Old beginner

Hey all

First time post here so please forgive me if it has already been discussed. I have been playing guitar VERY casusally for the last 9 years and have decided now to do more than mimic the songs of my favourite bands and decided to actually learn to play in all aspects that I possibly can. I will post more questions as I progress with my new learnings.

My first question and the one that has bothered me this entire time is this: while making barre chords for a prolonged period of time, I get a very terrible cramp in the muscle right under my thumb. Now I have been experiencing this the entire 9 years that I have played and nothing seems to aleviate the pain. Different positions, different little hand exercises and none seem to help. I have no trouble in the least in making barre chords as I have had plenty of practice doing so. So I am wondering if it will ever be something I can correct or should I just try playing through the pain?

Thanks

To be honest, I've never found barre chords that comfy to play - you are essentially using your thumb to hold your entire hand against the fretboard, which can't be good for it. Other than learning the chord with a different fingering, (trust me, off the top of my head I can think of 7 other ways to play a major chord without using barres) all you can really do is just play through the pain like you said, and hope that maybe with enough practice the pain will ease.

Afro