Members C-4 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Play fewer notes. Choose them more carefully. *59 next birthday* I am 61. I have had two compressed nerves in my left arm operated on since last September and neither of them has returned to normal. My left hand is very weak as a result, and I play righty, but I'm left-handed. I went from 10's to 9's to 8's, and now to a custom gauged set of strings that are weaker then regular 8's. My action is right down on the board and I use a 3 mm Big stubby Dunlap pick. I am finding that I am not able to play some of the things I used too and had to re-think my way around the guitar. Before I play live, I take whatever pain meds I have too in order to allow me to play unemcumbered by weakness or pain. I just keep moving forward as best I can, and do whatever I feel I need to do in order to keep playing as much as possible. I lift weights with my left hand to build up strength, which has helped somewhat, but there is no power behind the left fingers, due to the nerve damage. Just keep working through and take every advantage of using the type of gauge strings, set-ups on your guitars, and whatever else you feel you need to do to keep going. I sold off my wood guitars, and bought a 5 pound carbon fiber guitar. It actually helped me play easier. I sold my high wattage amps and bought lower powered, slightly lighter gear, and condensed my stage set up. It all helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members robertkoa Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 1. Aspirin and Naproxin Sodium over the counter pills don't just reduce pain, they reduce inflammation. They work extremely well in conjunction with the "natural" joint stuff that contains MSM,Chondroitin,Shark Cartilage etc. 2.Use more leverage and eliminate pressure points on your joints by closing your eyes and letting the energy flow thru your muscles and arms and fingers,rather than get stuck in various places along the way.A)Picture a guy lifting weights having asymmetrical technique,discombobulated and straining his elbows and wrists,creating painful pressure points as he lifts. B.) Now picture a guy who breathes properly liting the weight as a smooth co-ordinated motion with wrists and elbows in a position to CONDUCT the force rather than trap it. Obviously you want to be guy B when playing. The idea of closing your eyes may help isolate these pressure points and also you may be using more force than you need,don't get complicated just play with much less force, most people press too hard and tense their mouth up and many other muscles that don't need to be used on "difficult passages". Sometimes the solution is to play too hard INTENTIONALLY then lighten up if it's a really ingrained bad habit( like making ugly faces you'd rather not do, tensing arms pressing WAY too hard on the frets etc.). Playing with eyes closed (as an exercise) may help also to get more efficient techniques and use more leverage and less strain. You want to use wrists and forearms and even biceps a bit (when bending notes) rather than JUST fingers to do the work,especially with string bends and finger vibrato. The thumb over the top of neck like many rock players do may not be for everyone,especially if you have small hands, there's a technique that enables bending and vibrato but avoids this if you have small hands- the old thumb straight up over top of fingerboard may be a strain on joints as well if you are playing virtuoso type stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 53... drugs help. I don't really have any real issues with joint pain. I still take some Advil before a gig, it helps. I have also had to add a pretty extensive warm up now, before I play (hands, forearms and shoulders). Never had to do that before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sale83 Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 Aging guitarists...how do you deal with finger/handjoint fatigue...? That's a great question for Keef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 Aging guitarists...how do you deal with finger/handjoint fatigue...? That's a great question for Keef No fair... keef is like 300 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sale83 Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 We both know he's much much older than that,but we need that information from the master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 Aging guitarists...how do you deal with finger/handjoint fatigue...? That's a great question for Keef Like I said... drugs help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 If you can.....see a Rheumatologist. At the very least, a specialist can prescribe medicine which will reduce inflammation. But, these days, there are all kinds of disease modifying drugs available that can actually stop the progression of the arthritis. I'm now 46 and I've suffered with symptoms similar to what you describe for about a decade. My biggest problem area is my feet, but I also suffer from spinal pain, wrist pain, and finger joint pain...especially in my pinky. In the beginning, I was misdiagnosed by a Podiatrist. But, then the foot doctor sent me to an arthritis specialist and I was properly diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. Originally, my Rheumatologist prescribed Methotrexate which I refused to take. That turned out to be a bad move on my part because my left foot got damaged rather rapidly. Methotrexate is very safe when taken in small doses (Not Chemotherapy Doses). Fortunately, I just went through surgery to repair my left foot and I walk normally once more! I