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??
Comments
I guess the usual stuff like warming up/stretching, good diet, supports etc will minimise the pain?
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Sorry to hear
Quit and only play electric?
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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.
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.
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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.
http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/our-services/rheumatology/specialties/musicians-clinic/overview.aspx
I was prescribed steroids and was told not to play guitar for a month.
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.
(formerly miserneil)
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.
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.
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 !
I got myself a Powerball a few weeks ago and I reckon it's done me some good.
Thanks for the recommendation
I'm 52 now and have never had hand problems - I'm sure the wimpy set ups I use have helped.
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!
(formerly miserneil)