ANYONE DEALING WITH ARTHRITIS?

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Author Message   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 5:26 am:    i have an early form of arthitis in my left hand. it was confirmed some months ago after a period in which i suffered from pain and soreness. now i'm under treatment and feel better. does it affect my playing? yes, it does. certain positions and awkward chords are getting progressively harder. although my playing capabilities did not decrease, i have to be "aware" of what i'm doing, i.e. i'm beginning to adapt my style to get the same results. arthritis is a very common form of degenerative disease and can be kept under control, although at the present time there is no cure for it. i'd be glad to share info and experiences with another guitarists who deal with it. cheers p.   Artfield Username: Artfield Registered: 04-2001 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 9:12 am:    Well Petruz i hope it works out well for you...pain in the hand is not a pleasure. i having a right hand Thumb injury right now, the ball of my thumb is swollen, so for now i'm taking a break from playing for a couple of weeks. I have a good fysio who also plays he has good experience helping people with arthritis and Reuma. Do you excercise, fitness etc etc, my fysio gave me some training methods. stay cool grt Arty   Silverstrings Username: Silverstrings Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 5:02 pm:    Hang in there mate. It helps to look at other players who have also had problems with their hands. Django really only had the full use of 2 fingers on his fretting hand. The others were all but usless lumps of meat as the result of a fire that almost killed him. Tony Iommi is missing the tips on two of his fretting hand fingers due to an accident with a bandsaw in woodwork classes. If you look closely you can see the plastic tips that he puts on his fingers. Les Paul has hand problems. If you get a chance check out Keith Richards hands. He plays through a lot of arthritic pain, but then he does numb the pain with copious amounts of medication. I suyppose the point of this is that you can adapt and change to meet this challenge.   Snowjays Username: Snowjays Registered: 09-2004 Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 9:07 pm:    I'm no doctor, but with training 3 days a weak, and having a lot of injuries, arthritus included, I can suggest that Dolomite helps to ease the pain, and glucosimine does help with joint pain.   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 3:27 am:    thanks folks for the support. i started taking medicines and feel better. it would be nice to live without them but, anyway... i have to be positive. there are lots of people who are starving right now and from this point of view i'm a very fortunate person. the joy of music is a medicine, too.   Guitartim Username: Guitartim Registered: 04-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 3:57 pm:    "the joy of music is a medicine, too." Petruz Amen, brother!   Cmangeot Username: Cmangeot Registered: 04-2005 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 9:57 am:    I am only 29, I have played guitar and bass since about age 5 and I do have some chronic pain in my right hand (picking) thumb. It is SO annoying, but once I warm up it disappears. I am certain though, that father time will make this reoccuring pain excruciating. Luckily, no pains in the left hand, and that is amazing considering I have been copping Allan Holdsworth and Shawn Lane licks since about 1993!! Best wishes to all!!   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 2:42 pm:    cmangeot, what you have is probably a (chronic) inflammation of some tendon or perhaps the tissue that encloses a juncture. both problems are pretty common and curable simply checking it out with a physiotherapist. once you get things fixed your thumb will be ready for the next 29 years! keep pickin'.   Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 6:44 pm:    Believe it or not John Petrucci claims warimg up first(hand excersise) before playing help alleviate hand cramping,maybe arthritis in the long run?Something that you may not want to hear but, pure rest,no playing at all,may help somewhat also.   Talajuha Username: Talajuha Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 8:01 pm:    Afterplay ... ... hand/arm/shoulder/etc excersise after playing could hit the spot with all guitar players, too. Juha   Strings Username: Strings Registered: 01-2005 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 9:05 pm:    Didn't Jeff Beck have some of these issues too? If so, I would think they'd be well documented...I'll poke around and report.   Strings Username: Strings Registered: 01-2005 Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 9:06 pm:    btw...I am sorry to hear of this Petruz...   Mrblanche Username: Mrblanche Registered: 01-2006 Posted on Saturday, February 10, 2007 - 12:53 pm:    Arthritis is a degenerative condition almost all of us will develop to varying degrees, if we're lucky to live long enough. There are versions that are not due to age, but aging (and general joint wear) is the most common cause. It seems I once heard Art Garfunkle quite playing fairly young due to arthritis, but that could be just urban myth, too.   Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 8:57 am:    Also hows your vitamin D level?You might want to check w/ your doc. and see if the levels ok.If not- ask about a vitamin D suplement.Green leafy veggies have vitamin D also,more than just plain ol milk!Good luck !!   