Members guitarman3001 Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I'm only in my 40s and am starting to develop some arthritis pain in the joints in my left hand. So far it doesn't seem to affect my playing but I'm worried that at some point it will. Anyone here play with arthritis or any other condition that causes pain in your fret hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Fortunately I don't play guitar with my knees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members w00dsy Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 yeah the last month i have noticed some arthritis in my left hand too, on the middle finger, got a lumpy knuckle that hurst and clicks when i bend it. Plus my right hand is starting to feel a bit that way on a couple of fingers, i'm 38. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted December 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Fortunately I don't play guitar with my knees. you do know you can also get arthritis in other joints, like your hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headless Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've got tendonitis in my both wrist. I don't think it came some much from playing as it did from an assembly job I had for about six-months. I quite the job, but playing can cause it to flare-up. And using the click-button on a computer mouse aggravates it, if I'm doing click-intensive stuff (audio editing). I've gone so far as to rig-up an old wah-wah pedal to enable the left-click function of my mouse (got the idea from the big-screen TV controls on the "Metalapocolypse" show), but it's not that ergonomically correct for my ankle/foot either. If I remember correctly, Robben Ford had some similar problems back in the 80's and overcame it after finding the correct doctor. I keep meaning to see if I can find his story in print, so that I might get some relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bubbluz Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 yup..been struggling with it since my 20s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I have Psoriatic Arthritis which affects my hands, feet and back. My left foot has been damaged by the inflammation, so I had surgery to repair it...The surgery went well and I'm almost done with the cast. I take Humira to control my PA. Humira works well for me and I'm playing guitar much better these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottgd Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 My hands are starting to look like Keiths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eddie Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Arthritis on my left knee. My left thumb was broken and healed a bit out of place. The tip of my right index finger was also broken and I have a graft from my right arm there. Usually these don't bother me, but it depends on the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PunkKitty Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I'm 45. I got arthritis in my right wrist after I had a skiing accident in my 20s that broke my wrist in 3 places. I now have carpel tunnel in the same wrist and tennis elbow on that arm. I have carpel tunnel in my left wrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oneshowmaster Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've had problems in my wrist since my sophmore year in highschool. Got stabbed through my wrist, damaging the tendons. It is always stiff. I just can't support a lot of weight with it anymore. After about 3 hours of playing It feels like someone took a hammer to it. Same hand had a piece of glass go straight threw the palm. Not too lucky in that respect... Atleast I can still play! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I'm not having any troubles that affect guitar playing. However, I read a letter in a guitar magazine. The writer said that he had extremely debilitating arthritis that completely prevented him from playing guitar in the normal way. He converted over to playing with a slide. His point in the letter was that he was surprised at the wide variety of styles that he could play with slide, including heavy metal etc. He wanted to point out that slide playing is typically only used for a restricted range of styles, but that there was a lot more that can be done with a slide than people probably expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've got RA. It makes getting out of bed difficult. Guitar playing kinda takes a back seat to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 you do know you can also get arthritis in other joints, like your hands? I know but right now I only have it in my knees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddybow Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Knuckle arthritis, less flexibility. Kinda sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stingxnj Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Knuckle arthritis, less flexibility. Kinda sucks. You're well on your way to having hands like Keef in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richey888 Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Hasn't gone to my hands, but I gotta play a very light axe if doing 3 sets.....neck and back are screaming after the gig....bless you folks with PA and RA, I can only imagine..................very uncomfortable, had it for 12 + years, I'm 47. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've been fighting mobility and pain in my left hand / wrist for years, its actually one of the reasons I took an interest in lap steel. Steel is a great way to still rock on with far less pain. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members realtree71 Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 Ok this may sound crazy but I'll throw it out there. Im mid 40's and yes lots of shit hurts..... that said... I, for a while, was having the left hand shit too. I also realized that my cell phone usage had really really increased during that time. I talk on the phone with my left hand. I have way long monkey arms btw. I think the constant bend of my left arm with the phone to my ear was pinching a nerve or two. I finally started thinking that that may have been the reason for the pain in the hand.... I started switching the hand on the phone and have since cut back the phone usage and all the pain went away. I guess morel of the story is this, Are you doing anything else out of the ordinary with your left arm or hand? Wanking does count....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beckman Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I think I may be getting some arthritis in my right pinky. The good thing is, It is my picking hand, so I don't have to worry, yet. I did have some issues with my right elbow for about a year. I could not bend my arm for long, it would stiffen up and hurt like a mother f'er. Which, made it hard to play. I think this was do to many things (golf, broken doorwall, holdind cell phone), all since stopped, and the pain is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V-Type Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I have arthritis but it is mild and only the bitter cold really messes with it.However I have an injury I suffered in mid Oct that still isnt quite right yet.I tore the rotator in my shoulder and I also severely hyper extended my finger muscles in my fretting hand at the same time.My shoulder hurts when more than a hour of standing with the guitar and my index finger on my fretting hand has hyper sensitivity ala "pins an needles" from time too time.No insurance = Long slow recovery(hopefully).I still am thankful though I probably played a minimum of 3 hours a day avg. for the better part of 25 years and played a lot of gigs as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HanSolo Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've got arthritus in my right knee. I blew my knee out in a snowmobiling accident and limped on it for two years before I had it surgically repaired. The surgery was a cakewalk but the doctor warned me that it would be arthritic as I caused extensive damage from bone to bone contact waking on it all that time. The first time it got cold and rainy and my knee went off like an alarm clock. When it's bad I walk like a gimp and take motrin like it's candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I broke my hip twice in high school from excessive running (20 miles+ a day) and I have the same "gift" when bad weather comes along. The pain is so bad sometimes I move at a snail's pace with my left leg stiff as a board. When I first broke my hip they gave me a bottle of Demerol. After finding out how quickly they became addictive, I now take nothing for the pain and just live with it. Luckily, my hands are good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mc5nrg Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 I am not claiming this will help folks with serious arthritis related problems... However, joint related pain I get in my hands- index knuckle left hand especially- washes away when I drink a lot of lemonade... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members K2BT Posted December 28, 2009 Members Share Posted December 28, 2009 i broke my neck in a car accident in '89 and it took 6 years of surgeries and therapy to get back playing. Nowadays if I do something stupid like carry amps I lose feeling in my left hand. And when it gets cold the arthritis acts up but I can usually play through it. Slide guitar is an option because I've been playing since '69 and don't intend to stop. I usually play better if I feel like {censored} especially the blues. All my anger is taken out on the strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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