Hand mechanics changing with time

[victchenblues]

Hi all,

This is my first new thread on this forum and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. I'm primarily a blues fingerpicker ala Lightning Hopkins with some Merle Travis thrown in, and I've become quite concerned about gradual changes I've observed in how my right hand works (or doesn't).

It started with noticing that my thumbpicks were wearing out a lot faster, and after referring to some earlier videos of myself I realised that while picking my thumb tends to curl inward a lot more these days, causing the business end of the thumbpick to hit the string at nearly 90 degrees.

In my prior videos (about 3 years or more ago) I was able to maintain a straight thumb so that the thumbpick is nearly perpendicular to the strings. However, much as I tried to do so it seems that my forearm muscles tense up very quickly unless I curled the thumb. This is particularly troubling because I now can't play some things that used to be no problem at all.

I'm going back to the very basics and re-doing all the basic thumbpick exercises to try and regain/relearn what I appear to have lost, but I just wanted to hear if any of you have encountered a similar issue before.

I don't want to go down the route of diagnosing medical conditions or muscle degradation just yet, I think that's probably hypochondria at this stage.

[Mr. Jelly]

That sounds strange. I have never learned to do patterns I have always just picked the strings I wanted to hit with whatever finger I wanted. I look at guitar playing more oranically then most people. I steal licks and figures and play them as I want. I play songs how I want also.

[MC5C]

The median nerve is what enervates the thumb and the first two fingers (mostly). I have median nerve damage in my left arm, and those are numb, yet move OK. They are a little prone to cramping. The reason this is important (maybe) is that carpal tunnel is when the median nerve is trapped as it goes through the wrist, and can absolutely affect the thumb motion control. Repetitive motions like travis picking would seem to me to be a natural trigger for carpal tunnel, and these days pretty diagnosible and treatable, I would think. Median nerve entrapment can occur at lots of other places, like the elbow, and include the underside of the forearm as a symptomatic place. My injury is at my spine, and my whole arm is affected to a small extent, but mostly my fingers.

[victchenblues]

That is great info, thanks! I'll try a couple of stretches and see if that helps. Nevertheless, this is definitely a nerve to keep an eye on and now I know what it's called.

[Jamolay]

I am trying to understand your description. Maybe you could post a short video?

It almost sounds like you are developing a focal dystonia. Not as rare as you might imagine among musicians. It is an abnormal muscle contraction leading to distorted movement or unwanted movement with certain actions.

(Btw, I am a neurologist and treat dystonia)

Common dystonia include torticollis (wry neck) and “organic writers cramp” which is essentially the same as what happens to musicians, except it occurs while playing, not writing.

It isn’t dangerous, but can really be a problem for playing.

Your best bet is to see a neurologist, ideally a movement disorder specialist, and get evaluated. If you can locate one that has experience working with musicians, that is ideal (sometimes there are physiatrist who have this experience).

Treatment is difficult and usually requires very, very carefully injected botulinum toxin. You would need to see someone with experience.

[mcmars]

How unfortunate. I am thinking you are saying the thumb is bending at the joint involuntarily (?). That sounds like a neurologic issue. I second what Jamolay just posted, you should go to a good doc to see what might be happening.

I have pretty active Rheumatoid arthritis and have sudden changes in various parts of my body that some times are irreversible. Just yesterday, I was noticing a new pain just baring 1st 3 strings at 5th fret, it felt like the bone in my PIP joint was growing larger and causing some pain, hoping not a RA nodule. RA is a constant moving target and I never know where it will show up next. I makes me motivate to play today as who knows what tomorrow will bring.

I hope you can find a good doc and get it sorted out. My docs all say to keep playing as it is good PT for the arthritis to keep fingers strong and active. But that might not be good for you as it might be irritating some nerves and worsening the issue.

[victchenblues]

Thanks very much for all those insights, I'd never heard of such conditions before and I certainly know what to look out for now! I wouldn't say the thumb curling is "involuntary" yet, if I slow things down enough I can get it straighter than usual with some effort, but once I try getting up to speed it all goes out the window.

Here's what I'm doing now:


And here's what I did 9 years ago:


Admittedly, 9 years ago I was playing a lot more acoustic, sometimes busking for up to 2 hours at one go. It's entirely possible that I've let my technique slip (eg. less wrist movement, hand position etc) and that's my working hypothesis for now, if anyone can spot anything from those two videos other than the hair and the extra pounds please let me know!

I should also add that I've started playing without the thumbpick for certain songs/genres, and I think that's a lot more forgiving of bent thumbs. I don't know whether that might be a contributing factor.

In the meanwhile, I'll start looking for medical professionals to get the conversation started. Thanks once again for your thoughts!