Hey gang. Been learning for about 16 months now on a Strat. Loving it. For the past few days I've had a weird tingle feeling in my fret hand. Mostly in my thumb. It continues even when I'm done playing. It's not unbearable but I notice it and I definitely don't want it to get worse.

Right now I'm practicing the minor pent. scale a lot, tons of power chords. Stuff that has me really bending my wrist and pressing hard with my thumb against the neck. But I'm not sure why it would cause a problem now since I got through learning my barre chords without any tingling. My hand definitely got tired, but nothing like this.

Any advice? I really don't want to stop playing.

Do you have this problem when you play standing or sitting or both? If it's just when you're standing could just be that you have the guitar slung too low.
In my experience, hand fatigue just comes with the territory of being a guitarist. You could get a hand exerciser, building up strength in your hands will at least help a little.

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Hey dedario

be careful, man. Friend of mine had to stop playing altogether because of his tendons, if you don't tread carefully now, you might end up like him.
Maybe try out different playing positions, as Tim said. But remember it's only a body, so take care of it.

(Not to scare you or anything, but take it seriously! )

How many hours a day do you play?

Hope all turns out well mate.

Cheers

Nutter

I used to get it too, on my hammer hand (right) when I was laying floorboard week in week out.
Best thing you can do is learn to relax a bit as well as excersizes to help circulation to the affected area. Rotate the thumb for a while each day.
It really reads to me that you've started off well, got far, but you're putting far too much energy into that left hand and clamping on the neck. Try playing with a lighter touch, you don't have to push the strings through the fretboard. No matter what style your playing.

Be very aware that daily activity will play a part in this too. You use your hands for everything.

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No no and no

this could be anything from clamping down to hard on the neck to circulation issues, to the very beginings of carpal tunnel or heart disease.
something you might want to take up with your doc honestly.
could even be a pinched nerve in your spine. all of these are common problems and
with that being a symptom. go get it checked out.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Thanks guys. Just to answer some of your questions.

1. I only play sitting down.

2. Usually practice 30 mins - 1 hr. a day.

I'm going to take the day off from practice today and see how it feels tomorrow. Hopefully it will help.

Tingling usually means 1 of 2 things: blood circulation is insufficient or being impeded, meaning not enough oxygen and nutrients are making it to your tired finger muscles. Usually this is accompanied by soreness. In your case, I think the median nerve in your wrist is being squeezed as a result of the constant bending and pressing hard of the thumb, causing a temporary loss of feeling in that area of the hand.
Pay attention to your hand's position on the fretboard, if your wrist is being bent at a 90 degree angle with your thumb all the way around the neck, that's probably the case. Find a more balanced and relaxed position. Focus on the position of the wrist and fingers and try to get them to feel as relaxed as you can. As others said, finger exercises and stretches are great.
As for the pressing hard, you shouldn't need to press hard with your wrist or thumb. While there will be pressing, if it feels like you're trying to crush a rock you're doing it wrong. When you need more force to hold down a fret, let the weight of your arm help, have gravity as your ally rather than your enemy. Also, only use the amount of tension necessary to sound the note, and do not add excess tension when you're sustaining that note. Many books preach economy of motion, using only the amount of energy necessary to accomplish the task. The less energy you use on a note the more you have for the rest of the notes.
Edit: If you do finger exercises, don't overdo them. Start out easy and slow and stretch often and gradually work up to higher tension and repetitions. There's 3 things that can go wrong with exercise: Bad form, not enough, and too much ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

This all sounds about right. Couple more questions:

1. Should I take a break from playing or just keep going and try to adjust my hand on the neck? Meaning, do I need to let anything heal?

2. Does anybody have a suggestion on playing power chords/barre chords without pressing your thumb against the neck? I mean, you have to press it at least a little right?

3. For all I know this isn't even guitar related. Because there is a little soreness in the fingers on my right hand as well. I felt something similar about a year ago where both hands were a bit tingly and I figured it to be connected to working on a computer all day. It eventually stopped after about a week.

It could entirely be down to using a keyboard all day long. Wrist position is everything when dealing with extended time periods.
It's impossible for us lot to diagnose, you need to see a doctor or some kind of physiotherapist for that.
You probably don't need to stop, just dont play with a iron claw hand. Focus on being relaxed, your playing will always benefit from that too.

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No no and no

When I'm playing bar chords or power chords, I generally try to keep my thumb centered on the back of the neck, and lined up with my index finger. That is most comfortable for me, but could be the exact opposite of what will work for you. Like everyone else suggested, try finding new way to grip the neck and see if that helps. Also could definitely be affected by using the computer all day at work.

One last question I have is, what gauge strings do you use? I find that heavy strings are brutal on my hands, and I can play for MUCH longer with lighter gauge strings.

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I know this may sound a bit dumb, but do you wear a wristwatch?

Is it on your left arm?

Do you leave it on while you play?

Many time it;s the thing we do out of habit that can get us, because we do them without thinking about it.
Take the watch off, and take a low does aspirin (The 71mg one) It can help open your blood flow, and it won't hurt you. (Unless your allergic to aspirin)

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

It could be beginning stages of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome like another poster mentioned...be careful bro.The median nerve is whats is most likely causing the numbness.The hands are nothing to mess around with when your passionate about guitar.I know I just had surgery on both hands and now I can't play guitar for a while till I'm all healed up

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

Thanks guys. Appreciate all the responses. To answer a few more questions:

1. No wristwatch.

2. No idea what guage the strings are. They're the factory strings that came on the guitar. I know I should've changed them about 6 months ago.

3. I practiced for a bout 30 minutes yesterday without gripping too hard and felt pretty good. I'm hopeful this is keyboard related and will just pass like it did a few months ago. I just stopped thinking about it and it was gone in a few days. Maybe no typing over this long weekend will help.

Well whatever the issue...hopefully it's just due to fatigue. I'd say to defintely pick up a new set of some light gauge strings; they can make a world of difference.

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do keep in mind that non of us a doc's and we are only guessing the problem causes.
something like this could seem so little but be signs of something major, then again you could be just fine too.
GO GET IT CHECKED OUT.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."