now take Humira which has completely altered the course of my disease. My guitar dexterity is actually improving at this point. This particular drug may turn out to shorten my life because it places me at higher risk to cancer and infection. Yet, in my particular case, the quality of my life is so much improved that I think it's worth the risks. Over the last 10 years, I have found that Naproxen or Naprosyn does the best job of reducing inflammation. You can buy it over the counter as Aleve. If you take 1000 mg of prescription strength Naproxen, you probably won't feel any pain all day. But, two blue Aleve which is 440 mg will probably work wonders and last for most of the day. It tends to upset the stomach, so I like to take it with yogurt and oatmeal...plus a full glass of water. For me, it takes about 3 hours to feel the full effects, so I plan accordingly. Personally, I try not to take it more than 2 or 3 days a week because ALL NSAI drugs have some links to kidney failure. I don't need Naproxen much now that I take Humira, but I still like to take it about 3 hours or more before a big practice or a gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 I don't know how to get rid of it, but I know what makes it (and pretty much everything else) feel better: Just let Mother Goose take care of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 {censored}ing ignore it! (51 -- going on 52). I still play soccer, and my knees and other joints sometimes hurt like hell. However, it's something I want to do, so I just play through it. It's the same with guitar. If something hurts, I take a couple of ibuprofen and just soldier on. I guess if you have something more serious (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) you may want to get some heavier artillery from your doctor, but for the most part it's a matter of mind over matter. As Satchel Paige is rumored to have said: "Age is a question of mind over matter - if you don't mind, it doesn't matter"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BAXANDALL Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 That cylindrical brass do hickey on CSM's finger probably lightens the pain a bit too. Believe it or not there are yoga exercises for the hands that help. Sometimes they're referred to as mudras. There are also techniques that are good for the wrists. I use them whenever I notice my hands are getting crampy or tight. They should help you cope with your arthritic issue as well. Google hand yoga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExiledCrow Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 I didn't start playing until 39 and already had some arthritis, but honestly I think playing has IMPROVED both the flexibility and in my hands and wrists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 I'm in my fifties too and what I did as I was experiencing fatigue was go to a lighter string guage. I was using 11's and went down to 10's. So maybe try using 9's. If you do and lose some tone, try them with a wound G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mel Cooley Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 That sounds a lot like my Tenosynivitus issue. It's the high falutin form of Tendonitis. I've had it for four years now. It just showed up one morning and made guitar playing really painful-especially barring chords. Go to a sports doc as basically its a repetative stress/arthritis issue. I did a summer of physical therapy and have some exercises that I (try to...) do daily. The exercises make it like night and day. No problems playing if I keep at them. I also stepped down from 20 or so years of using 11-50 strings to 10-46. When it gets cold I get a bit of aching, but a good dollop of Icy Hot twenty minutes before a winter gig takes care of things. Be sure to bring a rag to wipe your hands off with if you use that stuff. Addendum: Watch that Chondroitin {censored}. First, the FDA came out not long ago and stated it had no effect on joints. Further, much of it is made from shell fish. That crap built up in my system and gave me a hell of a case of gout. B/t/w-I'm 46 but have been playing pro or semi-pro for 27 years-doc says I have the hands of a much older man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted January 25, 2010 Members Share Posted January 25, 2010 Addendum: Watch that Chondroitin {censored}. First, the FDA came out not long ago and stated it had no effect on joints. Further, much of it is made from shell fish. That crap built up in my system and gave me a hell of a case of gout. B/t/w-I'm 46 but have been playing pro or semi-pro for 27 years-doc says I have the hands of a much older man! The FDA may say that but my joints disagree. I've got really bad knees (4 surgeries and 2 more are likely before I go for total knee replacement). I started taking Chondrotin about 10 years ago after seeing the effect it had on my dog. I figured if it worked for her it might work for me. I would have agree with you (that it doesn't do much) but I went off of it for about 4 weeks and my knees started to ache like mad. I couldn't figure out what the trouble was then realized I had run out of Chondrotin and had forgot to get more for that time period. Went back on it and have been fine ever since (or as fine as I can be). Being on it means that I can avoid taking a lot of NSAIDS. I guess I like Shellfish cause I have no problems with it, course my father has gout and he has never taking a single dose of it so it might not be the chondrotin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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