Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Subject: Left hand pain? Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 09:02:44 -0500 I'm starting to develop a lot of pain in my fretting hand these days. The feeling is almost as if I had jammed all four fingers into a wall and then yanked them back out or something. I can't decide what's wrong. Could it be arthritis? Carpal tunnel? Did I really jam my fingers into a wall as some point and just don't remember? FWIW I've only recently (in the last four months or so) learned how to do barre chords, and for the past month or so I've been playing a lot of Christmas songs in the key of C. Lots of Fs. Lots of Bms too. (It's great to finally be able to play these after all these years...) Could the funky wrist position and extra pressure of barre chords be causing CT? I'm beginning to worry about this, as the symptoms have only gotten worse over the last week or so. Playing my guitars has become difficult. The electric is slightly more tolerable. BTW, I'm 28 years old, and this hand has never been injured, so it's not an old wound or anything like that. I'm probably too young for arthritis, but maybe not. Also, heat seems to relieve the symptoms. Hot water gives me a respite for awhile. Does that sound like arthritis or CT? --- =================== Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Subject: Re: Left hand pain? Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 15:08:05 GMT > I'm starting to develop a lot of pain in my fretting hand these days. > The feeling is almost as if I had jammed all four fingers into a wall > and then yanked them back out or something. SEE A DOCTOR RIGHT AWAY!!! Have him recommend a hand specialist. If it's not serious, they'll take care of it right away. If it is serious, YOU COULD CAUSE PERMANENT NERVE DAMAGE BY WAITING. Call today. You're talking about your hand here. In the meantime, take two aspirin to help reduce any inflammation. ==================== Juvenal is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. But don't just see any doctor. I went to three before I found one that could help me with my left hand pain. The first doctor misdiagnosed it as 'atypical carpal tunnel', and like a fool I believed him. The second wanted to do surgery. Find a doctor that has worked with musicians before. I knew I had found the right doc when he asked me if I had switched to heavier strings (I had) and was I spending a lot of time learning a new genre or new instrument (I was). Don't screw around with this stuff, it can end your playing career and possibly threaten your livelyhood depending on what type of work you do. Mike J. P.S. I had cubital tunnel syndrome (yes there is such a thing), and repetitive strain injury to my left thumb caused by bad technique and too much ragtime piano. ===================== Excellent advice has preceeded my post. Here's an interesting aside - I once took my guitar with me to my chiropractor so that he could have a look at my seating, hand and body position (for classical guitar). He did his measurements and suggested some small changes that were great. Then he says "Do you know any John Denver?" I played some. He went on asking for different tunes and artists till finally he said "Do you know foggy mountain breakdown?". Out of the closet he pulls his Gibson Mastertone RB-250 5 string. He played Banjo while I strummed along on gut string (in perfect seating and body position..;-). He even taught me a chiropractic banjo tune he wrote called "Vertebral Disk Breakdown". Maybe there's a moral to the story. I've called around when hunting a physician or dentist and asked things like - "Is he a smoker. Maybe we should just call some docs and ask "Does he play a musical instrument?". Surely the receptionist will know. Take two verses and call me in the morning ...Dr lump ======================= I'll add another to the "see a doctor" chorus. And although it's a hand surgeon that you'll probably end up with, many of the major teaching hospitals have a doc on staff who works with musicians' injuries (of course I don't know whether you're close to one of these facilities). A couple of addenda. First, are you sticking your left wrist out away from you when you play? If so, try keeping it straight instead. I've seen a number of people helped with this correction to playing position. If do already are doing this..well, I tried. Also, if and when you do see the right doc, ask if you can bring a guitar along to demonstrate exactly how the pain occurs while playing. ====================== >A couple of addenda. First, are you sticking your left wrist out away >from you when you play? If so, try keeping it straight instead. I don't see any way to avoid bending the wrist... The key that finally unlocked these blasted barre chords after all this time was a most un-natural wrist angle. I figure that's the culprit. >Also, if and when you do see the right doc, ask if you can bring a >guitar along to demonstrate exactly how the pain occurs while playing. Actually, it doesn't hurt to play. Only afterwards. It's also starting to hurt to drive, and since I drive for a living that's not cool. I can't do anything about it until after the first of the year, but until then I'll lay off the guitar and the flute. (It hurts after I play the flute too, incidentally... Entirely different hand position.) Is it possible that I really did just jam my fingers without realizing it? Most of the pain seems to be concentrated in the second knuckle of the three largest fingers, though there's no swelling. It feels more like a bone pain than a muscle pain, but if it's nerve damage it could be anything. ===================== I would add to the good and careful advice already given. My wife (a physical therapist) gave me some great advice that has helped in the past. Instead of just heat, try alternating cold with heat. Start with the cold by dipping your hand in ice water for a few minutes, and then heat for a few minutes ... go back and forth 3 times for each session, three sessions a day. Very important to realize this is not to help "play through" the pain, but something to help during your period of abstinence. Best of Luck ====================== Thanks for everyone's concern. Turns out I just jammed the crap out of my middle finger. That's the source of all the pain, since just about everything I do with my left hand moves that bone in some way. I also have a pinched nerve in my left elbow, which was the source of numbness. (Not carpal-tunnel related. He thinks it probably has something to do with having spent more hours than usual with my elbow in the driving position... I'm trying to vary my arm position somewhat, and that seems to be helping...) I'm on anti-inflammatories for the elbow, and the finger/hand pain should go away eventually. I'm laying off the axes until Christmas, with the hope that the finger will feel well enough to play some of those carols I've been working on by then... ======================== Michael, what you describe sounds very much like tendonitis. At this stage it will be entirely reversible by rest and if necessary the resolution can be speeded up with some mild anti-inflammatory drugs. The pattern of pain is not consistant with median nerve trapping (carpal tunnel) or ulnar nerve trapping. Your recent playing history is also consistant with over-use tendonitis. I do not think you are likely to need a hand surgeon at all. Any competant physician should be able to sort this out, if the problem persists you would probably be wise to see a rheumatologist who deals with soft tissue injuries. It is very important not to simply ignore tendonitis, or try to play through it. Acute tendonitis, which is what you very probably have, is not at all serious, but if it becomes chronic, it is virtually impossible to shift. Chronic tendonitis is actually a much more serious issue that carpal tunnel syndrome. I strongly advise you to see a doctor soon though. The pain in the finger joints is unlikely to be anything other than tendonitis, but those joints are quite often the first to become affected in cases of rheumatoid arthritis and some forms of psoriatic arthritis, so this should be checked out and excluded by your doctor. I stress this is an extremely unlikely possibility, becuase it is usual to have the same problem in the same joints of the other hand at the same time. I suspect your doctor will sugest rest and possibly some mild non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If the latter are suggested, ask if he/she could prescribe one of the newer selective Cox-2 inhibitors, which are a lot kinder on your guts. ====================== > I'm starting to develop a lot of pain in my fretting hand these days. I found that it is better to do some warming up first, like playing scales for example, or some easy chords where you don't have to spread your fingers so wide. ====================== In this vein, one of our regulars recently posted a set of warm-up exercises that take 3 minutes or so and really help me a lot. A deja-search should find it. When you get back to playing, some stretching and warm-up may help prevent further injuries.