LH tendonitis, thumb/hand joint. Remedies?

Bones

That and a couple bong loads you should be good to go :-)

Passacaglia

🤣

You know, there's a bag of ..... oregano right beside my chair. Not the same mojo as it once had. This oregano is also the stuff that doesn't fill the head palate, but has the rep of that kind of warm, fuzzy, couch-sinking feeling, after you've smelled a good bowl tbsp or two.

Quadropenta

I've gone to see a variety of doctors and other "practitioners" to get information on the strain, stiffness and now mild deformity in my fingers. Ten years of that... Just saw an orthopedic surgeon [though I told him at the outset I won't be having surgery done]. He took x-rays and showed them to me. Though what I have is called "arthritis", its a combination of aging and cartilage worn out and ground down from 45 years of intense music making. Heavy "manual labor" on a variety of stringed instruments.

This is basically a chronic situation with no expectation of "cure". Though its terrible, there isn't a thing I can do except basic maintenance: exercises, physical therapy, Aleve & warming up before playing, soaking in hot water etc. I mention this for people here with chronic hand problems, and no explanation. Consider x-rays to determine the state of cartilage in your hands. I can still play & its often the best I've ever played. Other times its a struggle.

Bones

Hey Quad. Yeah same here. "End stage arthritis" in the left hand/wrist (is what the hand surgeon called it) and beginning to get it in the right. Doc said no guarantee with surgery, could make it worse. Said to just tough it out as long as I can. Surgery is a last resort. If I am careful and don't over do it I can still play. Worst part is comping chords for a long time is brutal and I'm primarily a rhythm player so trying to focus on soloing. Tough transition to make late in life but I'm having fun regardless and stoked I can still play at all considering.

The best pain med I've found is weed. Problem is the stuff nowadays is WAY too strong for me and I can't sit around stoned all the time so I only use it if I've done something stupid and injured it. CBD oil alone doesn't seem to help me that much but if I add a little THC that seems to boost the CBD or something. Just have to watch the dosage on the weed or I'm stuck to the couch watching vids and eating chips and cookies for 2 hours.

Not to mention bursitis in both shoulders from almost 50 years of surfing. Getting old sucks...but hey, still surfing and jamming so can't complain. Considering what Django did with what he had to work with no excuses. :-)

Lango-Django

The best pain med I've found is weed.

Somewhere Louis Armstrong is smiling... and desperately attempting to suggest that you use his beloved laxative Swiss Criss to “leave it all behind you”.

ChristopheCarington

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/103790#Comment_103790

Not trying to be alarmist, but the "spreading" is very concerning in that it's a common side effect of pressure related to your spine. It could be worn-down cartilage, a herniated disc... or something much more serious pressing/growing on your spinal column. If you haven't already, you should see a doctor and press them to get X-rays (or CT scan if possible).

Quadropenta

Bones

"Getting old sucks" Yeah--to me its heroic. To younger people its just boring. :^)

The process of compensating is pretty interesting, and it still sounds good though not as "finger gymnastic". All you can do is ride the wave...

therealguyfi

I have had several bouts of tendinitis which I cured partially with a supplement called Myo-Tone, by Enzymatic Therapies. It’s a composit of vitamins and minerals and you have to take a lot of it, 3 time a day, but it cleared me up in about two weeks.

Passacaglia

Hello everyone,

I am really grateful for all your replies - Christophe, thank you for your urgent post and all, I'm sorry for the being absent. A few folks pm'ed, and I mentioned practice zen (lived in a martial arts and zen temple for a few years), and there's a few periods during which I'm out of reach for intensive training, several times yearly. Just came out.

I really appreciate everyone's input and advice. As it turns out this is almost embarrassing at this point - just a nasty case of tendonitis, and the OT I finally got into see is, I think, right on to it. Surprised my doc(s) didn't suggest this earlier but they are all angels and I know they've something just a tad more important to take care of these days. I love them all.

So - for so long, I just kept resting it as I'd always had that idea in my head, with the bouts in various places I'd had before. Turns out that's great during the inflammatory phase, but once that's done, at least in my case, I have to do all kind of extension work. Didn't even think of it but all the areas of involvement mentioned above are very poorly vascularized, and with the pretty severe microtears all along this flexion line, they never healed. I'm doing stretches now specifically including the thumb (painful, but good - would never have known that), and strengthening exercises for the thumb and wrist. The exercises are new to me - no "curls." A sort of "passive" extension or what I used to call "negatives" in weight training where I use my RH to bring my LH to curl, and then a very light weight resisting extension through the ROM. Not out of the woods yet, but my god - and again I feel almost stupid - I'm on the mend. From being so bad that even a very loosely held mudra (see below) during zazen would bring on bad flareups that I thought, crap - rest even this???

Also pleased to say I have turned a corner pretty much in all ways. With the central pain it's always been hard to do much of anything, as it brings on such terrible flare ups. So basically I stopped eating for the entire day. I have dropped over 40 lbs over the last few months, taken up Ashtanga yoga, become a vegetarian, and of course, practice zazen. All to a net good. Now I can walk and though the pain is probably as bad, the "suffering" associated with it (if that makes any sense) is something I can deal with, and move on.

I'm very grateful to all. I asked the OT if I can practice, and she said, yes, watch the pain and stop, and regardless start doing maybe ten minutes and call it a day. No problem. Weird and wonderful to even hold it after so long.

Long-winded. You've all been kind and I just wanted to respond, and apologize again for the absence. Cheers.

Buco

Great to hear you're on the mend.