Hand Excersizers?

[006]

Wondering if any of you guys have been using any variation of these hand exercisers and what your experience has been with them. A friend of mine seems to think they can induce carpal tunnel symptoms... I'm not sure about that haha. I hardly play guitar these days unless it's band practice and when I do play it's thrashy riffs so they can take a toll on my fret hand after a while during practice.

example:

 

[kev]

I got one as a present. It was a bit of a fad for me, didnt really use it. It did show me how weak my pinky was in comparison to the rest though! I should probably get back using it when watching tv or something

 

[Metaltastic]

I'd rather have one of these, in fact I think I'm gonna buy one right now!

 

[kev]

haha dude, I have a powerball too. They inflict some major pain on your wrist lol. I was using it so often that skin started to peel off one of my fingers and was left with raw painful flesh :zombie:

I think I got it to 14k maximum.

 

[kev]

correction, 12k

 

[iekobrid]

I'd rather have one of these

Why choose one or the other? You've got at least two hands!

You could spend all your down time with a fingery spring thing in the left hand, a wristy ball in the right, and a Neckline Slimmer under your chin for doing blowjob crunches.

 

[Notuern]

Wondering if any of you guys have been using any variation of these hand exercisers and what your experience has been with them. A friend of mine seems to think they can induce carpal tunnel symptoms... I'm not sure about that haha. I hardly play guitar these days unless it's band practice and when I do play it's thrashy riffs so they can take a toll on my fret hand after a while during practice.

example:

They do indeed cause carpal tunnel.. at least according to my old bandmates doctor.

 

[AdamWathan]

I have a Powerball too, pretty cool. Not really any good for exercises your fingers but it's a great warm up for your picking hand.

 

[slashvanyoung]

A friend of mine seems to think they can induce carpal tunnel symptoms... I'm not sure about that haha.

Yeah kinda, because overdoing it really stresses the tendons in your forearm.

I mean, these things definitely have a place, especially for rehabilitation after surgery etc. But as a guitar player, I'm a bit sceptical. You could use that time even better just fiddling around, exercising several aspects of your playing.

I prefer dumbell workouts, way more efficient IMO.

 

[krokit]

I heard that yngwie malmsteen used something like that and it did more harm than good..

 

[drew_drummer]

You don't need this bollocks. Use your fappin guitar!!!!

 

[abt]

You don't need this bollocks. Use your fappin guitar!!!!

100% correct. If you want to get good at using some contraption then practice with one of these gadgets. If you want to get good at playing guitar then practice playing the guitar.

I can't see how these thing could help but can see a million ways how the could cause injury. If you are in pain playing guitar then you need to fix your technique.

 

[Metaltastic]

I have a Powerball too, pretty cool. Not really any good for exercises your fingers but it's a great warm up for your picking hand.

Yeah, that's mainly what I was thinking (Kev, that's hardcore by the way, I yield ), but I dunno, I would think even for the left hand strengthening the forearm would be useful

 

[Notuern]

Yeah kinda, because overdoing it really stresses the tendons in your forearm.

I mean, these things definitely have a place, especially for rehabilitation after surgery etc. But as a guitar player, I'm a bit sceptical. You could use that time even better just fiddling around, exercising several aspects of your playing.

I prefer dumbell workouts, way more efficient IMO.

Actually, you shouldn't use things like this for rehabilitation purposes.
When recovering from surgery or injuries you should never apply any "external force".
I had a few sessions with a physical therapist when i was recovering from a scaphoid fracture, and the kind of exercises you should do to recover the strength of your fingers is picking up small objects, clenching a fist and then extending your fingers as much as possible(Repeat for a few minutes.).
When your fingers have recovered slightly, you can do some careful active stretching, meaning using your other hand to extend your fingers slightly beyond the point of what you can do on your own.

I did those exercises, thumb-strengthening, wrist-rehabilitation and stretch-exercises for the tendons for about 25 minutes 2 times a day, and it really worked wonders.. in fact, im still doing them from time to time, makes your wrist and fingers limber as hell(Really helps you shredd the riffz! ).

 

[slashvanyoung]

Well, several people I know worked with these for rehabilitation under the guidance of physios. I guess it depends on the injury and the severity. Also, my mother was advised to exercise with one due to her rheumatism.

But I've seen the exact exercises you're describing being practised at my "room mate" when I was in hospital for my broken leg. He had several severed tendons and torn muscles. They started with minimal movements, obviously.

 

[006]

For the record I'm not a bad guitar player

I just hardly get to play these days and when I do it's br00talz rawrrrLOL and when you don't shred the riffz often it can take a toll on your fingers/hand/tendons/etc. after a while. It's not ever right away, but we don't practice just once through our set so by the 4th/5th time my fret hand is dying.

So I guess I'll just try to find time to practice more instead of trying any of these things out. TBH they seem kind of gimmicky but I was curious. Thanks for the replies d00ds.

 

[updog]

haha dude, I have a powerball too. They inflict some major pain on your wrist lol.

That's exactly one of the things they should prevent.

I use powerball too, try to remember to spin it at least 5mins/a hand per day.

 

[NNotN-ENN]

I had a few sessions with a physical therapist when i was recovering from a scaphoid fracture, and the kind of exercises you should do to recover the strength of your fingers is picking up small objects, clenching a fist and then extending your fingers as much as possible(Repeat for a few minutes.).

Sorry to go O/T for a little bit but I'm actually trying to work out whether I might've fractured my scaphoid. I fell about 4 feet plus my height (6 feet) onto my right hand about 3 days ago and initially just thought I'd done a jar/sprain, but over the weekend the rest of my wrist got quite a lot better and I'm just left with some localised pain around the area which I'm fairly sure the scaphoid is (pretty much down under my thumb).
Now the stupid thing is that I can do most things quite fine right now (mouse/keyboard are fine, lifting things as long as I don't curl my wrist around) but the things that hurt are twisting motions like turning taps on and off. Reading your post makes me think that it's just not sore enough to be an actual fracture though (I've fractured me radius on my other wrist so I have a rough idea of what it feels like, I guess).

Any insight would be great.

As for the thread, I remember asking my old guitar tutor how to toughen up my fingertips (after ripping them to shreds just learning some blues licks) and he was puzzled - "well I spose you could tap em in a bowl of sand, but I'd just play guitar, man".

 

[muckypup1]

^^ Damn dude that sucks. Have you been to some kind of doctor about it? Its best to get this kind of shit treated as quickly as possible, the longer you leave it the worse it will get

I would avoid these stupid hand excersizing things, all they will do is fuck your wrists up, thats why I avoid them I mean I already have fucking strains in my wrists, I could do without more!

 

[Jind]

A friend of mine seems to think they can induce carpal tunnel symptoms... I'm not sure about that haha.

As the surgeon just told my wife this past week, any repetitive hand motion can cause carpal tunnel - and he accented the word ANY. He said that it really is that simple. If you do any motion enough times, it can eventually lead to carpal tunnel issues. She has moderate carpal tunnel damage from keyboard use and has to wear braces on her wrists at night to see if that helps. He said that many people develop carpal tunnel simply from the way they sleep with wrists curled up under their pillows or face or body while they sleep.

I used to practice through pain when I was younger, but now I stop anytime I start to feel discomfort in my wrists and take a break or do some stretches and such. Last thing I want is to have my wrists get buggered up.