yea all you need to do is stretch your hand when your done a little because it un tenses your fingers

Had a similar problem, Ricochet, but it was my index finger, not my thumb... And it was the second joint instead of the first. And it hurt like hell to play, while yours doesn't. Come to think of it, it's not similar at all! Mine lasted 5 years though...

There's not a lot of stuff that can go wrong playing guitar. Those that usually end up with a wrist problem are those who don't move all that much when they play. (Kind of like typing on a keyboard... There's lots of finger movement, but if you keep your wrists positioned the same way all the time, carpel tunnel is possibly on it's way.)

I've played for about 40 years now and have never noticed any discomfort "caused" by playing. I've had discomfort as a result of playing, (what I think you might be experiencing.) My finger injury was not caused by playing guitar, but I was stupid and let it cost me about 5 years of playing time because it hurt so damned much to play. (I play 12's and couldn't get the necessary pressure without my finger feeling like someone was sticking a knife in it.) Funny thing is, when I finally decided I wasn't going to let it stop me from playing, after about a month of intense practice, (and a LOT of Advil,) to regain my skills, the damned thing stopped hurting!!! I've never had it return and everything is just fine.

I also had similar problems. The muscles in my thumb tore a little I think and the swelling cut off the circulation to my thumb and fore finger a bit. I found out that regular amounts of lemon juice,or cayanne pepper, helps with finger joints and swelling.

When I play guitar for long hours with relentless string-bending for a few days in a row, my ring finger starts feeling stiff and moves in a popping manner but without sound and usually no pain.

My "technique" doesn't involve much thumb strength or tight wrist angles so I haven't had wrist or thumb pains yet.

which hand is the pain in, the fret hand or the picking hand. if its the fret hand your prolly gripping the neck to hard, i usedd to have the same problem try to relax the grip a bit.

It's the fret hand. I've never had this pain before. I have been playing alot lately though. Probably spending about 2 hrs per day easy (more when I can).

This pain is not a show stopper so I'll keep playing. I'll loosen the grip on the neck (I agree your assessment). I only mentioned this pain because you never know when some old timer will spit out a magic cure that works like a charm. I didn't try the lemon juice or cayenne pepper. Might even squirt some WD-40 on there. Haha..

Thanks for the advice.