LH tendonitis, thumb/hand joint. Remedies?

Passacaglia · July 2020

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/102508#Comment_102508

Thanks Bill. Taken in. This whole thing has definitely told me things aren't like they used to be and I need to pay attention before problems come on, as it's tougher to get rid of the problem than avoid it in the first place. Typing - lol - not a bad idea, hadn't even thought of the dictation potential because I'm such a complete luddite.

I actually have pretty substantial tremoring and typing can be a blast for that alone. One thing guitar playing does, is gives my hands something to do....can get pretty frustrating on Michael's open string exercises as it has do do with "intentionality," meaning, when I want to do something (click that button; do a rest stroke on the G string), everything can go haywire and my hand will fire off on its own trip. Rhythm tames the wild beast, probably one of the reasons I love rhythm (only one. I really do love it unto itself).

Many thanks.

Thanks too, Wim. Do you mean, if you had to choose between buzzing and good intonation, or clean chords and poor intonation, you'd choose the former, or the latter?

wim · July 2020

The latter, sorry it wasn't too clear. Between a buzzy tone caused by too low action (like gonzalo used to have) and inaccurate intonation caused by too high action (tchavolo sometimes?) then I personally think the latter is the lesser of two evils.

If, like me, you have a guitar that moves a lot with the weather then a good thing to keep in your guitar case is a bunch of rosewood shims in a variety of widths. This way, combined with the truss rod key, you can easily keep the action within the range of sanity.

Matteo · July 2020

" I'm just misperceiving it, it sounds muted or something on rhythm playing."

Ok, not exactly what I have experienced. However, one adjustment I did myself, and which I think was successful, at least for getting closer to the rhythm guitar sound I'm striving for, was to attack the strings on 2 and 4 in a more horisontal way than I did before. I think I had too much of a downward motion, towards the soundboard, earlier. And I applied too much force, I believe. That resulted not exactly a muted sound but in a muddy, ugly sound. In noise more than music. I thought the solution would be to raise the bridge.

It was a video by Denis Chang that made me work with my technique. It's a video where he sits in a park a talks about a lot of different things. At one point he demonstrates different styles of rhythm playing. I found the way he played old school, French hot quintet, rhythm inspiring (I think he even distinguished between how Django and the different Hot club rhythm guitar players played rhythm at different stages in their career).

One style of the Hot club, he explained, is attained by a slight emphasis on the bass strings on 1 and 3 and a slight emphasis on the treble strings on 2 and 4. I started to pay attention to this and in addition, as I said, I started to apply less force and instead brush the strings in a quicker and more horisontal movement on 2 and 4. This cleared up the sound and made it more distinct, more trebly on 2 and 4 than on 1 and 3. And it's a sound I like. Also, I can see no immediate need to adjust the bridge height. That's very practical since it's a little tricky to find a luthier who could help me; it would require a small journey on public transport, which I would like to avoid at the moment.

Passacaglia · August 2020

Hi guys, just touching base. I'm hoping each and every one of you are safe and well. Much to my chagrin, my thumb, amazingly (to me), is completely jacked. This, with total rest of the thing but even a high five from my son on the left hand "wakes me up in the morning." Go figure. Looks like I have company with the lads here who took a long time to heal.

Not playing - a bit burned on Michael's RH picking drills, though I know I have no excuses as I'm nowhere near mastered on them. I...um....miss what I actually love to do, crunch out rhythm.

Anyway, just saying hi, thinking of you all. Hope your playing and love for the music thrive.

Matteo · August 2020

Sorry to hear that. Have you talked to any kind of specialist?

pdg · August 2020

I would second that. Maybe at the moment you might have to wait (and go easy meanwhile), but eventually a hand or upper extremity doctor, or a performing arts medical clinic, etc., would be very important. You can't diagnose or treat yourself (and I don't know if any of us here is qualified even to venture opinions on diagnosis or treatment).

jonpowl · August 2020

@Passacaglia I am also having some wrist and hand discomfort with limited mobility of my left hand (I'm right handed). I can play my GJ guitars with some difficulty. For me, using the thumb isn't as bad as barre chords. I saw my doctor a few weeks ago and he sent me for an X-ray, which came back negative. I'm waiting for physical therapy, but in the meantime icing and taking a mild anti inflammatory, Meloxicam. I find that it is much easier to play my 2001 Gibson Les Paul Special SL, which has fairly low action on a nice neck. The SL is on the left in the pic, the Melody Maker and the Junior Special are gone, but I still have the amp, speaker and terrier.

Passacaglia · October 2020

Hi guys, sorry for being absent and thanks for the additional thoughts. Haven't forgot y'all and no less appreciative with the absence.

I'm pretty jacked. Now it involves several places on the left arm, with total rest, all these months. Can't hold anything, very weak. I just can't believe this seems to have stemmed from being an idiot and practicing obsessively, but I can't think of anything else I was doing when it all came on. I honestly thought with rest, extended rest, extendiestest rest, it would resolve but nope, worse. I'm finally seeing an OT and we go from there. I can't believe it's anything other than benign, but just a heck of a case of tendonitis (though I've got a serious dime's diameter worth of pain on the radial condyle of the elbow, like I feel on it or something. That, and flexor tendons on the left wrist. Ridiculous).

Happy playing everyone, stay safe and hope to see you again sooner rather than later.