Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Jeff (geekmacdaddy) just mentioned HERE that he has upcoming hand surgery for carpal tunnel and trigger finger, and I have had trigger finger issues on and off over the past several years. Got a left hand ring finger that's getting worse and will need to decide pretty soon between a second cortisone injection (temporary solution) or getting it cut (permanent fix, but out of guitar-playing commission for a month or two).

So just curious how common hand problems are among you fellow guitar players? And do you consider such problems to be due to your playing or caused by something else? I'm older than the great majority of you, so I'm sure that's a factor, but I suspect that this stuff may be more common than I think...

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

Just a little arthritis here. Sore, stiff joints, especially if I haven't been using my hands much. Once I start playing, they usually loosen up enough that I don't notice any issue. Very grateful, as the arthritis in my back and other joints is much more... limiting

_________________

I've got a little arthritis in my pinkies. Nothing that inhibits my playing or soldering.

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Not quite what you are asking but at the beginning of the year I had real bad tendonitis, to the point where I couldn't play for more than a few minutes. My elbow was on fire for several weeks. It healed over a matter of months and I'm mostly back to normal although I cannot do heavy chunky rhythm playing for very long before it starts to flair up. I did use an compression support sleeve for a while and that helped a lot.

_________________
RIP madbean v.1

I've dealt with various repetitive stress hand injuries over my playing life. I spent over 30 years playing in Broadway pit orchestras. Theater work is the definition of repetitive. You play the same music 8 times a week sometimes for years. I've had tendinitis many times. It's really hard to recover when you have to work while healing. If you don't play you don't get paid.
The worst injury that I've suffered from is cubical tunnel. Cubical tunnel is essentially carpal tunnel but it affects the little and middle finger. I went through every type of non invasive therapies to try to heal, including, physical therapy,acupuncture,medication, chiropractic and even some dubious therapies such as energy therapy. I was desperate to return to normal function. Nothing helped.

Finally after years of wondering if I could play at the level needed to keep my job and career alive I opted for surgery with a world renowned hand surgeon. This was the worst choice I ever made. I was one of the small percentage of patients who had a bad outcome. The surgery helped me perfectly at first but In a month I started to feel tingling in my left hand fingers ( the surgical hand ). Scar tissue was encircling the ulnar nerve and I eventually lost full control over the same fingers that I hoped to fix. I have nerve damage that is irreversible.
This surgery and injury ended my career.
I was the rare patient who went into hand surgery and came out worse than before the procedure. I would have been better off never having surgery. The thing with surgery is you can't go back and surgeons are super confident in their abilities.
I don't mean to scare you but there is a risk, even if that risk is a small one.
I'm really sorry to read that you are dealing with a hand problem. I hope whatever choice you make helps you heal.

Wow, that's quite a story, banjo-guy. I'm so sorry to hear that your career ended in that way.

I've had psoriatic arthritis for over a decade. At its worst, it definitely made me wonder if I was going to lose the ability to play guitar (and saxophone, and volleyball, and…). I am grateful that right now, it is controlled by a very fancy, expensive medication. And that right now, that medication is covered by insurance. But I do have an appreciation for how fleeting many of life's joys can be.

All the best to everyone struggling with hand problems. It's no fun!

_________________
Scott

My band, Austin Hollow