Wrist seizes up!!

[someguy1919]

Hi guys,

I've searched for forum rules but can't find any so if I've ****ed up...I'm sorry. I have a question with regards to wrist problems.

Lately whenever my right hand is playing super fast, I find it seizes up like a piston without oil and can't play anymore...for instance..I'll be doing super fast 8ths on the ride but all of a sudden...it won't work...and I'll have to do 1/4s ....I've never had this problem before. Somewhere on the top of my forearm it hurts (when i'm playing fast) and i have to rotate my arm so that i'm playing with my arm instead of my wrist. Ultimately this isn't the correct way to play and it slows down my speed immensly. And this is a new thing..I've been playing for a long time so it's not like I'm a new drummer that doesn't know the correct way to hold sticks. For some reason it is all seizing up. No clue why..i've tried icing and it seems to make a small effect but i'm not sure if that's just psychological...
just wondering if anyone has had this problem before...it's killing my shows and I'd really like to fix it!! thanks guys!!

[Zsolt]

Hi,
The faster you play the more you should be using your fingers. There are many techniques for holding the stick and I recommend you check out some videos of Dom Famularo (http://www.vicfirth.com/education/drumset/domfamularo.html) where he explains the German, French and American grip.
I hope this helped a bit. Have patience and try to adjust your grip to your playing; otherwise you'll hurt yourself.
Good luck,
Zsolt

[C.J.]

Sounds more like a physical problem... Have you tried consulting a doctor?

[stefan_vortex]

Sounds more like a physical problem... Have you tried consulting a doctor?
its really a good idea seeing a doctor. my wrist was hurting 2 years ago and i immediatly went to the doctor-it was nothing-just my hands were tired :)

[The_Setite]

Hi guys,

I've searched for forum rules but can't find any so if I've ****ed up...I'm sorry. I have a question with regards to wrist problems.

Lately whenever my right hand is playing super fast, I find it seizes up like a piston without oil and can't play anymore...for instance..I'll be doing super fast 8ths on the ride but all of a sudden...it won't work...and I'll have to do 1/4s ....I've never had this problem before. Somewhere on the top of my forearm it hurts (when i'm playing fast) and i have to rotate my arm so that i'm playing with my arm instead of my wrist. Ultimately this isn't the correct way to play and it slows down my speed immensly. And this is a new thing..I've been playing for a long time so it's not like I'm a new drummer that doesn't know the correct way to hold sticks. For some reason it is all seizing up. No clue why..i've tried icing and it seems to make a small effect but i'm not sure if that's just psychological...

just wondering if anyone has had this problem before...it's killing my shows and I'd really like to fix it!! thanks guys!!


Im not a physician, but I have had experienced this kind of thing. Firstly, a GP will be no use for this kind of injury as their knowledge isnt focused on this type of thing. You need to see a Chiropractor or an Osteopath. They are more focused on joint, muscle and tendon problems. It sounds to me like you are experiencing a tendon problem. The slowing down could be caused by the tendon inflaming and pressing on the nerve, causing the muscle to stop moving as no signal is reaching it. The pain you refer to in the upper forearm sounds like it could be referred pain from the tendons in your elbow. It sounds like its in early stages as you dont have shooting pains or pins and needles but now is the time to deal with this before it gets worse. Icing on its own is not enough (although the fact that its giving a bit of relief suggests to me that its tendon based) You should immediately reduce your playng as much as possible for a couple of weeks to give the tendon a rest. Take some sort of anti inflammatory (ask your doctor) and ice EVERY 45 MINUTES for at least a fortnight.
Hope this helps. Please see a specialist about this to be sure of what to do, like i said im not a physician. I think you have caught it early enough, as the pain from full blown tendonitis is excruciating.

[roxz]

A docter?? They only tell you to not drum for a few weeks and then try it again and if the problem returns...then you should call him again..

With fast stuff I only use my fingers , you should never use your arms at fast speeds cause you will have problems like these

[hereswheristand]

i have also had this problem before, well not to where my wrists seize up during playing, but i've gotten pains in the top of my forearm and when i rubbed it, the pain was in what felt like a tendon. since i changed my hand technique i haven't had any pains since. i use a lot of finger control in my hand technique at higher speeds now.

[peter]

Please check this thread out at HOD:

http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/609/t/4982

We can talk more, if you like.

Oh and I am Peter C, over there.

Good luck.

