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Polls can't be created in Tech Room, but here are some contributing factors I can come up with:

-string gauge relative to tuning, 'slinkiness'
-scale length
-action
-neck/nut width
-neck profile
-fretboard radius

Maybe others. Fretting hand pain for sure but strumming arm pain/fatigue can be a thing too. Technique and Playing Style are pretty obvious but a lot to ask of someone to change unless it's a last resort. I've been playing a lot more acoustic recently and along with that comes persistent forearm pain. Stretch, hydrate, heat/cold pads yes, but it doesn't seem to be enough. I relented last night by dropping a OOO guitar tuning half a step, and despite being objectively worse sustain and intonation wise, it sure felt better. Kind of neat in a janky lo-fi way too, though usually not something I aim for.

I assumed 'baseball bat' necks were not for me, but then played a friend's nitro finished Strat with that profile and it felt great. He claims that your hands work less if there's less gripping onto the neck involved. He also had super light strings (9s?) and low action so maybe that's what did it.

Would like to hear others thoughts before I start playing slide guitar into a shoegaze pedal board

I've had a fair array of wrist/elbow issues, none of which were caused by playing, I think, but some of which were aggravated by it and/or made it painful, difficult and joyless.

Most of these pains I've only had once. I've found that a single visit to a decent physio, and then following the very specific stretches he shows me, work wonders. I've also found that doing the wrong stretches, or even the right ones in a sloppy way, can make things worse. Also don't let a pain just get worse in the hope that it will go away. At the very least, change something.

I've also been amazed by how arm and wrist stuff can benefit from making sure you walk (unencumbered) a fair distance every day. And if you have to be encumbered, and it's heavy, go backpack rather than single strap.

I haven't been playing very regularly for the last decade, but every time I do, my fretting fore-finger gets pretty sore near the base-knuckle. I do a lot of power/bar chord stuff (standard tuning) and tend to move around the fretboard fast, and I think that quick gripping is the culprit there. I play with 10s on what I assume are middle-of the road necks, 11's on a few. I don't really notice one guitar or another being more or less comfortable per-se, but after playing for a bit, that finger gets tired, and then gets slow for "shredding" (see: pentatonic noodling).

Fretting hand wrist gets weird sometimes, but I've found this just means my strap is adjusted too low. Easy fix.

Strap shoulder gets sore with a heavy guitar after a while, though I think this is just aggrevating other unrelated shoulder issues.

Strumming hand is usually fine, but I've been known to rub my wrist raw on an un-contoured body edge.

I don’t play guitar as regularly as I used to, but for me, the three things I notice most are:

- Wrist pain in fretting hand
- Sore/torn up fingertips of fretting hand
- Sore index finger of strumming hand (from inadvertently hitting the strings while strumming)

All of these are likely attributable to poor technique on my part.

Would be interested in hearing what other folks who play bass guitar do to alleviate ripping their fingers to shreds when plucking with their fingers, but that’s for another thread.

thecr4ne wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:06 pm Fretting hand wrist gets weird sometimes, but I've found this just means my strap is adjusted too low. Easy fix.

Player Position is another thing I should've listed. I'm generally good about that when playing 'for real', but have to resist slouching back and noodling while watching TV as I know those angles are doing extra damage.

penningtron wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:20 pm Player Position is another thing I should've listed. I'm generally good about that when playing 'for real', but have to resist slouching back and noodling while watching TV as I know those angles are doing extra damage.

I hate playing sitting down. Cannot find a comfortable/functional position.

Probably all technique, and I just do vocals these days, but:

actual finger pain = bass
wrist pain = "C" neck shape guitar

The latter could be alleviated somewhat by moving my thumb to the side of the neck instead of the back.

The bass pain was never really persistent, even when I was playing bass fairly frequently. More at the end of band practice than any other time.

penningtron wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:20 pm have to resist slouching back and noodling while watching TV as I know those angles are doing extra damage.

Yeah. Everyone: DON'T DO THIS. I know it's easy and tempting. Please don't. It's a great way to totally fuck up your fretting hand thumb. Speaking from experience. Don't be a dumbass like me. Your mom was right: sit up straight. If being browbeaten by me isn't enough to motivate you, I will post a video of the much-hated Polyphia dudes playing guitars while seated in stupid positions, and you don't want to be like THEM do you?

Likewise/conversely don't get stuck in the classic guitar player forward slouch either, this is terrible for your shoulders, and it will eventually manifest in your hands. This position is impossible to not sink into from time to time, just learn to be conscious of it so you can straighten yourself out fairly quickly and not sit there for hours like that, cause that will ruin you. Again, speaking from experience.

All that posture stuff is important everywhere else too, if you have perfect posture when playing guitar but spend 8 hours a day hunched over your desk and 2 hours a night slouching playing video games...well....

Playing standing up solves a lot of problems all at once, unless you're strapping on an 11lb Les Paul or something.

penningtron wrote:persistent forearm pain

If it's persistent you really should lay off the acoustic for a bit, take a week or two off and let your shit heal.

Playing guitar isn't digging ditches, you shouldn't have ANY pain at all. Stretching really helps a ton, I stretch throughout the day and do a whole batch of them after any serious playing time.

If you can afford to see a massage therapist once a month, that really helps keep your shit working right. I've been seeing mine regularly for a couple years now, she's made a huge difference for me. When I started seeing her my hands were completely fucked, I never stretched and had decades of bad posture to undo. I was seriously looking at a slide guitar into shoegaze pedalboard future. Not kidding. I said almost exactly that to her. Between seeing her, being conscious of my posture, and stretching regularly, now I'm fine, I can play as much as I want no problem.

All the stuff you listed I think of as just more/less comfortable, not pain-inducing. Thick necks are tough for me, but I have small hands and play with my thumb on the back of the neck a lot. Super thin, Ibanez-style necks aren't comfortable either. Fretboard radius....eh....I don't feel like there's all that much difference between good old Fender 9.5" and modern shredder 12'-16" compound, I'm fine with either. Heavier strings and higher action will obviously make it tougher to play, but again, these things shouldn't actually be causing any pain.

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:

penningtron wrote:persistent forearm pain

If it's persistent you really should lay off the acoustic for a bit, take a week or two off and let your shit heal.

Yeah it's frustrating but you're right. I think when I do get back to it I'm going to force myself to try a classical position. It feels weird: certainly doesn't make one want to 'rock out', but hand squeezes feel pretty effortless when the arm is straight vs. wrapping under the neck. I do think some of those things I listed are contributing (particularly the high action on one guitar I don't want to admit is a bad fit) but posture first.

MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:14 am Fretboard radius....eh....I don't feel like there's all that much difference between good old Fender 9.5" and modern shredder 12'-16" compound, I'm fine with either.

Yeah, most of those are fine, but barre chords on a neck with little to no radius are tough.

Yeah I have one that's straight 16", it's great fun to bop around on, but not so much for chords.

penningtron wrote:one guitar I don't want to admit is a bad fit

I sold some guitars I'd rather have kept, but I came to realize I basically have to have a forearm contour, I can't comfortably play guitars without them for very long. Which is a bummer cause it rules out a lot of cool guitars, but...there's worse problems.