anyone got any advice on this?
when i warm up to avoid CTS though (which i just started recently, and to me it helps) i try avoid MOST stretching, but mostly i concentrate on moving my wrists...CTS is mostly to do with the wrists anyway.
before I play i do a few things, one is making a fist with my hand and rotating it clockwise 15 times, then anti-clockwise 15 times. I then make a fist again and spread out my fingers for 10 seconds (i dont force them too far though), i do that about 6 times.
then I got to a table, hold my arm straight across it and off the edge, i move it side to side 20 times, and up and down 20 times (dont over stretch it, just to move it around) then there is another one i do with a soup can, i hold it with the back of my hand facing my face and lift it up and down 20 times, then i reverse it and repeat the same exercise.
to strengten my fingers, i place two rubberbands round all four and stretch them out (this is something i dont do as often, its just to add strength to them) and i have a hand exerciser thing that i squeeze a few times.
after all this i grab my guitar and play E-1-2-3-4- A-1-2-3-4 etc etc so im using all my fingers, i go up, then go back down, and i repeat it all the way up until my index finger is on the 12th fret.
Then i go up and down the Aeolian scale a few times. followed by rolling some arpeggios up and down the fret board. and finally I practice some more exotic scales (this is also good for remembering them)
Some other things to note are that a rest when u play will help out a lot. rest every 10 minutes, give your hands a little shake and rub them together to get the blood flowing (as someone said above). Also if your wrists are in pain, only play for 20 minutes max a day and let them recover.
Icing things can help too. When possible, try keeping your arm and wrist and fingers as straight as possible.
its a pain in the ass all the warm up, but if your serious about playing guitar its worth it. I stillneed to figure out something with my elbow, coz for some reason its very very sore sometimes :( but my wrists are a lot better now after doing these warm ups.
Dispy
ps - someone once told me of a CTS stretch, it was like a thai statue thing, but i felt that would realy screw up your tendons in your wrists if you do that too often, although if your wrist is tight its a godsent.
