About 2-3 weeks ago I was having my PE class and tried to catch a ball with my left hand and unfortunately it hit my pinky and I think I sprained it. The problem is it's still there and when I apply pressure I can feel a little pain in it, and when I bend it a certain way it hurts a little more. It doesnt hurt very much at all when playing but its more appearing when I do bends with my pinky.

Should I lay my playing on ice for a while? All help appreciated, I don't want to lose the ability to play guitar .

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Just give it time to heal, do some slower legato and don't put too much strain on it, because you don't use the pinky in everyday life as much, it'll take longer to heal than the other fingers would

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Happened to me to while playing basketball. Try to do some stretching but don't overwork it. The pain should go away in maxium one month. If the pain is to great go see a doctor as quickly as possible.

take a mini break from guitar, about a few days(3-5). give your whole palm a massage at least 2 times a day (night and morning). when ur hand heals you should do this before playing guitar, to get the blood pumping in ur hand/fingers.

Put Aloe on it.


j/k

Seriously, I'd take a slight break and give it time to come back norm.
I however never could jam well with my pinky anyway...and am jealous of those of you that can.

Same shit happened to me too before, now I refuse to play pretty much any sports....because that was a terrible way to play guitar for 2-3 weeks...just take it eassy for a little while till the pain goes away.

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all i know from spraining things is, use it a little but dont overdo it

so play guitar in a way so it doesnt hurt, moving it will let the muscles heal.

atleast thats what the docter always sayd to me when i sprained my ankels at skateboarding

anyway feel sry for u man, hope it gets better soon

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while you use it keep it warm and when you're not ice it. it'll speed things up.

Get it X-Rayed.

I once chipped the knuckle on my pinky when I was in school. I got some heavy pain when I did it, but I just assumed it was a bad strain. I didn't find out it was a break until a year or so later when I was still having problems with it. The doctor said it was too late to put the bone back together, because it might cause arthritis or something. He also said I might get some arthritis in it later in life. I don't have any problems using it when playing guitar though (yet).

So get it checked out.

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You only ice it directly after it gets damaged. You can apply a heat pack now and then to help it heal.

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This seems to be very common. The same exact shit happened to me playing basketball in the 8th grade. It took a couple months to get back to normal. Lay off it for a while.

dont play much until it heals

Stretch it out, massage it and sh*t. Lay off it till it stops hurting. Good Luck

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when i jacked up my ankles and knee in football that's what i was told to do but it should heal ok on its own without needing any of that.

That Blue emu cream. . . massages. . . ice packs. . . .and ummm a wrist brace anytime you are are not playing guitar. . . I do that in case anything gets fucked up and I don't feel the pain yet. . . That way it will heal before you have to feel the pain. . . oh and did I mention any type of whiskey. . . Jack Daniel's, Crown Royal. . . if you have to go cheap you are an alcoholic. . . but then again Rum and Coke is a good thing too. . . Just take it easy on your poor wrist unless you have a third arm or perhaps are ambidextrious(Damn you Michael Angelo Batio)

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Oops so definitely the wrong problem. . . Well in that case I would just take it easy and same goes for alcohol. . . same for blue emu. . . Maybe not the wrist brace. . . I just do that because I have a phobia. . . . And I've fucked my wrist up before and well it kinda hurt and my mates got pissed. . . other than that if you don't use a finger such as your ring finger behind your pinky to do bends it's a good idea to start doing that. . . peace and once again sorry for the misunderstanding on my behalf(as usual)

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This should help.

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Thanks for everyones help, I tried sqol's slow legato thing and it helped a little and I played some slow shit too, plus the massage stuff. It feels better already but I won't start playing any harder shit until it feels ALL GOOD.