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  #1  
Old 03-20-2018, 04:41 PM
wooster wooster is offline
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Default A bit fed up

About 3 years ago, I started to get pain in my pinky at the top knuckle, then the middle and now its pretty sore a lot of the time and a bit swollen and misshapen. I'm also getting pain in other knuckles in my left ( my fretting ) hand.

My doc has diagnosed arthritis and said others nothing to be done and expect it to get worse.

I know Keith Richards suffers and uses open G tuning and I'm experimenting much more with alternative tunings in an effort to ease the effects. I also play slide a fair bit now.

Has anyone else found ways to mitigate this problem?


Usually I try to be a bit more philosophical but sometimes it gets me down; like tonight
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  #2  
Old 03-20-2018, 05:06 PM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Have you considered playing electric? Lighter strings, lower action. Easier on the fretting hand
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Old 03-20-2018, 05:20 PM
wooster wooster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tonyo View Post
Have you considered playing electric? Lighter strings, lower action. Easier on the fretting hand
Yes, I do that a fair bit, but it isn't really my passion. Also even with the lower tension I still suffer. But every little helps and it might be I end up using them more.

I also bought a couple of short scale Parlour types for the same reason. I have a D28 which I don't play unless I tune it to D, though I use my J45 and - my recently acquired - 000 18. It's the fingerpicking that gets me more than anything.
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Old 03-21-2018, 06:03 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Check your action, and get your guitar set up if necessary. The pressure needed to fret strings (if that's an issue) is very little.

If you're not sure about whether you need a set up, put a capo on fret 1 and see if your guitar feels easier to play. If it does, you need to get your nut lowered.

Also check your position. Arthritis is obviously a big problem, but playing in an inefficient position won't help.
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Old 03-21-2018, 06:31 AM
815C 815C is offline
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I was diagnosed with arthritis in both thumbs about 3 years ago. Pretty painful. I could hardly grasp a pick. It's not an issue anymore. Here's what I did...
  • Prayer/God
  • 2 oz. of cold pressed ginger & 2 oz. of cold pressed turmeric morning and night (ginger and turmeric are the king and queen of anti-inflammatories)
  • Zyflamend daily
  • Glucosamine, Chondroitin & MSM daily
  • Deep Blue ointment at night (I apply this all over both of my hands - not just the thumbs)

Say what you want about my approach, but I'm pain free and playing 3 - 6 hours a day.

Hope you get better! It's possible!
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Old 03-21-2018, 08:33 AM
wooster wooster is offline
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Thank you both for your suggestions.

The action on my guitars is pretty good. I've had the tech I use adjust it over the last couple of years to get as much relief as possible.

The problem is most evident when I use my pinky to fret on the 5th and 6th strings and I'm stretching to the 4th or 5th fret or similar stretch. It is a particular problem because the top joint of my pinky now bends inwards towards my ring finger and pressure on it in the direction of this bend seems to exacerbate the pain and inflammation.

I will also try the regime you suggest, 815c. Glad you got relief and it's encouraging to hear. The Zyflamend and Deep Blue are pretty hard to get here in the UK but the rest is easy. I will give it a go but TBH when I move my pinky joint it crunches and I'm not sure it there really is a solution.
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Old 03-21-2018, 08:37 AM
Brent Hahn Brent Hahn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 815C View Post
I was diagnosed with arthritis in both thumbs about 3 years ago. Pretty painful. I could hardly grasp a pick. It's not an issue anymore. Here's what I did...
Thanks for this. I have a friend whose arthritis is really messing with him. And he's a Texan, so a bit rigid about new things. But if I change "prayer" to "affirmation," I think I can sell him on this. On second thought, "affirmation" is pretty woo-woo. I'll stick with "prayer."
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Old 03-21-2018, 10:48 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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I feel for you and have gone through a similar journey.

The one thing that has helped my inflammatory arthritis is exercise. I bicycle nearly every day, all year and the joint pain and movement limiting stiffness and pain in my hand has been reduced.

I think hand stretches and warm water bath before playing help too keep the worst of it away. Neither seem to help as much once there's a real flare up.

Open tunings, new chord voicings, shorter scale lengths and capoing up are all mitigations I've taken to at times with acoustic guitar. I still have trouble getting the joint articulations for clean playing or extended stretches many days.

I play slide more. I've also mucked about with mountain dulcimer (using a Godin's Merlin "sorta dulcimer" currently).

Another odd thing: bass playing, as I do it, requires less finger joint mobility and I've fallen in love with it. On bad days I'll play my Kala U-Bass or DeArmond Ashbory (nylon strings, super short scale). While these are "electric" instruments the sounds are surprisingly acoustic in feel and timbre and they mix well with other acoustic instruments. Not the thing for solo singing accompaniment of course.
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  #9  
Old 03-21-2018, 11:03 AM
wooster wooster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankHudson View Post
I feel for you and have gone through a similar journey.

The one thing that has helped my inflammatory arthritis is exercise. I bicycle nearly every day, all year and the joint pain and movement limiting stiffness and pain in my hand has been reduced.

I think hand stretches and warm water bath before playing help too keep the worst of it away. Neither seem to help as much once there's a real flare up.

Open tunings, new chord voicings, shorter scale lengths and capoing up are all mitigations I've taken to at times with acoustic guitar. I still have trouble getting the joint articulations for clean playing or extended stretches many days.

I play slide more. I've also mucked about with mountain dulcimer (using a Godin's Merlin "sorta dulcimer" currently).

Another odd thing: bass playing, as I do it, requires less finger joint mobility and I've fallen in love with it. On bad days I'll play my Kala U-Bass or DeArmond Ashbory (nylon strings, super short scale). While these are "electric" instruments the sounds are surprisingly acoustic in feel and timbre and they mix well with other acoustic instruments. Not the thing for solo singing accompaniment of course.
I'm going to have to exercise more for sure. I'm recovering from flu at the moment and the pain has been worse. Maybe the result of 3 weeks in bed. At least I'm getting my annual leave from work back due to being on leave when I became ill, so I'm off for two weeks from Monday. I will start my exercise regime then.

The other stuff you suggest I mainly do apart from the bass and dulcimer. I did wonder if the banjo or maybe even a mandolin might be alternatives if things get much worse.
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