I know there’s a few other hypermobile folks on here so I was wondering if y’all might have any insight. Been playing for 18ish months now and in the last month or so I’ve started having a lot of soreness and growing hyperextension in my the top joint of my pinky and index fingers on my fretting hand. I play with a mix of one finger per fret and Simandl, lots of micro shifting and try to be conscious of minimum viable fretting pressure but this is an issue outside of bass playing as well.
Has anyone had any luck with stabilizing hypermobile fingers? I was leaning towards tape but wasn’t sure if there were better options folks used.
Unfortunately I have a genetic disorder that affects how my connective tissue heals so it’s unlikely this is a problem that is a rest and wait it out sort of thing.
Hey, EDS sufferer here. One thing I’ve learned about us hypermobile folk is that we’re all so unique with our own situations that sharing what works for you may not be appropriate for others.
Personally, my pinky also hyperextends in when fretting octaves and low-fret one-finger-per-fret positions, but I’m lucky in that it’s usually a ‘ugh, it happened again’ reaction than any long term soreness. How long do you play per session, and have you been practicing more demanding techniques lately?
I too mix up OFPF/Simandl as necessary. Between that and minimum viable pressure, it sounds like you’re doing pretty much everything you can from a bass-technique perspective - perhaps some strap raising/lowering? Could you elaborate what you mean when you say using tape? I assume wrapping the joint to prevent the inward flex you sometimes get with a hyperextension, but I just want to be sure.
Hi fellow EDSer! That’s what I’ve got too. Very very heard on no one-size-fits all solutions. I’ve done a quick drawing since I thought that might help clarify what I’ve got going on.
So the top shows how I was fretting with all my fingers. Keeping the top two finger joints relatively straight with the meaty part of the fingertip on the string. If I play more on my fingertips it will cause the middle joint to bend backwards. This has always worked fabulously.
About a month ago I started noticing that the fingertip joint on both my index and pinky fingers started bending backwards enough that the end of the bone was starting to hit the fretboard and causing pain. This happens when I do anything that puts pressure on the fingertips (such as typing).
I’ve been keeping a minimum 60-90 minute practice time including warmups, cool downs, and breaks 6 days a week since I started playing. I try to maintain a mix of different skills, difficulties, and easy wins. I play sitting down on a drum throne due to torn cartilage in from my hips subluxing (EDS is so much fun). I have two different long scale basses I swap between but I haven’t particularly noticed a difference in pain playing. I switched to 45-107 strings on my main bass this week, but might swap back to the 45-90 ones I had.
What I suspect is that the connective tissue on the front of the fingertips is the issue so I was mulling over the tape option just to give it extra stability.
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My fellow collagen-less friend! Woah, you just drew this? Nice! Could be a biology textbook technical diagram!
I see now. What you’ve drawn is actually pretty similar to what happens to me when I ‘finger roll’ with either my index or pinky, which led me to assume I’m doing it wrong when it could just be the best my anatomy can manage. Essentially, the joint ‘bends in’ exactly like your second image and while it isn’t painful, it definitely requires more force than it’s comfortable with applying for long periods (not unlike guitar barre chords). Until now I’ve assumed this to be a power-through-with-practice thing, but perhaps that’s not necessarily the case. I’ve seen multiple people do finger rolls and they seem to mimic that motion, fretting the higher-pitched string with roughly where your joint/bone is giving you grief.
I’d say try the tape! Perhaps it’s akin to a repetitive-stress injury and rather than getting stronger with that motion, it’s been grinding the joint over time. If that isn’t substantial enough, perhaps some sort of reinforced rubber cover, like a fingerless glove but just for the index to take the brunt of the fretting pressure, or make a bit of a barrier between flesh/bone and string.
I also use a drum chair when I’m not standing. I find I perch less on the edge than if I’m practicing on, say, and office-type swivel chair. Certainly back friendlier.
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oh huh you know, it probably was doing finger rolls that aggravated the joints. I’d been making a concerted effort to work on them with all of my fingers to build speed but since it’s only bothering two fingers it didn’t click that might be the issue.
I think you’re right that it’s repetitive stress rather than anything that can or should be powered through. But ya will definitely update to see if tape works.
Thanks for your help!
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Hahah, me too! I’m revisiting some of the finger roll stuff in B2B right now and while it isn’t hurting, doing them with octaves is resulting in some fierce ‘claw shapes’ with the index and pinky. May drop Josh a comment and see what he says.
Let me know how tape goes and if it improves or not. Genuinely interested to know and always great to talk to another hypermobile person determined to master something demanding of our dexterity!
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