Hand health, stretching etc.

[Jimi2]

I’ve become serious about fingerstyle in middle age after playing casually for a long time, but also work with my hands and have had a few (thankfully minor) injuries. Some clicking finger joints and a little pain now and then, but I’m always worried about arthritis or other problems setting in down the road. What if anything do you guys do to maintain aging hands? I’ve never bothered stretching my hands/fingers but I’m wondering if I should add that to my regimen. What about supplements or other measures to stave off arthritis?

[Fro]

I found these.

https://youtu.be/TSrfB7JIzxY

I need to get started on them myself.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by Fro

I found these.



I need to get started on them myself.

Yep...I’ve been doing a version of these twice daily for six years. I’m turning 69 in a couple of weeks and have never had hand problems.

[Bosley]

For what it's worth, I'm 29 and about 4 weeks ago somehow messed up my fretting hand from the thumb all the way down to my elbow. Haven't been able to play since. Guess this is called "guitar elbow", which I didn't even know was a thing. So once (I hope not "if") I get back to being able to play, I will definitely be stretching both my arms, wrists, fingers, etc before practice sessions.

[SprintBob]

An unequivocable YES to being proactive on hand stretching and exercising to not only make your playing better and more enjoyable but also for injury prevention.

I'll share my brief story. I started playing just over 7 years ago at age 54. Loved it so much that within the first 18 months, I had a somewhat painful experience with DeQuervain's Syndrome in my left wrist which thankfully was handled with a single Cortisone shot. Fast forward to mid summer last year and I started getting what I thought were mild symptoms of the same again but not nearly as painful. I plodded along with it until about 2 months ago and decided to go see a hand doctor thinking another Cortisone shot would knock it out. Turns out that DeQuervain's Syndrome can have similar symptoms to thumb arthritis and that is what I have even though it is early onset. The hand doctor sent me to a hand therapist and I still have full range of motion and pretty much normal grip strength so we caught it early. But, it will not improve with time and I can only hope to maintain what I have. There are very successful surgeries to address this if it worsens to where you can't tolerate the pain (check out the latest issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine for a case history of a much worse case than mine) but obviously my hand doctor would do that as a last resort. So working with the hand therapist, I have a daily regimen of the following:

1. Various stretches specifically to address the thumb joint as prescribed by the hand therapist.
2. Strengthening exercises using a therapy putty where you roll, pinch, and spread the putty in various ways to strengthen the soft tissue in the thumb joint.
3. Strengthening exercises using a squeeze ball, a hand weight, a very cool tool called a DFX (https://purebodylogix.com/product/pro/) that is super effective for hand strengthening, and a TheraBand Flexbar (https://www.theraband.com/theraband-...tance-bar.html).
4. As suggested by my hand therapist, I bought 10 lbs of rice and poured the rice into a container (with a top for storage). Usually when watching TV or even reading the paper, you place your hand open into the rice and then turn/rotate your hand as you grasp a full handful of the rice. Do that for 3X x 60 reps and you will feel the work in your hand and wrist.
5. Hydration - stay hydrated. If your pee is yellow, your joints are "dry" and you can do damage.
6. Splint specific for thumb arthritis (Push MetaGrip CMC Thumb Brace). The one prescribed to me by my hand therapist can be worn while I play.
7. Anti-Inflammation Strategy - Ice (when convenient) and topical cream or gel anti-inflammatories (staying away from daily oral NSAID's). I'm trying out Capstacian, Voltarin (which in a more potent formulation just got approved by the FDA for over the counter), and a CBD topical.

It sounds like a lot but I can go through the stretch and exercise regimen above in 30-40 minutes. While the motivation to do the above is to maintain my left hand, I wish I would have been doing much of the above all along for both hands. IMO a pro-active approach is super important as we age so for the OP in his mid 50's, it's a great time to try to integrate something like this into your daily routine. The regimen above is making a positive difference so I am grateful for that.

There are many good hand stretch routines for guitarists that you can find via Google or YT that for the most part are all good. Get your self a good routine, stick with it, and have many years of happy and hopefully pain free playing.

