Taking guitar for granted (and its implications)

[Slothead56]

I’ve been playing for almost 50 years…solo shows in college, Open Mics, weddings and funerals. Anywhere I could

I stopped performing out while I built a career and raised a family but I never quit playing and I never quit writing songs.

About 6 or 7 years ago I started playing out again on a limited basis.

So, it was with tremendous anticipation that, upon my retirement this Summer, I’d play more, play out more, write more, learn more and generally feed the musical beast that has been cloistered in me for several decades.

And then my hands quit on me.

Waiting to see what the diagnosis is but the sudden onset of painful joints and non flexibility- especially in my left index finger-makes playing impossible. I haven’t played in weeks. I can’t.

This isn’t about sympathy for me as much as it is a cautionary tale….don’t take this wonderful instrument-and all its ancillary appendages-for granted. Learn, practice, stretch, dare, achieve. Be impatient.

For me, I’m looking at other instruments and styles that put less emphasis on digit flexibility. Maybe bass, maybe piano, maybe Dobro…who knows.

(BTW-this is not my first post on the subject of my hands. But recent reflection has me looking back more than looking forward.)

[lowrider]

See a hand specialist. There are really good doctors out there who can help you.

I retired from working as a heavy construction carpenter foreman, 11 years ago because my hips had failed and my hands were failing. I had surgery right after and hand surgery a few years later after my left was failing.

About a year later I got a Yamaha guitar to use to strengthen the hand. I had another surgery on that hand this past April and it's now doing just fine.

Don't give up, there is someone out there who can help you, you just have to find them.

Good luck!

[buddyhu]

Indeed…don’t take anything for granted. Every moment of life is precious, and it is enough to simply be alive if we remember how precious and fleeting unpredictable this life really is.

Thanks for this thread, Slothead.

[stokes1971]

I know all too well what you are going thru.In 2013 I was involved in a motorcycle accident which left my left hand pretty mangled,2 surgeries and almost ten years later and although I am still trying to get it back together and play some at home I will never perform to an audience.So after over 50 yrs playing I'm back to being a bedroom guitarist.Such is life.

[The Bard Rocks]

I counted on my music and reading to see me through my old age. And failed to think about arthritis - until it appeared in my LH forefinger. No one in my family ever had arthritis so it was unexpected. No need for sympathy - I am dealing with it and still playing. But it taught me to take less for granted than I had.

If it's not causing a problem or we can ignore it, why worry about it? It's a common attitude. Health is something many of us take for granted - until it is jerked away from us. No one is exempt from unpleasant surprises.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Be proactive. I'm in PT for creaky shoulders and it does help.

[tbeltrans]

One alternative to consider is a guitar that is easier on the hands and fingers. Possibly consider a nylon string guitar, such as a crossover instrument that doesn't have such a wide nut.

For me, since I have been shifting my musical interest from fingerstyle on acoustic to chord melody, has been the archtop guitar. there is no reason that fingerstyle couldn't be played on these. For a wider string spacing, Eastman makes many of theirs with a 1 3/4" nut. The more modern versions of these play much like an electric guitar with very little resistance/tension of the strings.

As another poster mentioned, another consideration could be another instrument altogether. However, it would be a shame to put aside all that history we have built up with the guitar.

Before switching to an entirely new instrument, maybe some of these alternatives within the guitar realm could be worth exploring.

I purchased a digital piano some years ago in anticipation of aging hands problems as a possible alternative. Though I do enjoy playing it from time to time, the guitar is my first and foremost instrument. I suspect that many of us will find that to be true. Those of us who have a large number of guitar playing years behind us, have the memories, the muscle memory, and knowledge that we have built up over the years. All of that can be difficult to walk away from entirely.

I think the discussion and variety of ideas in this thread will be useful to those of us facing the ageing hands issues, so thanks to the OP for bringing it up.

Tony

[BoxCar_Joe]

I'm two years into retirement and my hands and shoulders are starting to seize up from arthritis.

It will be a problem in a few years I think, until then Play On!

Then I'll find some other obsession.

[Mr. Jelly]

I have been dealing with fret hand issues for some time now. I broke it once and I never have had long fingers or strong hands anyway. Now arthritis is creeping in. Slide guitar is in my future. And open tunings. My Waterloos are guitars I can play but the Martins are being sold off. They trash my hand.

When I retired, I thought I'd do a little traveling and camping but not long after I retired arthritis arrived in my back. I found that I can't sit in a car for hours. There are many, many things we take for granted.

[jeanray1113]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

I’ve been playing for almost 50 years…solo shows in college, Open Mics, weddings and funerals. Anywhere I could

I stopped performing out while I built a career and raised a family but I never quit playing and I never quit writing songs.

About 6 or 7 years ago I started playing out again on a limited basis.

So, it was with tremendous anticipation that, upon my retirement this Summer, I’d play more, play out more, write more, learn more and generally feed the musical beast that has been cloistered in me for several decades.

And then my hands quit on me.

Waiting to see what the diagnosis is but the sudden onset of painful joints and non flexibility- especially in my left index finger-makes playing impossible. I haven’t played in weeks. I can’t.

This isn’t about sympathy for me as much as it is a cautionary tale….don’t take this wonderful instrument-and all its ancillary appendages-for granted. Learn, practice, stretch, dare, achieve. Be impatient.

