: Wrist pain from drumming? I've recently started using gig grips on my drum sticks and I really like them but recently I've noticed a sharp pain in my wrist when playing the hi hat. Does anybody get this and what can I do

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

If that issue still persists I'd highly recommend consulting a doctor.

If you experience a direct connection between the pain and the gig grips get rid of them.

I once had a tendovaginitis, an inflammation of the tendon of my wrist/lower arm (sorry, I'm not sure about the correct english term for it).

I assume root cause was my bureau job (laying the wrists on the hard table for 8+ hours each day).
The actual cause was me overworking my wrists/arms through 2 times 5 hour band practice, setting up/carrying speakers etc for a gig and giging 4 hours and of cause carrying all our stuff back to our room - all that on one weekend.

I took a week off from work and two weeks off the drumset and applied some cooling to my wrists. Since that I use a large soft mousepad on the desk to lay my wrists on. The problem is gone for now.

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

A common mistake drummers can make with their grip is holding the stick too tightly. This causes the more of the energy of the stroke to be dispersed into your hand, rather than the drum and the stick itself.

Take a stick in the hand that's causing pain and hit the palm of your other hand with it. Listen for a "note" produced by the stick. If you can hear it, the grip is not the problem, but if you can't, then you need to loosen up your grip.

If you want more detail and demonstrations on technique like this, I highly recommend Jojo Mayer's "Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer" (1, not 2) video.