My final advice is don't self diagnose if you have a chronic pain or an injury scenario where suddenly you can't play. Go see a hand doctor and find out exactly what the issue is and get specific treatment/therapy. I'm really thankful I used the hand doctor in my experiences.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I made this video some time ago, when I was having a lot of trouble with my hands.
You might find it helpful, but PLEASE don't hurt yourselves!

[jseth]

I realized at a very young age (like 16 years?) that I was going to be playing guitar for a LONG time, and that I'd better be ultra-conscious of my hands and fingers... not worried about hurting them, but being mindful, always...

So, I learned how do things with my left hand, so as to not break fingernails... and just focusing on using both hands in a more balanced manner.

Sometime in the early 70's, I learned a hand/finger stretching/massage technique; it's basically a form of acupuncture/shiatsu, but with one's fingers instead of needles or implements... have done that every day (and many times more than once) for the past 50 years or so...

YouTube is your friend!!! Go on there and see what you find... there's one fellow who has been working on hand exercises and stretches for a long time, and he has some great stuff. I think he started out as a physical therapist and 'morphed" into hand/finger focus along the way... he makes some great points; when was the last time any one you know said, "Well, I've got to go do some hand exercises"? Never, right? Yet we use our hands EVERY DAY and most folks only think about them when they hurt...

You're on the right track... look for solutions NOW instead of waiting until there's some disaster to deal with...

I also use those Chinese meditation balls; helps the hands/fingers and wrists/forearms a LOT! They don't cost much at all; mine are mirrored steel/chrome and they chime when you roll them around in your fingers... again, YouTube is your friend!

[J Patrick]

As a career carpenter and someone who still works with his hands a lot....although most of it is managing my small farm and extensive gardens..I have struggled with hand and finger issues for decades.....my hand problems began in my early thirties and I had many a night when I went numb up to my elbows....but I never had any surgeries.....

.......I have found through the years that nothing keeps my hands wrists and forearms in better shape than actually playing guitar....it’s important to rest them when they start to hurt though and trying to play through the pain is not a good idea....but an hour or two a day keeps my fingers going strong....if for some reason I don’t play much for a while it only takes a day or two before they start to swell and stiffen up...so I reckon I’ll just keep on picking...

[Silly Moustache]

Folks, while researching YouTube for further information I fund this video by a delightful Yoga teacher, called Hillary Lindsay that I'm sure would benefit many of us.

What I like about her exercises is that they involve shoulders as well.
Have a look.

[Jimi2]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Folks, while researching YouTube for further information I fund this video by a delightful Yoga teacher, called Hillary Lindsay that I'm sure would benefit many of us.

What I like about her exercises is that they involve shoulders as well.
Have a look.

Thanks so much for those videos, Silly. They are really helpful. Hope you’re getting on ok with your own challenges. An older family member has had a couple of surgeries for trigger fingers, so I know it can be tough.

[Jimi2]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

Thanks so much for those videos, Silly. They are really helpful. Hope you’re getting on ok with your own challenges. An older family member has had a couple of surgeries for trigger fingers, so I know it can be tough.

Also, as far as arthritis, I have a sneaky suspicion that there’s some of that in my future. Have you tried any supplements specifically for that?

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

Thanks so much for those videos, Silly. They are really helpful. Hope you’re getting on ok with your own challenges. An older family member has had a couple of surgeries for trigger fingers, so I know it can be tough.

hi thanks for the kind thoughts.

What I didn't know at the time I made that video is that as well as trigger fingers and CVTS, I have Dupuytrens syndrome which means that my fingers will eventually curl up into a fixed fist. It's called the "Viking's disease" so that pays me back for my Swedish genes!

Lockdown since mid March has meant that I've done far less playing, and even less singing, so my voice is pretty poor at present - it's weird hearing yourself singing out of tune!

The rest from playing has actually helped my hands, plus my wife and I have developed a morning workout to keep fit and the hands come into it as well.

I'm supposed to have a cancer check every quarter but i didn't get one until June which was pretty half hearted so i had a second one a couple of weeks later and the poor folks had to suit up with full PPE - which is weird as he was poking around in my mouth a few minutes earlier.

BTW - I remember being told by someone who knew about such stuff that everyone has arthritis from about age 40 - something about our reduction in automatic healing processes.

Some have a lot of pain, and some don't. Keith Richards' hands look terrible but he says he has no pain ...or maybe he has something to "take the pain away".