Melissa, are you playing with a flat pick? I read a book by a doctor about repetitive stress injury, and he specifically mentioned flat picks as a source of hand injury.

I haven't read anything about this, but I wonder. Sometimes I see a person playing a guitar (or similar)with the pinky anchored to its top. I tried that for about three seconds, and it made my hand so tense and uncomfortable that I vowed never to do it again.

I wonder if people who do that wind up with hand troubles after a while.