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 11:05 pm:    All you have to do for vitamin D is walk in the sun. But I doubt it will help against arthritis. But it helps against osteoporosis, so do oestrogens (but I wouldn't recommend those for men). Injections with GOLD seem to help against arthritis. That's a therapy they already used in the seventies. If you use them long enough you look like King Midas. Ginger   Ratfinks3 Username: Ratfinks3 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 2:13 am:    I had that problem in college back in the mid 70's when I was playing about 4 hours a day. I had to go for massage therapy a few times a week and back of on playing. That helped a lot. Back then they gave us Cortizone shots which helped but made your ears hot. The doc told me to continue playing just in shorter intervals. I studied from a Segovia student in 1977 and he said Mr. Segovia told him he had no joint problems and resorted to massage therapy daily and right before concerts. I was told to play no more than 40 on and 20 off in sets. So you may want to try that as well as diuretics. Good luck, and forget the co-pay, this ones on me. Rat   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 7:18 am:    ginger, i could look like GOLDFINGER too. and without mr. bond to threat me. it seems that for now the therapies are glucosamine and some anti inflammatory. playing guitar DOES have a connection, not as a cause - but it helps by no means. we're talking about a continuous, repetitive strain that (in my case) began almost forty years ago; a kind of "runners knee" or "tennists elbow". some people develop arthritis, some not, but the "exercise" factor exists, along with one's familiarity etc. to facilitate things i'm using lighter strings and lower action. i notice that it helps significantly. i'm searching to slowly change my playing technique to achieve a lighter touch too.   Blues Username: Blues Registered: 2-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 6:08 pm:    Petruz, I would like to inform you of a condition known as MUSICIANS CRAMP... or DYSTONIA is the name given to a type of involuntary movement caused by muscle rigidity. I would like to recommend a glucosamine by the brand name of: MOVE FREE I recently purchased a bottle from COSTCO for about $23.00 US I must say that {redMOVE FREE} is working for me. I've been taking them for just about 10 days and my hands are moving more freely. MOVE FREE also works on the swelling in the hands and forearms that also restrict motor skills. COSTCO http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=1 1153404&whse=BC&topnav=&browse= Glucosamine-Source.com http://www.1-glucosamine-source.com/schiff-move-fr ee.html?gclid=CLzXxua6sYoCFQwbgQodDxNpqw LINKS TO ATRICLES ABOUT MUSICIANS CRAMP: http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic614.htm http://www.collegium.ethz.ch/pub/07_paper_victor.p df http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/245662.stm Some believe, the Brain to Blame for Musicians' Cramp... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd= Search&db=PubMed&term=musicians+cramp&tool=QuerySu ggestion I hope this information is of some help to all in need of some relief from MUSICIANS CRAMP. BLUES   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 7:57 pm:    An old organ and piano player, who passed away a few months ago advised me to use Arnica massage oil. I paid about 5.50 euro for a bottle. Ginger   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Friday, February 16, 2007 - 10:45 am:    hey blues, thanks for the great links. i hope they can be utile to others too. pianists seem to be more affected by carpal tunnel syndrome than guitarists. i think jarrett suffered from it some years ago.   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 9:53 pm:    Just wanted to give this a bump because I have developed problems in both wrists and forearms. It started back in May while being treated for 24 weeks with interferon. Any more input added would be appreciated.   Bobzilla Username: Bobzilla Registered: 2-2005 Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 1:07 pm:    Freak.. I hope everything turns out well for you. I am sorry to hear you're having trouble. Search the net, see what you come up with and obviously speak with a specialist. Seems like a few members have already found some relief, I am sure you can too. Hope so.   Sixvsix Username: Sixvsix Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 9:15 pm:    Haven't mentioned it before but I've had some problems with my right elbow. It's probably "Tennis Elbow" but it can be pretty painful and can make playing difficult at times. Obvioulsy nothing as serious as some of you guys and I wish you well. Does anyone know of a 'natural' remedy that may help my problem? six   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 9:51 pm:    Thanks guys! I am going for some testing on the 22nd of this month to see whats going on.   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 5:48 am:    Six at the moment I've been applying ice whenever it gets bad and that usually helpls it to feel ok enough to play.   Sixvsix Username: Sixvsix Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 11:20 am:    Thanks for the tip freak. Apparently there are a couple of 'procedures' for the problem but going under the knife would be a last resort for me. six   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 3:12 pm:    Me too!   Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 9:46 am:    sivsix, some years ago i had a problem on a shoulder. it was a mere inflammation of the membrane which encapsules the joint (bursitis). after one year of medical treatment, including two cortisone shots, with bare results, a friend physiotherapist healed me in 15 days! all i had to do was some exercises at home. i don't say it will work for everyone, obviously, but you could check out with a good chiropractor to see what comes out. sometimes a "sweet" approach to medicine pays a lot. doctors have a tendency of prescribing you tons of drugs without asking you (and themselves) for the causes of a health problem.   Talajuha Username: Talajuha Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 12:22 pm:    Yes, exercises Guitar playing is unvaried work of your hands, arms, shoulders etc Try to stretch them before and after playing e.g. http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?item id=159&page=1 Some kind of easy/light sport would not harm your sensitive player's hands Juha   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 10:41 pm:    Juha cool link. I actually tried it tonight(the wrist excecise). It helped a bit.Thanks!   Talajuha Username: Talajuha Registered: 11-2006 Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - 12:14 pm:    Actually stretching (and exercise) is preventive. If you have got troubles it is better ask a doctor or a physiotherapist. If stretching (or excercise) doesn't hurt it will not make your trouble worse (probably ). Juha

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