I'm Too Young To Have Trouble With Playing Guitar Just Yet!

TSJMajesty

TSJMajesty

Rock Star
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I need to just bite the bullet, take the time off work, and have the carpal tunnel surgery already!

Thing is, after using my hands at work all day, it never bothers me during the week. Like, at all!

But this past weekend, I could not get the tingling in my hands to stop, either Saturday or Sunday! And the weekends are my main practicing days! It sucked.

Anybody else feeling "it"?
 
Carpal tunnel? No, not yet. On rare occasion I'll get a bit of soreness between my index and middle finger (fretboard hand) but it goes away after a day or so. Though I do have pretty much continuous tinnitus in my left ear. A steady ringing that I've learned to live with at this point but it was very difficult and depressing when it manifested about 5 or so years ago.
 
I got into trouble back in the 80's, but the fear of not being able to play anymore scared me enough to start listening to my elbow, fingers, wrist.. and stop playing when something hurt. Take a couple days off.

Take magnesium supplements. Stretch before you play.

I have a heating pad on my recording desk, and before I ever pickup a guitar I wrap my fret hand in that thing and do 20 minutes of heat therapy.
 
Due to a current medical issue under treatment, I've been having problems with my hands caused by the medication. The doctor says any neuropathy in my hands shouldn't be permanent, but i code for a living and i've been having trouble typing lately. On the good side, the doctor says playing guitar would be a good benchmark of the side effects. My guitar playing is better when i can do it, buts that's not really an everyday thing at the moment. It's kind of like pins and needs, only with razor blades and nails. I'm learning to live with it because not living would be worse lol.
 
FuzzyAce said:
Carpal tunnel? No, not yet. On rare occasion I'll get a bit of soreness between my index and middle finger (fretboard hand) but it goes away after a day or so. Though I do have pretty much continuous tinnitus in my left ear. A steady ringing that I've learned to live with at this point but it was very difficult and depressing when it manifested about 5 or so years ago.
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I just started to have Tinnitus but I can still hear well its just annoying and bothersome is all, and Im learning to ignore it
but its not always on some times its not there

:idk
 
I have tinnitus too, and have for many years. Now, I play at low volumes, take breaks often, and it hasn't progressed.

I'm fortunate that I don't have any pain, just the tingling, but if I did, I would stop playing right away.

I've seen a specialist, and she's fine with a 'wait-and-see' stance, but told me to call if it gets worse, and she can prescribe something (I don't recall the name.)

I'll see how things go over the next week, but I think it's time to get that Rx filled, just to have it.

She did tell me the surgery is very successful.
 
I've had mild/medium carpal tunnel in my left hand from 20+ years of working. I don't work with my hands for a living anymore so it rarely bugs me but when I do yardwork, wrench on cars, or play guitar for extended periods it starts to ache.

I planned on getting the surgery this year to get it over with, but life... curveballs, etc...

the procedures these days are so minimally invasive and recovery is much quicker than even 10 yrs ago.. I say do it
 
Sorry to hear that, any hand or wrist issues are big fears for all of us, no doubt.

So far, I have on again and off again minor pain in my hands below my thumbs. Nothing major and hope it stays that way.
 
I have one of those finger-strengthener devices that helps me.

Fwiw, playing some video games also help with my neck and shoulder aches that sometimes appear.

Any excuse, I know.
 
I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel years ago. I quit my desk job and haven’t had symptoms since.

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I've talked about my issues a little bit in the poll/thread about warming up. In my early adulthood I used to work in a cold storage warehouse tossing around cases of frozen meat for a handful of years before doing the same thing for a hardwood flooring company. An 80lb case would be my lightest box at that point. As I would lift a case I would feel what I could only describe as guitar strings being plucked in my forearms: a distinct ASDR feeling followed by numbness/tingling in my hands and fingers.

