Arthritis in the left hand

[flaggerphil]

I have arthritis in both hands and my left wrist (also in a lot of other places but I digress...). When it's too bad I don't play. If it's not too bad I play. I've found ibuprofen helps quite a bit but I do take something stronger if needed.

It's slowed me down but it hasn't stopped me.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

based on the type of music you enjoy playing, you might check into dropped tunings like DADGAD that sound great and do not require multiple finger chords to sound fantastic.

plus the string tension is less due to the dropped tunings themselves and you can have your action very low with a well built instrument.

you can play some extremely interesting songs with single finger notes in DADGAD.

Laurence Juber has a DADGAD DVD that shows all this and is easy to pick up.
http://www.acousticmusicresource.com...oducts_id=5434
Martin Simpson likewise has a nice set of dropped tuning DVD's.
http://www.homespuntapes.com/Instruc...gs-demystified


d

My heart goes out to all of you. I'm 60 and have been playing for about 40 years. I have some vague discomfort in my left hand and wrist, but nothing like what is being reported here.

I, too, would suggest open tunings to those suffering.

[Gasworker]

I had self diagnosed arthritis in both hands. My thumbs, index and middle fingers. I took lots of Aleeve it seemed to help. I finally went the doctor and he ordered EMG test and it turns out I have carpal tunnel not arthritis. I wear splints at night and it helps a lot. If in 3 months there is not more improvement they will do surgery if I want. Seems a little more hopeful than arthritis.

[KY000]

The osteoarthritis in my basal thumb joints was so bad I had to quit playing 15 years. The pain kept getting worse. About six years ago I talked to a hand surgeon. He said the joints were so bad I'd never have relief from the pain without removing them. He gave me a couple surgical options. The one I chose was to have joints removed, then have a titanium plate and six screws added in each hand to fuse the joint.

For me this was the right move. It's important to get a GOOD surgeon if you go this route. I have a couple co-workers that had their joints removed and both of them ended with a one crooked finger and one numb finger. Not good if you're a guitar player.

[softballbryan]

I am 42 years old and I have noticed if I get outside of the classical guitar position I generally begin dealing with pain in the hand. Also I am gravitating more and more to nylon guitars because they are so much easier on my hands.

Maybe this can help you as well....

Bryan

[Dotneck]

Another guy fighting the arthritis. Both hands. What I really hate is shaking hands with one of those guys with the intense vice grip. Pain for days...

[exterra1]

I'm about to turn 68, started playing 15 months ago, had basal joint surgery 14 months ago, I had been taking cortisone shots every 6 months for three years, until they were no help. I had the surgery done, they did not remove the joint, they took 4" of ligament from my left wrist, removed the "discs" from the joint and wrapped the joint with the ligament. I've never been in so much pain in my life, at least not that I can remember. I thought it would never end, but it finally did, it took a year to heal, and I never stopped learning guitar. Today it feels pretty good, I do have arthritis in the index joint and they shoot that up every 3-4 months and tell me they'll do it as long as it works, then my musical career is over, so the Dr thinks. That'll never happen! Guitar has brought something into my life that I was missing, and I enjoy more than any other hobby I've ever got involved with, as a matter of fact, it's no longer a hobby, it's part of my life, same as walking!

[chance4100]

Does playing speed up the advance of arthritis? I have been able to manage my sore thumb joints by taking frequent practice breaks but wonder about the long term effects of playing several hours each day. Would reducing my time playing now extend the the number of years I am able to play?

[Glennwillow]

Here is a related thread in the OPEN MIC section: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=358712

This is part of what I posted about my own experience on the above thread:

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

...I am age 66 and can still play the guitar in spite of worsening osteoarthritis. I noticed the problem starting to show up in my finger joints at about age 40, but the first indication of this trouble was my right index finger starting to go crooked, I believe from the effects of tightening and loosening hex nuts and bolts. In those days I was doing a lot of mechanical repair on machinery. For guitar playing I was wearing plastic finger picks in those days and had to stop and go to bare fingers/fingernails at about age 40 because the crooked finger joint hurt so much when using finger picks.

I pointed out my crooked finger joint to my dad who then showed me how mangled his finger joints were. He was 26 years older than me, so when I was at age 40, he was the same age I am now. My point is that often osteoarthritis is inherited and it also tends to get worse with age and repeated trauma on the joint, so you might check with your parents to see what kind of issues they are having.

