and i am on some pain killers, and i also have to wear wrist splints before i go to bed. but its from playing like 24 hours non stop...(not literaly but close to it). ok peace

[chad_smith_rhcp]

thanks dudes im gonna give drummin a rest 4 a couple of days if i can bare it! im gonna ask my drum teacher bout it 2moz and see wat he has to say (duno y i didnt fink of askin him in the first place!)
cheers,

[far cough]

does anyones wrists hurt out there after they play? for extended periods of time ( 2 hrs per day ) ever since like... march of last year, if anyone knows whats up, drum positioning/batter head tension or just playing too much causes this..


dewd it sound liek u mite have carpell tunel sindrome or sumthing!!111 its waht u can get if u ovruse your wrist - if it stops a while after u stop playing then u shld see ur doctor b/c he can do a test 4 it

[Cerise]

I'm being treated for carpal tunnel right now. Scared the life out of me when I got it but it did make me think very hard about technique and the sticks I was using too. I'm getting physio for the pain and tingling and it's going - slowly but surely but things you can do are:

Put an ice pack/bag of frozen peas on your wrists (wrap the ice pack in a wet towel first) for about 5 minutes - repeat 3 or 4 times a day

Try an anti-inflammatory gel on your wrists after icing (if you can use this stuff - some can't)

Stretch/warm up/cool down when playing - very important

Think about your sticks - I play a lot on an electric kit and it's like hitting a car steering wheel with a stick for a few hours! I can feel the shock waves numbing my hands after the shortest of time. I switched to Zildjian Anti-Vibe sticks for the electric and they're completely dead on the wrists - a real wrist/life saver.

Anyway, that's what's working for me.

Hope you get sorted
Take care!

[OWIMdrummer]

Make Sure You Warm Up Slowly First Before Playing!!!

[Reizar]

actually, if you think of a proper standard playing position, with your thumb at the top of the hand, as a person gets tired, they tend to roll their wrist towards the inside, bringing the thumb to the inside, it switches the muscles that are required to create the repetitive movement, unfortunately, it's a considerably worse position, and will create pain much more quickly.
Actually, the proper playing position is with the thumbs turned in, not at the top. If anything's at the "top" of the position, it should be the knuckle of your index finger. If you feel pain from this position, then there's definitely something you're not doing right. That's the only position I play, thumbs turned in, and I haven't felt a shred of even discomfort in 4 years.

I found that out from Dan Boone, my band director in highschool, and had it later confirmed by a board-certified percussion instructor named Gretchen Carpenter.

OWIM also has a good idea. Make sure you warm up and stretch. And for the love of God, if your muscles start to hurt, STOP PLAYING. Nobody ever conquered the world using a beta version; you're not gonna get your best performances with achy wrists.

[basswthgod]

I have been playing for 30 some years and i found the best way to keep speed and reduce fatigue and pain is to use a looser hand grip and more fingergrip. I have found if you can develope your grip strength between the index finger and the thumb , you can then relax the rest of your hand. this will help you to relax your arm as well and take the pressure off your wrist. I now have karple-tunnel problems with my left wrist ,yet I can still play for hours with this grip. (helps with golf too)

[Blanno]

I think that's a good advice, I've ben playing for 12 years, and my wrist start to ache, but I take a rest and the pain goes away, but If I want to reach the 30 years playing I should change my grip thecnique

[Blanno]

Again me...I grip the sticks really thig, so I can have a good and penatrating hit on the drums, but I've been dicovering that having a lose grip, and letting the stick to " work ", also gives a lot of attack and volume, but what to app'ly to the cymbals, how to hit the cymbals ?? Lose or grip ??

[basswthgod]

The same grip works all the time. If you need more power on the cymbals, try using a little more wrist snap. Remember, you will get more out of the drum or cymbal if you learn to "pull " the sound out as opposed to "pushing " it in. It has alot to do with the speed of your release off the strike.

[offspringboi15]

my drumline instructor said that our wrist should burn a little cuz were building our chops...that couldnt be the problem could it?

[xtilltomorrowx]

Ive been playing for 12 years and Im 14 and this has never happend to me so my advice is do not play every single day and warm up before you start to play. Also if your trying to do 16ths and that kind of stuff try to learn some rudiments.