Hey guys,

I recently have been trying out different products in order to help my fretting hand/arm recover after intense practicing...out of the many things I have tried, THREE things have been working FOR ME.

They are:

1) Arnica Gel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z5OHOK/ref=oss_product

2) Gyro Wrist/Hand exerciser
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LPG5US/ref=oss_product

3) Weleda Arnica Massage oil
http://www.amazon.com/Weleda-Arnica-Mass...81926637&sr=8-1


Now keep in mind that they have been working for me, I don't know if they'll help you out, BUT I'm just letting you guys know what has been helping ME, if any of these works for you Great!

I usually use the Arnica Gel once a day, right before bed, sometimes 2x a day(when my hand was really killing me), morning and evening, and maybe a third time before a long practice session... I'm not kidding, I don't know how I'd be able to practice for more than 2 hours without this, it really helps me not feel any pain, and if I do get sore, it helps sooth and recover, so that almost always the next day, it's fine. I HIGHLY recommend this.

The Gyro has also been a big help in building up those little wrist/hand muscles, the first time I used it, I felt the Burn, and this was even when I was spending 20min on trills, so it definitely helps strengthen all the muscles in your hand and is a GREAT little tool to have, I'm trying to set up a little routine with it, but right now, I'm just using it whenever I have free time, no more than 1 min each time...

The Weleda Massage oil, is last on the list because all it does is help sooth those aching muscles, after a long day practicing/playing. I don't really use it that often maybe once a week, if my hands are really aching.

Hopefully, you can benefit from something here, these things have been helping me, especially the first two on the list.

Also, I'm curious to see if you guys use any things to help pain and recover, etc...

Hi, I had the same problem. My fretting hand was fine but my arm, shoulders and neck would get really sore after about 3 hours of practice. Nowadays during practice when I sense a little too much tension I just take a little break do some stretching etc. My current problem is that my picking hand/arm gets burnt out rather quickly after some fast picking. PBs scalpel/sarod picking seems to help but my speed is still not quite where I want it to be.

Guys I recommend Glucosamine Chrondroitin... you can get it at wal-mart and it's fairly cheap. It's a natural supplement and in a
couple of days all of my hand and wrist pains were gone (no need to take a break). As far as the picking goes you've gotta follow
some sort of practice routine. There's nothing wrong with PB's picking exercises and they're very effective... Try to play them in
time for intervals of 1 - 5 minutes a day and eventually you'll be able to play as fast as you can for as long as you want.

Pebber, what does MSM stand for?

And is this what we should get, Or something else?

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Millers-Joint-R...82165195&sr=8-1

I usually go back to warm/hot water and rubbing out my hands and fingers....

That seems to work pretty good....I havnt tried any of the products mentioned..but I will definitely try them.

peharps you should try sweeping picking, aint nothing fter than that... thats what hevy metal guy use. chck_out on youtube sweeping vs any kind of picking. let me know what u think.
regards.