... I have to be VERY careful how I play to avoid further injury to my finger joints. Every day that I can continue to play is a gift, so I am very aware of how close to the limit that I am. The lowest joint on my left hand little finger right now hurts constantly, and I use that finger a lot when playing the fingerstyle music that I've been playing a lot over the last 8-10 years or so. Reducing the moment (force x distance) on that joint makes a lot of difference in reducing the pain during playing, so I have been working on repositioning my hand to reduce the moment on my left, little finger joint.
...

Let me add that I do use, on occasion, Voltaren Gel, a topical NSAID. There are times when this gel has been helpful to me, as well. This stuff can cause stomach upsets for some people, but for those suffering from OA, it can be helpful.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a much more serious malady and very little of my experience is applicable to that.

- Glenn

[sublro]

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

Careful,i've been told by my docs that NSAIDS every day is not advisable. Nothing is a free ride

[Zegie]

For what it's worth my two pennyworth.

1. Get an easy to play guitar with the lowest action possible.

2. Consider playing bottom three string chords. A la

http://youtu.be/rCkUFuuopA0

3. And a tip from an old pro. - Place your fretting hand in an ice bucket before playing.

4. Don't worry. Les Paul played shows with awful arthritis until he died.

Good luck.

[Von Beerhofen]

I've picked up playing guitar again after a long term absence and noticed the first signs of arthritis. Reading about the subject and how one can benefit from staying active I restarted practising guitar with even more vigour.
I've noticed an improvement after 6 months of playing and now almost 4 years later the signs have almost completely disappeared.

Ofcourse I'm very carefull not to start the inflammatory process by overdoing things but I've gradually increased my practise time to how it was before I stopped playing. At this point I see no reason to take any drugs and I'll wait with that untill I can't live without.

One concern I have relating to the use of drugs is that they might suppress the pain response needed to recognise trouble, and therefore causing more problems in the long term. It's probably healthier to recognise the signs of inflammation and take adequate precautions, if necessary a long break from playing (no matter how hard).

I must also mention that at a very young age I already suffered from a mysteriously inflamed pinky joint. I can't remember if this could have been because of guitar playing at the time, it's just too long ago but it wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption. A satisfactory cure was never found and the problem remained a mystery. It disappeared as mysteriously as it had come, all by itself.

It's just too easy to mistake inflammatory processes as being arthritic when caused by over practising, perhaps my more recent signs were not really indications of arthritis. Just a word of caution without drawing the expertise of Phd's in doubt, they should know best.

Good luck to all with this annoying problem, I hope you'll find some way to enjoy playing a bit longer.

Ludwig

[manyguitars]

re: osteoarthritis and ice bucket???
I am 63 and have played guitar since I was 8; 20+
yrs full-time. I now have arthritis in my left hand,
mostly in the thumb area. I have had cortizone shots
but they wear out; plus some people believe they are
harmful. I am considering acupunture. Anyone with
similar experience please advise. Thank you.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Many, make sure it is properly diagnosed. Mine turned out to be tendonitis (same as tennis elbow) any my OT daughter bought a glove for me and it was completely gone in a month.

I'm sure you have a proper diagnosis. Just want to make sure.

best of luck,
scott

[baimo]

Originally Posted by JayMack

I've been checking out AGF for a while now and there seem to be quite a few 40+ and 50+ players in the forum and I'm betting that a number of you deal with arthritis in the hands. I'm 48 and picked up guitar over a year ago after laying down my woodwinds years ago. I've had the beginnings of basal thumb arthritis for a couple of years now (pain where the base of the thumb joins the wrist) and a little in the left pinkie. Ibuprofen and the occasional wearing of a splint to restrain thumb movement have helped with flareups, but I'm into a longer period of pain in my left hand that's a real drag.

I try to play every day, but this has slowed me down. I try to keep as light a touch on the neck as I can, but just positioning creates random spikes of pain and I'm generally more sore after practicing. I'm typing with a splint on right now. If I can't get this bout under control, I may consider a cortisone shot, but my wife says they are VERY painful, which is a little scary in itself.

What do you do about your arthritis?

Jay

Just a thought. After playing most of my 63 years of life, I had pain problems with my left hand or actually my wrist. I dont know what type of guitar you play but I found that changing my guitar to a more comfortable neck shape has fixed most of my problems. I do have to play with a wrist wrap but I dont mind as it allows me to play almost pain free