Why are my fingertips so darned sore?
 

I am not exactly a newbie. Been playing for 3.5+ years.
Everyday 45 min to 2.0 hours without fail.
Newest guitar is 7 months old. All guitars are using the same strings as ever.
I don't think my grip or finger pressure on the strings has changed.
My playing style and routines have not changed either.
I do still have calluses but not as thick or hard as in year two or so.
About two months ago my fretting hand finger tips started to get sore all the time.
Also this appears to be surface pain and is not bone bruises.
Starting to worry me. Anyone else have something similar?
Thanks. :)

Learning something new? Mine always seem to when learning a new piece.
Think I press down too hard trying to get the hand position.

I hear you. I've had that happen to me a while ago. only happened once or twice in over 15 years. i know you don't want to hear this but maybe lay off the guitar for an afternoon. or pick up an electric (:eek:) or a nylon string guitar to play for a day or two. those are definitely less stress on the fingers for me.

hopefully someone can chime in with better advice. I'm looking forward to hearing it in case it happens to me again too.

I do this, too.

But it could be summer - are your guitars in a more humid environment now, possibly making the action higher? Or is there something about the summer weather/environment that is softening your skin? (My hands are much dryer in the winter.)

Or did you change your routine in any way - like switch to practicing right after showering or washing dishes?

I have a "check up" on my guitar pretty often. Also stings can make a difference, might be time for a set up if it's been a couple of years...you could try going down a notch in string gauge or practice on a 12 string for two weeks...that always made my 6 stings less painful. :-)

Have you changed brand / type of strings, and is it possible that you have a nickel allergy - that is common? Many guitar strings have nickel in the core or windings, which can cause a reaction if you have an allergy.

Cheers,
David

With the amount of time you are playing each day, you should build sufficient callouses to make playing relatively comfortable, but it is never pain free in my estimation. I have been playing a very long time and still get a twinge of fingertip pain when I play 2 hour gigs. As others have mentioned, playing new pieces is a typical culprit in fingertip pain because we all tend to use more pressure than needed when playing something new.

If you are not averse to putting a substance on your fingertips to help this situation, Rock Tips is a product that is similar to what some call new skin or liquid bandage. I'm not sure what is different in the formula of Rock Tips, but it works - and unfortunately gets to be a bit pricey if used often.

Absolutely only change in anything is song selections.
In January I went to about 90% bluegrass / Carter style after playing mostly all slow strumming.
So maybe. Maybe I am pushing those single bass and melody notes too hard?
Doesn't seem like it but that is better than a possible medical condition.
For what it is worth, soaking my fingertips in witch hazel or alcohol was no benefit at all.
I am going to look into other products as a temporary aid.

Sometimes my fingers just don't want to collaborate. A concert guitar player have told me to avoid pressing hard when learning new songs because it hurts the joints also. On that note, and if you feel joint pain, stay away from sodas and salt for a while.

River - I'm not sure of your details, but take a look at this thread:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=432890 (Concerning soreness of the fingertips and nickel allergy to frets and strings)

and see if there are any similarities to your problem.

best,

Rick

Not unlikely at all that your older, accustomed playing style had evolved to be more efficient (using only the amount of strength necessary) than what you're playing now.

I recently spent 3 weeks diving back into the song catalog of an electric band I was in, for a reunion gig/party. Even though I was playing much lighter gauge strings (10s as opposed to 13s), I ended up having some fingertip pain. Part of it was playing a little more, but I think part of it was using techniques I really don't use much on acoustics - lots of note bending; bending over double & triple stops; pushing & pulling type bends. I felt like a wimp :)

Also 2 hours is significantly more than 45min. Are you stringing a lot more 2 hour days together than previously?

Does the newer guitar have a flatter fretboard radius? This is something I had to learn the hard way... Tough on my finnerz.

madhat.

hmm... I don't know.
I suppose looking back that the new guitar and the style change happened about the same time.
Thing is, that was over six months ago.
I have taken a whole day off twice and have had a few light days to do some summer fun...
I am not at this point willing to say, take a whole week off.
I did try alcohol and pain meds, fingers felt better, never mind, not a good solution :D

That happened to me after a truss rod adjustment, took me a month of panic (my guitar playing days are over) to figure it out... I put the truss rod back and all was well.

I also had hand fatigue as part of the deal, I bought exercise donuts, and a powerball, and they helped some, but getting the action back down low was what "fixed" it.

I wondered this as well. can you rule this out OP?