I'm very new to biking myself and posted about pain issues a while back. Mine probably stemmed more from nervousness than anything else. I was all set to buy gloves or go back to the LBS if that didn't work. A couple of weeks after riding I discovered that my hands didn't hurt at all. Rather like magic. I was thrilled!!! I would definitely say that I relaxed my grip and shifted my fingers around (sometimes holding my fingers on top of the breaks, then back onto the handlebars. I would also move my thumb up to the handlebar with the rest of my fingers, not underneath by itself. Best wishes with this!!