Moderators isaac42 Posted November 3, 2019 Moderators Share Posted November 3, 2019 Playing last night, and, about halfway through one of the later songs, all of a sudden I got a severe pain in my right (plucking) index finger and forearm. Had to stop playing. Came back in with the vocals, and started hammering on the roots so that there'd be some bass, and limped to the end of the song that way. Stretched it out and tried again, no good. Finished the night using second and third fingers only. At first, even that set it off again, but it got better. I figure it was just a cramp, but this is a new thing for me. I also know that I have a tendency to overreact to things like this, but, if this keeps happening, or gets worse, I might have to quit playing. One positive thing: I got a good joke out of it. I stepped up to the mic and said, "Really, this has never happened to me before. Really." And every woman in the place smiled and nodded, obviously thinking, "Yeah, I've heard that before!" Anyway, the finger aches this morning, but seems to be working all right. I hope that's the end of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted November 3, 2019 Moderators Share Posted November 3, 2019 sorry to hear that. I had a similar issue, on and off, and found that I need to get more potassium in my system. That may not be your issue, but it helped my hand and finger cramping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 4, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 4, 2019 7 hours ago, daddymack said: sorry to hear that. I had a similar issue, on and off, and found that I need to get more potassium in my system. That may not be your issue, but it helped my hand and finger cramping. I doubt that's it, considering my diet and meds. Doctor tested to make sure I didn't have too much potassium not too long ago (BP meds can drive that up). I hope it's just an anomalous occurrence. Chatting with a friend, it occurred to me that, if it comes to the worst, I can always play bass lines with my left hand on a keyboard. Not the same, but good enough for most situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted November 4, 2019 Members Share Posted November 4, 2019 Did you drink beer? Though usually found in toes or lower extremities, you can get Gout in your fingers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 4, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 4, 2019 3 hours ago, lug said: Did you drink beer? Though usually found in toes or lower extremities, you can get Gout in your fingers as well. Nope, no beer. Never developed a taste for it. I had one glass of wine with my burger. It's possible that I was a bit dehydrated. I certainly was very thirsty after the show. I've hear that can have an effect on cramps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Pretty scary stuff Isaac. Hopefully it was just a one-off occurrence, but it might be a good idea for you to go in and discuss it with your doctors, just to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 4, 2019 Members Share Posted November 4, 2019 Sorry to hear it. Finger mojo sent. I'm with Phil though, go see a doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 5, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 5, 2019 Might be an idea. The coming week will be a busy one. Two rehearsals tomorrow, then gigs on Thursday evening, Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night. If I get through the week with no issues, then I'll likely let it go until my next regular checkup. If not, well, we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Break a leg! Just not your finger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 5, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 5, 2019 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 9, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2019 So far, so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 9, 2019 Members Share Posted November 9, 2019 11 hours ago, isaac42 said: So far, so good. Good to hear. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 10, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 10, 2019 One gig to go. At this point, I'm more concerned about losing my voice than I am about cramping up. Voice fatigue is pretty much a given at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 10, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 10, 2019 And fatigue was the worst of it. In fact, everything went remarkably well, from most perspectives. None of us lost our voices. No cramps. Guitar player may have got a blister. In fact, I'm not even as tired as I thought I'd be. Maybe there's hope for this old geezer yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted November 11, 2019 Members Share Posted November 11, 2019 Great news, you old decrepit bastage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members f5mando Posted November 27, 2019 Members Share Posted November 27, 2019 A similar thing happened to me after I took up bowling. I stopped bowling, and the pains (and some swelling) stopped. The two middle fingers are still a little achey, but at least I can play again. *I'm a lefty playing righty, so my fretting hand was the victim. 🎳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 28, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted November 28, 2019 Been a couple of weeks, played a couple more gigs. No cramps. Appears to have been a one-time thing. Woohoo! Of course, I'm still getting older, and other things keep happening, but not things that keep me from playing. Not recently, anyway. There was the tendonitis a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.