For me, I’m looking at other instruments and styles that put less emphasis on digit flexibility. Maybe bass, maybe piano, maybe Dobro…who knows.

(BTW-this is not my first post on the subject of my hands. But recent reflection has me looking back more than looking forward.)

This sounds so similar to what happened to me several years ago. Out of the blue, my fingers became painful and stiff. Worse in the morning, but never completely went away. Then it spread to my toes. My PCP referred me to a rheumatologist. I was really scared. I knew I was having classic symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. The rheamatologist said I had some, but not all, symptoms of RA. He sent me off to the lab where they took more blood than I’d ever had drawn before. And everything was normal. He said we’d have to wait and see. I might have normal bloodwork and still have RA, or it might be a virus that would go away. And that’s exactly what happened. About three months later, the pain and stiffness just went away. That was 9 years ago. It never came back. Apparently there are weird viruses out there that can cause such things. Hopefully this will be the case with you.

[tj_mangum]

As others have said, arthritis comes in many shapes and forms. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis, which is an auto immune disease, about 5 years ago. Seemed like every joint in my body ached. I had trouble standing, walking and was challenged to even open a water bottle.
I could barely hold a guitar and couldn't play any barre chords.
With the help of a good specialist and a number of different drugs and a lot of trial and error, I've found the right medicines and am probably at 95% of my old self.
There are solutions out there. Don't give up.

[DetroitDave]

Thanks for the stories, and keep them coming. They are inspiring.
I'm also getting to the age where "Arthur" is becoming a bad name.
For me, it's just in the knees so far.

[Methos1979]

I feel your pain - literally! Similar thing happened to me. We retired in December with the plan to start playing out (gigging) a whole lot more as our retirement 'side-hustle' to generate some spare cash and we did just that. Having a wide open schedule allowed us to start booking gigs at assisted living facilities in earnest. We were also practicing a whole lot more as we were learning more and more material for our shows. I started to feel a little soreness and stiffness in my hands and finger joints creep in.

Then in April we started on yet another long-delayed endeavour - working on our home making upgrades or just fixing all the things that I 'let go' for 30 years. Within a few weeks my hands were very sore and stiff and I started worrying about the longevity of playing. My mother has pretty bad arthritis so I worried it was the onset of that. But mostly it was just going from a relatively sedentary quality professional to a working-hard-with-your-hands person. Once the really tough-on-the-hands projects were finished things calmed down but not completely. I still have some finger joint stiffness and random pain - especially in my thumb-wrist joint areas - but I can still play.

Now I'm trying to just be cognizant of it and do lots of stretching of the hands and fingers and limit the 'abuse' to the hands. I've also gone to wearing gloves for almost any and all work because we typically have 2-3 gigs a week and I don't want to have to cancel any due to a cut or some other random accident that can be easily avoided. But I still worry about the stiffness and occasional numbness when playing. I figure once winter is here and things calm down a bit (both gigging and home projects) I'll have a chance to rest and recover more but I'm keeping an eye on things. Of all the hobbies I have, losing the ability to play guitar I think would be the one that is most devastating.

[Rolph]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

I’ve been playing for almost 50 years…solo shows in college, Open Mics, weddings and funerals. Anywhere I could

I stopped performing out while I built a career and raised a family but I never quit playing and I never quit writing songs.

About 6 or 7 years ago I started playing out again on a limited basis.

So, it was with tremendous anticipation that, upon my retirement this Summer, I’d play more, play out more, write more, learn more and generally feed the musical beast that has been cloistered in me for several decades.

And then my hands quit on me.

Waiting to see what the diagnosis is but the sudden onset of painful joints and non flexibility- especially in my left index finger-makes playing impossible. I haven’t played in weeks. I can’t.

This isn’t about sympathy for me as much as it is a cautionary tale….don’t take this wonderful instrument-and all its ancillary appendages-for granted. Learn, practice, stretch, dare, achieve. Be impatient.

For me, I’m looking at other instruments and styles that put less emphasis on digit flexibility. Maybe bass, maybe piano, maybe Dobro…who knows.

(BTW-this is not my first post on the subject of my hands. But recent reflection has me looking back more than looking forward.)

I've been a chiropractor/kinesiologist for 40 years. Hobbies have always been golf and guitar, going on 60 years. I've treated hundreds of different hand/wrist/ finger syndromes. Then in late 2020 I got Covid, and ONE of the symptoms was extreme finger stiffness, swelling, joint locking, and the symptoms of cervical spinal radiculopathy, (intense pain, paresthesias, traveling down from shoulder to right hand/arm)............There was no trauma to my neck, upper back, nor injury at this time. For a complete week it was the challenge of the day to find a position where I could get comfortable, and try to sleep. I've been studying nutritional science since 1969, and prescribing herbs, vitamins, other supplements to patients for all these years, with mostly positive results.

I started taking Evening Primrose Oil (only), and by the 2nd day, my fingers stopped locking, and I could actually elevate my Rt. shoulder/arm smoothly. Over the course of about 10 days, all of these symptoms went away, especially the inflammation/stiffness in my right fingers. Good luck.

[Sadie-f]

If your diagnosis has anything to do with osteoarthritis, I might have some help for you. Feel free to PM