[Adam]

At higher speeds it's very important to stay relaxed. I'm an all-wrists dude myself, and there are ways to play extremely fast (and loud) with out feeling any tension (it takes practice of course)...I suggest you do as "the_setite" said, but it also probably does have to do with your technique. If you haven't heard about it I suggest you look into what's called the "moeller" technique

[dreamtheaterNut]

the excercise i've comed to realized to really build up my wrists and fingers are as followed

for wrists....hold the stick at the end with everyfinger and everything and hold it fairly tight with no looseness like u normally would...now just tap ur practice pad, knee, drum...w/e just tap it and move ur wrist up and down, THAT is the key, u can do it slowly at first and build up..so u dont over excert ur muscles and get them warmed up and get them USED to what ur doing, but DONT do n e moeller stuff, that down tap up stuff, thats a big no-no, and im sure of it..within just 10-20 seconds u'll start to really feel a burn in ur wrist and forearm...now for fingers...

i have a home video of a guy whos just some joe-schmo carpenter doing 1210 single strokes on a practice pad with a drumometer attached to it, it sounds like...a piece of sand paper ripping like just one giant buzz its insane, and his secret to speed is not the wrist...let me tell you this right now, everyone thinks that ur wrist will give you speed...yea sure...up to a certain speed then it tenses up and u need to work different muscle groups to generate faster speeds....those muscles are the muscles in your fingers, and the secret to lighting fast speed is french grip (for insane singles) and...the real secret to speed....is your middle finger...skeptical??? i was too at first, untill i went through excercises to build it up..like this one.....take the stick in ur hand...and put it so its in between your thumb and ur first finger that lil like flesh part there where that tendon is...now when its in there....ur first 3 fingers should be on top of the stick and just tap the stick with ur middle finger, and also use ur index and ring...but dont use the pinky...the pinky finger does no justice to speed..all u need really to produce a good amount of singles out of one hand is ur thumb, index, and middle...but of course the index and ring help out a lot because they help hold the stick and help it propel the stick even more thats why u need to build them up also....when i did this...within one day...i already saw speed gains ...im talking speed like buddy rich singles and EVEN the singles on the virgil video where he does the request of the guy asking for a single stroke roll

[someguy1919]

Hey guys,

Thanks a ton for all the input. It might be a little of everything. Icing does seem to work, but i've tried altering my technique a bit and moving my ride further forward. My ride was placed far enought that i've had to rotate my body quite a bit to get the bell (this is b/c there were other cymbals in the area b/w the floor tom and the mounted toms. I find moving it forward has helped my technique. I've also made every second 8th note a drop note kinda thing. This allows my wrist to loosen up quite a bit but maintains the speed...only problem is that you can hear that every second hit is lighter then the hit prior to it..but no biggie for shows. Anyway, combine all that wiht some icing and stretching before heavy playing, and it seems to be helping. Thanks so much for all your advice guys....now the band won't boot me out!! hahaha

[peter]

Now, this is the kind of thread that makes Virgil's
place a special place. Thanks, everyone!

:)

[Adam]

the excercise i've comed to realized to really build up my wrists and fingers are as followed

for wrists....hold the stick at the end with everyfinger and everything and hold it fairly tight with no looseness like u normally would...now just tap ur practice pad, knee, drum...w/e just tap it and move ur wrist up and down, THAT is the key, u can do it slowly at first and build up..so u dont over excert ur muscles and get them warmed up and get them USED to what ur doing, but DONT do n e moeller stuff, that down tap up stuff, thats a big no-no, and im sure of it..within just 10-20 seconds u'll start to really feel a burn in ur wrist and forearm..

I'm sorry, but you are a moron.

...but I'm still kind of hoping that you're joking

[dreamtheaterNut]

I'm sorry, but you are a moron.

...but I'm still kind of hoping that you're joking

no man, maybe i didnt explain it good enough, you just hold the stick tight with a lot of meat on it at the butt end of the stick and just move your wrist as if your waving your hand but dont move it in little motions...more like big motions and you will feel it in your fore-arm...i've seen this myself it helps tremendously on building fast rolls around your toms

[rare]

Try dipping your hands in boiling water until it really starts to burn to get warmed up for the gig. Be sure to grip the stick really tight when you're playing and try to poke yourself in the eyes with your drumsticks a few times cause this is where the real speed comes from. I played like 20-21 thousand singles in one minute this way. I'll post a video of my technique next tuesday.

[peter]

I guess I spoke too soon.

[rare]

Sorry, peter...I couldn't resist.

[KarnEvil]

Play it safe and dont play for awhile and if it still happens, see a doctor. better you lose a little practice than cause serious injury.

[peter]

There's nothing wrong, with a little fun, as long
as we laugh together.

;) :)