Arthritis in the left hand

[KenL]

I started a similar thread several months ago. One of the respondents linked to an excellent video about hand massage/stretching. I started doing that and my hand pain was reduced by a large percentage.

Another thing that has helped is working on my hand strength. I used to be able to crush walnuts with my hands (okay, maybe a bit of hyperbole there, but I had really strong hands), but had lost some of that strength. So I bought a squeezy-thing made from some kind of gel and use that daily and it has helped quite a bit. Good for my BP too.

I tried to find that thread, but can't, sorry.

[Hurricane Ramon]

Originally Posted by FluffyDog6

Naproxen Sodium (generic name of Aleve) twice a day, even on days it doesn't hurt.
Supresses inflamation. The less it swells, the less it hurts.

I've also started falling asleep holding a rolled up pair of socks in my left hand, which puts my fingers in a neutral position at night, as I was finding myself waking up with a hard fist and painful fingers.

Worked for me in under a week -- from limited ability to fret and stretch to pain-free.

YMMV

Naproxen cause me severe side effects . I ended up with huge acne sores from that stuff . So huge one had to be removed surgically . It is a steroid based drug .

Go natural there are ways . Some of these are as old as recorded history or older .

EZ :

HR

[KenL]

Forgot to add that my last two guitar purchases have 1 3/4" and 1 13/16" nuts and big chunky necks (a Martin D-18VS and an Eastman E10P SB). I can play those all day with no problems. In fact, they seem to help ease the discomfort as they seem to stretch out my fingers.

[rmoretti49]

Originally Posted by GHS

When I found myself clenching my hands at night ( due to stress at work it turned out), I found an old lightweight motorcycling glove and duct taped one of those pink rubber balls into the palm. This kept me from clenching my hand in my sleep but was soft enough that I would not bruise or hurt the joints.

Originally Posted by KenL

Forgot to add that my last two guitar purchases have 1 3/4" and 1 13/16" nuts and big chunky necks (a Martin D-18VS and an Eastman E10P SB). I can play those all day with no problems. In fact, they seem to help ease the discomfort as they seem to stretch out my fingers.

Yes. When I start to experience pain while playing guitars with slimmer neck profiles, I switch to my Recording King RP-06, with its fat neck. I can continue playing without pain.

[manyguitars]

Originally Posted by dragon1952

I'm 56 and have the arthritis in the base of the left thumb. The 200mg Ibuprofen gel caps seem to work for me, but with bad flare-ups about all you can do is rest it until it goes away. You can play with more of a baseball grip to help ease the strain on it in the future. That can work for lots of chords. I've had cortisone shots in my shoulder before and it's no big deal.

I have the thumb arthritis also. On a bad day I can't play at all.
Cortisone helps but where's off; and many people believe it is
damaging. Nothing I know of consistentyly works. Next stop:
accupunture.

[Tony Done]

All I can offer with regard to arthritis is sympathy, but I'm wondering how many of you have contemplated a change of playing style to deal with it. I took up slide, and then lap steel, a long time ago, as this suited my genre interests. Maybe they would be an easier approach if you have limited mobility in your hands.

[johntrem]

I'm 65. Have had arthritis for more years than I care to remember. One thing I regret is having Basal Joint Arthroplasty (joint replacement) on my left hand. I've talked with others who had the procedure but didn't have my experience. A LOT of post surgical pain for a long, long time. Took a good two years or more before I was able to play near the level that I could pre-surgery. Also cannot bend the last joint of my left thumb back as I could prior to surgery, making barre chords more difficult to play. Was told recovery would take six weeks. Really wondered for a long time if I would ever be able to play again.

[Von Beerhofen]

I'm also 65 but app. 7 years ago I noticed joint inflammation in both hands in wintertime. That was after a hiatus of playing guitar for app. 5 years.
Inspite of the pain I picked up playing again, and it's fair to say I changed my diet too. No more alcohol, more vegetables and fruits, that was after reading that excersises might benefit me greatly. What better excersise then guitar playing when it comes to hand and fingers I thought, so I started training real hard. 4 hours a day wasn't an anomaly but I started slowly at first because I also had to adjust to a heavier string gauge, being an electrical player before.

I haven't had any symptoms of inflamed joints since the past three winters, so I'm sticking to what I think made all the difference, playing as much as possible. However since the weather may be of great influence too I can't say with 100 % certainty that it will remain like this, but I'm hopefull and having great fun for as long as it lasts. A note of warning, it may have been the weather over these past 3 years which did the trick and perhaps not my vigourous training, whatever caused it I'm a firm believer in excersises.