This kind of sensation continued into my next job of loading, unloading, and the delivering school lunches in rolling ovens that I would have to push and pull around different campuses. It was at this point where I'd wake up after a day of work and have swollen forearms like Popeye the Sailor, almost unable to clench my fist without pain. The regional manager got me in to see the company's doctors, a few different crackpots and they each said something different; tendinitis, ulnar fasciitis, tennis elbow, were some of the few that I clearly remember. I wore wrist braces on both wrists day and night. After a while I just got numb to all of their guesses and BS. Physical therapy out at my company's location was really good and they taught me some cool stretches that I still use. I was put on light duty but it was office work and it only made things worse.

I was out on disability and sunk into a deep depression, unable to play guitar like I could just 2 years ago and had quit all my other hobbies as to save my hands to play a little bit of guitar. The good physical therapy and medical treatment in my company's area was replaced by the shitty sub-par excuse for medical care in my area. I would self-medicate and fall into self-destructive habits. I decided to go to school with the time and money that I had but quit going halfway through (still passing the classes I took) because I couldn't keep it together. I felt ashamed, guilty, and was at a real low point.

I sucked it up and decided to go back to work, thinking that would give me purpose again but it wasn't long before the pain came back so bad that I failed to deliver on time and refused to help a school volunteer, which ended up in me losing my job. The muscles in my forearms would cramp up and retract to the point where I wasn't able to straighten my wrists.

My work now is less physically strenuous, I exercise and eat close to a vegan diet. I feel stronger now at 37 than I did when I was 25 and haven't had any major forearm issues in about 9 years. My hand dexterity has suffered because of all of this and I've lost some feeling in my hands but I'd rather have these issues than pain and be unable to play guitar.
 
I've been, mostly keeping, joint pain/carpal tunnel away by keeping an eye on my diet. From 30-36 it was pretty rough, I had a few periods where I thoroughly understood what it's like to say "The pain is bad enough I can't play", I went 100% plant based when I was 36 and within 3 months it all cleared up. I used to have a kinked neck 3-5 days out of the week, I had gotten used to turning my whole body to look in a different direction instead of just my neck.

I'm not as strict about being plant-based these days, but I heavily, heavily limit the amount of red meat and dairy I eat, those two will do it to me without fail. A week away from both will clear everything up again. I'm actually in one of those spots right now, the last 2 months I just haven't been able to keep up with a consistent diet due recently. I think tomorrow is the first day I'll be 'in the clear' to get back to my regular schedule of grilled chicken and vegetables.
 
Before having CTS surgery, I'd suggest you visit a certified hand therapist. They can do wonders without cutting into your wrists. That, and some rest time for your hands even away from your guitar is a better longtime plan from my experience.
 
TSJMajesty said:
GREAT session this evening. Not one bit of trouble with my hands.
If I work that day, my hands are completely loose, and I have no issues at all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Makes sense. When I switched to woodworking full-time 3 years ago my hands have only gotten stronger. Short time after I upped gauges on all my strings 1 to 2 notches. Even when they're tired it's much stronger than when I was behind a desk being a keyboard warrior for too long. :facepalm (no offense to any of you that still are...:grin)
 
Sorry, friend. That sucks. What do you do at your job that causes it? My wife’s last job was basically 8 hours of 10 key data entry. Causes her a lot of pain. She got a new job about 3 years ago and hasn’t had an issue since.
 
HomespunEffects said:
Sorry, friend. That sucks. What do you do at your job that causes it?
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I'm in construction, residential remodeling, additions, renovations, that sort of thing. But in my younger years I framed houses, a lot of houses. Did that for 5 years straight in the 90's.

So if I had to point to one or 2 things, it was probably the use of nail guns..., the recoil, and simply swinging a hammer. Although, I'm right-handed, and both my hands suffer from it, but it is worse in my right hand.

But what I do now at my job, which is mostly running the crew, handling boards, cutting, that sort of thing..., actually keeps my hands limber enough that I don't have issues with my hands on the days I work. It's just the weekends, lately, when I have the tingling.
 
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