guitars

In my opinion this sounds like normal discomfort when starting to learn.

I've found some good hand stretching exercises on YouTube, I'd suggest to stretch/massage your hands/wrist/fingers a couple times a day and really take your time and use good form when practicing. https://youtu.be/TSrfB7JIzxY?si=ZN6NSRwNqWqNRNC4

Justin, from Justin guitar, (definitely check him out if you haven't already) recently did a series of videos where he taught himself to play left handed. One of his main take aways that stood out to him was the pain you go through when first learning. So don't be discouraged it's a normal part of learning, just make sure your using the best form you can manage.

Be kind to yourself and remember this is a lifetime journey, not a sprint to a finish line. Practice at least a little everyday and focus on building a solid foundation that you can expand on the rest of your life!

Cheers and good luck!

I have smaller hands as well and I've only been playing about a year, I will tell you what I'm doing/have done to help with that:

• For me, holding the guitar in almost a "classical position" (roughly a 45 degree position) helps a lot. It gets my wrist and palm at a better angle and helps with any pain while also giving my fingers the best possible reach. Experiment with positions to help you get your hands and the guitar as comfortable as possible to avoid wrist strain. A strap or a small cushion while sitting can also help you keep a position of choice when you play.
• I bought a guitar with a "Thin C shape" neck and that helps my playing a lot too. it allows my palm to sit a little flatter on the neck which in turns gives my fingers a little more reach, which deifnitely helps as you find your way through practicing. I can still use other guitars with a thicker neck, I have an Epiphone as well with a "50's D shape" neck, but as I learn new things to do on the guitar I almost always start something new with one of my thinner C shape neck instruments to align closer to my preferred posture before moving to another neck type.
• Part of it really is just practice and time to get used to what you should be doing while playing to avoid any wrist strain. As you practice more you'll realized what works and doesn't work for your anatomy. Definitely anything you can do to avoid what feels like strain is important as well, I got a little overzealous recently with my hurt my wrist some due to bad posture and I should have been more attentive to the position I was holding the instrument in.

I hope this helps you, best of luck on your guitar journey. It can definitely feel like a struggle sometimes, even just figuring out how to properly hold a guitar took me a while and I'm still learning what's best for my physiology. It's been a wonderful year for me of learning, I personally learn pretty slowly but I'm enjoying myself so much.