Goodbye Tinnitus, Hello RSI :-(

IvisonGuitars

Well, If it's not one thing, it's another. 

Ive pretty much got a handle on my tinnitus now so it's less of a worry and now I've developed RSI in my left arm/fretting hand.  Think it's from a combination of 2 x 2 hour acoustic gigs per week and recently I've been working in the day as a plasterer.

I had a session of massage on it on Thursday which seemed to help but I gigged last night and this morning it's worse than ever. So much so, I've just cancelled all upcoming gigs but I'm partway plastering 1 of 3 houses which the customer is waiting on.

As a self employed person who uses both arms (then again, who doesn't) in 2 physical jobs to earn a living, it's becoming a slight concern.

Any tips on how to get it healed quickly chaps??

lloyd

No real advice or experience but sorry to hear that, hope you get it sorted.

I guess the usual stuff like warming up/stretching, good diet, supports etc will minimise the pain?

thomasross20

I do notice my hands are more "stiff" after my weekly 3-hour practice session. 
Sorry to hear
Quit and only play electric?

crunchman

What gauge strings on your guitar. If they are 12 then switching down to 11 will probably help.

Do you press harder than you need to on the strings?  I grew up playing acoustic with heavy strings and I think I got in the habit of pressing too hard.  When I got an electric with jumbo frets I pulled the strings sharp all the time.  My wrist is better now I've learnt to press less hard.

Neck profile can make a differerence as well.  Wide shallow necks are bad.  You need some depth to the neck.

I've found that often wrist pain can be because of neck/shoulder issues.  If my wrist is sore a back/shoulder massage from my wife really helps.  Bad playing position on the guitar, or bad posture in general, can cause issues.  At least in a physical job you aren't slumped round shouldered at a computer all day and you should have decent muscle tone in your shoulders and upper back.

If you google it you'll find there is good information and resources out there for rsi type stuff.

Grunfeld

miserneil said:

Any tips on how to get it healed quickly chaps??

Go and see a good physio.
Determine exactly what it is.
If it's tendon, then start to load it.  (All other things being equal.)
And your physio will show you how to do that.
Typically:  starting with tolerable isometric loading.  Progressing from there.
And also looking at what may have caused/ contributed to the problem arising in the first place.

thomasross20

Load it? Like, finger exercises?

Skipped

Shit.
I have no advice to share but I hope you get this sorted.

The only RSI type problems I have ever experienced were desktop computer related. (8 hours at work in front of a screen followed by crazy long periods at home sat in front of a screen). It just went away as quickly as it arrived.

terada

See these guys. They do truly wonderful work...

http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/our-services/rheumatology/specialties/musicians-clinic/overview.aspx

guitarfishbay

As above see a good physio and also make sure your guitar is easy to play and that you're fretting it as light as possible - it'll also help with intonation as pushing too hard makes things go sharp

shaunm

I used to practice for 6/8 hours per day and developed RSI. 

I was prescribed steroids and was told not to play guitar for a month. 

Grunfeld

thomasross20 said:

Load it? Like, finger exercises?

Load the tendons. 
By default this will be "finger exercises".
The bit where you almost certainly need 1:1 is determining which exercises.
It is all about progression / recovery.
Loading (all other things being equal) (usually) works.

IvisonGuitars

Thanks for the advice chaps, much appreciated. I'm off to see a recommended physio on Friday so hopefully he can sort it out. Having guitars around the place on stands and not being able to play them is the worst part!!

ChrisMusic

That's a tough break.  BTW how did you get a handle on your tinnitus, I guess there are quite a few of us on here who could do with a little help, or a better coping strategy on that one.

What are your RSI symptoms ?

It is well worth taking a good look at how you are using your hands and arms, shoulders and general posture too.  The same advice about keeping your wrists as straight as possible as much as possible, as when learning to play guitar, also applies to pretty much everything you do in life.  Also look for any restriction to the tendon movements in your arm and hand, even minor pressure can cause irritation to the tendon and sheath, been there, done that !

I would whole heartedly recommend taking a look at the video I posted as the OP in this thread, it will give you a much better perspective on what you are dealing with, and may help you to prevent problems in the future too.  It makes very clear the whole issue of carpal tunnel problems and why they occur, amongst other things, including what an amazing piece of natural engineering the human hand really is.

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/28437/dissected-the-incredible-human-hand#latest

Shared knowledge will also give you a better understanding of what the physio is talking about.

https://powerballs.com
I have used one of these for strengthening my grip for learning to play again, and it has helped when I have had some RSI style issues.
I would be interested to hear what your physio thinks of them.
Also @Grunfeld do you have an opinion on these, and what do you mean by "loading" the tendon, and how does that help ?


Good luck tomorrow Neil, I hope the appointment goes well for you.  

Grunfeld

ChrisMusic said:

[PowerBalls]
Also @Grunfeld do you have an opinion on these, and what do you mean by "loading" the tendon, and how does that help ?

@ChrisMusic -- for what it's worth I think the powerball is a really useful piece of kit.  As it happens I keep one to show patients and get them to work with it if I think it will help them (it is not a panacea but I love it and for suitable problems it is a brilliant way to overcome RSI-like issues and many other upper limb problems).  Then I tell them where they can get one.   (BTW, the "Purple Haze" version is no different to any of the others but it's the cheapest and it's as effective as the more expensive versions, and I like the Jimi reference and it's a great piece of rehab equipment so it will do the job.) 

Loading tendons:  I try and keep myself up to date.  Here's how it looks to me, 2016:  Tendon is not the quickest healing of tissues and can be problematic.  (This is an understatement.)  All other things being equal the best way to get a tendon to heal is to load it -- i.e. apply a load to it.  Get it to do some work.  At first, isometrically.  Then, progress.  If you can't load it directly; load something else nearby.  That's the principle; the devil is in the detail.  E.g. if there's surgery then it depends what the orthopods/ hand surgeons have had to do.  If there's not, it depends what's working well and what isn't.  What is the driver for the problem? 

That is really, really simple.  But, honestly, at the moment it's what I believe works best. 

ChrisMusic

Thanks for the explanation @Grunfeld , that makes sense to me, useful knowledge.  Also agree on the cool Hendrix associations too.

There is a Scandanavian chain store near by called Tiger which sells loads of modern "stuff", and they do a power ball lookie-likie for just a fiver.  Works just fine, got it after I trashed my wonderful PB with the snazzy light-show by, yes, loosing the bloody string (defence: it was after a series of tricky house moves ~ it will turn up and gloat at me someday) and trying to start it manually on rough surfaces too many times, doh !

digitalkettle

@Grunfeld ;

I got myself a Powerball a few weeks ago and I reckon it's done me some good.

Thanks for the recommendation

richardhomer

I've always made sure my guitars don't have too much 'fight'. I use lowish actions - with 10s on my 335 and 9s on my Strat.

I'm 52 now and have never had hand problems - I'm sure the wimpy set ups I use have helped.

IvisonGuitars

I'd forgotten to update this.

Big thanks for the recommendation of the PowerBall @Grunfeld, I found it has really helped with my arm. I've  been off gigs since I posted this thread and did my first one back on Friday evend and all went well.

So all is looking good. Thanks to all for the advice/good wishes!

Hootsmon

how did you get your tinny under control?

Grunfeld

That's good news!