Hope you get it under control too and get to play a few more years, I know what it means to have to miss out on something in which so much time and energy was invested and what's always been a great companion in all possible situations.

All the best and get well soon,

Ludwig

[devellis]

Originally Posted by Hurricane Ramon

Naproxen cause me severe side effects . I ended up with huge acne sores from that stuff . So huge one had to be removed surgically . It is a steroid based drug .

Go natural there are ways . Some of these are as old as recorded history or older .

EZ :

HR

Although naproxen sodium can, indeed, have some nasty side-effects, it's not a steroid nor is it steroid-based. In fact, it's an alternative to steroids (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, or NSAID).

Natural remedies, like pharmacological ones, can be good or bad. The fact that they're natural and have been around a long time doesn't guarantee their safety or efficacy. In fact, the primary thing that differentiates natural from pharmacological treatments is that the former have not been formally assessed for efficacy and the bioavailability of the active ingredients are much more tightly controlled with pharmacological products. Some natural remedies may work really well for some people and not for others. Same with pharmacological remedies. I'm no fan of big pharma. But neither am I a fan of many of the companies that push so-called "natural" remedies. There's a history of skulduggery in both.

[waveform]

Tune down half step? Wouldnt that help??

[aknow]

Originally Posted by MJH

I am suffering with this right now myself with an extreme amount of pain in my left index finger. I have been taking an anti-inflammatory for quite awhile now, but nothing is helping right now. I literally cannot bend my finger to make a C, Dm, Am chord. I have recently been to a chiropractor who is going to treat the finger with ultrasound and manipulation. If that fails we are going to try accupuncture.

This is really breaking my heart that I can't play right now.

I hope you can figure something out for you. I'll let you know how my treatment works.

Ultrasound is almost worthless. Start taking essential fatty acids, esp. evening primrose oil, multiple times per day.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by devellis

Although naproxen sodium can, indeed, have some nasty side-effects, it's not a steroid nor is it steroid-based. In fact, it's an alternative to steroids (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, or NSAID).

Natural remedies, like pharmacological ones, can be good or bad. The fact that they're natural and have been around a long time doesn't guarantee their safety or efficacy. In fact, the primary thing that differentiates natural from pharmacological treatments is that the former have not been formally assessed for efficacy and the bioavailability of the active ingredients are much more tightly controlled with pharmacological products. Some natural remedies may work really well for some people and not for others. Same with pharmacological remedies. I'm no fan of big pharma. But neither am I a fan of many of the companies that push so-called "natural" remedies. There's a history of skulduggery in both.

Tightly controlled to control revenue. Natural remedies are safe. Medical treatments are dangerous. Not an opinion.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by exterra1

Basal is easy, start with cortisone, could last a year or more, if you need surgery they have a new method of fixing it and your back in action pain free in six weeks. I had the old method done on mine, took a year to recover. Then I had to have the index knuckle and middle finger knuckle's replaced with silicone ones, that pretty much killed off the guitar.

You should not be giving anyone advice about this. Maybe you should ask an attorney some advice for yourself.

[FrankHudson]

Another older guy here. I had issues, particularly with the left hand index. Fatter necks help a little. Wider necks help a little (my distal index joint is the worst, so wider lets me fret sloppier). Shorter scale helps a little (opens up some chord voicings I can't reach with more distance between frets) Higher frets help a little. Lower string tension helps a little. I'll take aspirin sometimes. Helps a little.

The stretching exercises recommended in arthritis threads here may be more than "helps a little." Since I often have to grab time to play quickly I've not gotten in the habit of using them regularly however. People who have longer playing sessions should try them.

Another thing that helps more than a little: exercise. I bicycle more or less daily. I feel better in general, but it's done much to reduce the joint issues.

Things that let me play when "helps a little" or "more than a little" isn't enough:

Open tunings. I'll choose tunings and voicings that either allow me to skip using the index or using the joint that hurts. A plain old cowboy C chord is impossible when the distal joint in my index is inflamed, so I'll tune CGDGBE for example and use voices that mostly skip the index finger and any need to bend that last joint sharply.

Slide. I've always told myself that'll be my out if things get worse.

Other instruments. I have two super-short scale (uke-scale) nylon string bass guitars. As long as I can flop my fingers down I can play them. Yes there are fingerings on bass that would call for left hand dexterity, but I can find things to play without them. Or I'll set up a sampled virtual instrument or synth patch on my computer and play a little plastic keyboard. I've even started fooling around with harmonica.

"Lead guitar." I'm no Django, but you can play a lot with just two fingers and unlike chord forms all the joints in the fingers aren't called upon to be flexible.