...and/or any other kind of similar hand and wrist afflictions.
Does anybody here suffer? How does it affect your playing?
I’ve been dealing with a very annoying case of accute tendonitis and I wonder if I’ll face anything worse that might harm my guitar activities.
I pretty much doubt that, though. Keith allegedly has osteoarthritis and keeps rockin’. Besides, I can always form a punk cover band and stick to powerchords.
Anyway, opinions and experiences are welcome.
Oh yes, at 56, I've been having issues for a number of years now. It takes me longer to warm up and it's frustrating with some chord changes due to stiffness delaying the movement. I started playing slide a few years back too and I plan on playing some how regardless. The pain med Alieve works for me too. Washing my hands with warm water also helps too.
I have to be very careful of my hands these days. Even something as simple as carrying a grocery sack can cause an inflammation at the outermost knuckle of my fretting hand. I try to wear gloves for almost all manual chores to give my hands as much protection as possible. I get burst blood vessels that make my fingers puff up, turn purple, get stiff and sore. Sometimes it is the stupidest little thing that causes it. I usually have to try to ice the spot and compress it as soon as the vein bursts. Which sucks because I'm always trying to keep my hands from getting cold but the ice works.
I try to alway use warm water when I wash my hands. At night I sleep with polartec fleece gloves to try to keep my hands warm. There are maybe 2 or 3 nights a year when it might be warm enough to not wear them. I try to not let the house get colder than 75 degrees (24°C). Once my hands get cold, I'm miserable and in pain.
Decades of manual labor have left their mark. Every morning I have to bend the fingers on my right hand by curling them against the mattress when i get up, once I've flexed them a couple times they're usually ok.
Injuries that I used to not even have to give a second thought are now multiple day, sometimes multiple weeks to heal. I need to wait at least 2 hours after a shower, 3 is better, before I try to play. If I split a finger at the nail bed, it will be days before it stops hurting.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
Around four weeks ago I had “trigger finger” release surgery on the middle finger of my right hand and have still not completely recovered from it. Being a bass player and using that finger as one of them that plucks the strings it has caused me to lose some of the speed/dexterity of that hand. It sort of feels similar to my finger being sprained.Originally Posted by Sérgio
About 25 years ago I fell backwards and broke both wrists. I went to a surgeon about 15 years ago and he did an MRI and found signs of the old injury- a non-displaced fracture, torn cartilage and a torn or sprained ligament.
This would occasionally flare up and cause me issues and I've had to raise my guitar over the years. Now, at 56 years old, it's a more of an issue. It always bothers me a bit, barre chords and certain playing techniques bother it. I wear a wrist brace to bed every night and avoid activities that I know will bother it- no heavy or awkward lifting like speakers onto post stands. I try to be a stand up guy and help in other ways during load in and load out.
It's probably time to visit the surgeon again.
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