Wrist pain

I’m taking a day off (at least) from practicing because my right wrist hurts. I worry about carpal tunnel syndrome.

Wrist pain is only one of a slew of carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. There’s pins and needles, numbness, feeling swollen, etc. (If you’re worried about this yourself, don’t go by what I say; ask a doctor.) I don’t have any of those, and my pain could just be overuse, or old age, or a million other things.

Still, a day off seems like a good idea. My practice routine is normally a seven day week thing. I don’t like missing a day, because I enjoy practicing, I enjoy the results, and I enjoy being a guy who practices a lot.

Usually pain in the practice room is a signal in the moment to me that I’m doing something wrong. Shoulder and back pain are familiar signs that (a) my posture is bad and/or (b) I’m tense as I play. For these I take a break, stretch, check myself, and start again.

This wrist pain is different. Unlike the others it has been hanging around after I put the guitar away. Short breaks don’t help. Stretching aggravates it.

Years ago I had shoulder pain that was bad enough that I thought I’d have to stop playing. (That was before I understood that practicing was about my whole body, not just my hands.) Taking a day or two off is how I keep the wrist from getting to that point.

My playing doesn’t suffer from a little time off. In fact, there’s a lift when I come back to practicing, a newness in how things sound, feel and appear to be. It’s like I’ve cleaned my glasses. So I’m not too concerned about missing the time. There are thousands of days of practicing ahead of me (I hope), and tens of thousands behind me; I can handle two days out of the middle.