The past few weeks I have graduated to playing on stage every Thursday. Yesterday I embarrassed myself and my fretting and strumming hands both locked up at times. I played through it but sounded awful. The c minor chord is somewhat difficult, but I had played it several hundred times without a pick. If you’ve seen any of my videos, you notice I often play without a pick due to my stiffness. I want to get back to playing with a pick to be a more well rounded player. Being on stage plugged in with a microphone and no do overs is a whole different game. Maybe I’m overthinking it and just have to dust myself off and do it again. It was only one song and the others were fine. I appreciate any tips though. Thanks. Jeff
No real advice Jeff but hope you get through it. After hard graft I get quite a few trigger finger lock ups in day to day activity these day, shoot I’m 69 so this was always gonna happen. But as yet its not affected my playing. As Hec would say, some will come along with an answer shortly.
I would refer you to a web page that I have found helpful for my own problems with it:-
My main strategy is the exercises and heat / cold therapy, mine is mostly in my trigger finger due to working a lot on computers, it’s basically down to mouse button use. I’ve found that the best heat therapy is by the use of a Far infrared device, either a lamp or a pad - both are good. The beauty of Far Infrared is that it penetrates deeper into your body than surface heat so is more effective. The store of the famous river has some pretty decent devices! The exercises are mostly to strengthen your hand and to maintain a decent range of motion. It’s not an instant fix, it takes time and effort to get results.
Wow Jeff thats great. I am super stoked for you playing live like that. You know what works really good for arthritis and headaches is Diclofenac it is an oral NSAID but it is perscription only in its PO form. Caution it is tough on the kidneys, so your primary won’t perscribe it if you have any kidney issues. There is a topical OTC but its not very helpful for arthritis.
Again super stoked for you. Next time we are in SD I would love to come by and give a listen. I always dig your music uploads.
Be careful with this. It’s not only bad for your kidneys, but also (like all NSAIDs) for your stomach: prolonged use might end up in an ulcer if you don’t take proper precautions. Also don’t use it if you have a heart condition or are at high risk to get one (high cholesterol, …). And don’t mix it with other drugs without thoroughly consulting a doctor - it’s notorious for having loads of interactions with other medicines.
There’s a bunch of reasons why it’s a prescription drug, so do consult a doctor before you try it.
Hi Jeff, first of all congrats on playing live, something I wouldn’t be able to do at the moment. I have all sorts of arthritic issues, the main one being costochondritis, but I also have problems with my right hand, leading to my index finger and thumb locking up in a bent position which makes pick manipulation extremely difficult. Sometimes I can get through a complete song and sometimes I can’t. Around five months ago I found a channel on you tube called Virtual Hand Care which has lots of hand exercises for various conditions. I have found the exercises for trigger finger/thumb to be particularly helpful for myself. Might be worth checking it out. I also started to question why my left hand is super flexible and each digit can be moved independently quite easily, and came to the conclusion that it may be due to all the fretting I do with my left hand. So, I turned my guitar the wrong way around and started doing 10 minutes per day of fretting exercises with my right hand. I do eventually plan to buy a left handed guitar for this as fretting chords and playing scales with the strings muted is starting to get a little boring. Five months of all this and my right hand seems to be getting a lot more stable, and my thumb/index finger don’t want to bend and lock up as much, and I can generally get through a song. I hope that some of this rather long post helps. Keep on playing. Cheers, Tim
I understand totally if you dont want to go down this road, but I am prescribed cannabis medicinally for a very bad wrist Injury I had when i was younger, I have onset of arthritis and nerve pain quite bad, and it really helps me with keeping my wrist as loose and functional as possible. My 2 favourite things to do are Golf and Guitar and it does wonders for preventing and for recovery, Ive been able to pursue both things so much more since being prescribed, and I see many other anecdotal tales of Arthritis care effectiveness.
I won’t advise on any medications, being one of the actual doctors on the forum. Speak to your primary care or a rheumatologist for that. You might ask them about Diclofenac cream you can put on. Safer for the rest of the body.
But, warmth helps. Maybe try some fingerless gloves to play in? You can even get fingerless gloves with a pouch for a chemical hand warmer.
Avoid cold weather gigs outside? Tiger balm on the back of your hand? Paraffin hand bath at home? Just some ideas.
Thanks for saying hello and hope all is well with you . You were right that several people followed with a response. I was very fortunate to get a spot performing and just want to put my best show out there. I agree my arthritis will happen again so just have to
Minimize it. Maybe start with easy chords and hand strumming until I get more comfortable. My friend who gave me the spot has been very supportive and patient so that helps. Part of that mishap may have been that o had to work in the morning, run to the gig and work again at night. So there was no time to warm up and I interrupted his set to get stage time. I wasn’t awful just the arthritis killed one song. I’ll read on for other tips here. Take care.
Thanks for the website and I will have a look. Next week I think I’ll go into the gig with more preparation for my hands. Heat therapy makes a lot of sense and I do that often with my joints in general. Maybe I can start with a heating pad for my hands or soaking in warm water before playing.
Thanks for the tip on the medication. I see someone else responded with similar advice below. I’ve been doing the show for three weeks now. The first week was great other than me sitting because I was nervous to play standing. The second week I had equipment problems like a string popped off the nut mid song and the audio sounded off. Then the third week my arthritis killed one song. Luckily my friend it who shares his spot has been very patient and understanding. Old Town is the first settlement in SD. It’s kinda like Old Scottsdale in AZ if you’ve been there. A lot of tourists come and go and may be curious to stop and listen. I have about 30-40 minutes to open the show each week. So far I think they like Green Day and Linkin Park the best. I posted a couple songs on the other thread called .”my first on stage show “. I hope to see you here sometime. Take care man.
I’m also getting the swelling and stiffness in the finger joints, especially the lower joint of the middle finger on my left (fretting) hand. Makes a D cord a challenge. Best thing I have found is warmth and exercise. I have 2 golden retrievers and have found a good petting and play sessions before guitar work really helps, and it’s good for the blood pressure and doesn’t interfere with any other drugs.
Wow Tim, you really thought outside the box to get your right hand working better. I will check out you tube for the videos you mentioned. It sounds like this is a work in progress and takes a lot of time and effort. Your story made me feel confident I can do this though. Performing on stage was a lifelong dream for me so I am really excited to finally get the shot. I just don’t want to be less than my best. My friend, who is originally from Ireland, reminded me yesterday that things happen for a reason to get us here. I lost my 14 year career in February due to a layoff and took a different job doing security, where we met and started talking music. A month later we are playing a gig together. The point is I can’t let my arthritis stop me, so I appreciate hearing your advice and look forward to improving my hand movements.
I appreciate you being sensitive when suggesting this. Where I live in California, dispensaries are becoming more common and no longer require a prescription. Growing up, cannabis was always taboo by society like a bad thing. Once in a while I buy the gummies and it does help with pain management. I deal with chronic migraines besides the arthtritis and overall joint pains. I am glad to hear it is helping you play golf and guitar. Maybe I should try that strategically while preparing to play a longer set. I don’t see how the older guys do it so well. I just saw Angus Young last week and last year I saw the stones. Both are amazing for their age or really any age. I can imagine their joints must take a toll. Thanks again.
Hi there and thanks very much for the candid advice. The last time I spoke with my HCP about this he said it is more a degenerative type of arthritis and there is not much to offer as far as tx. I like the idea of the Diclofinac cream you mentioned. A friend gave me a general type of pain-relieving cream to try, which helps some. It reminds me of Ben-Gay if they even still make that anymore. It sounds like the majority here, including yourself, recommend some type of heat therapy. I can try to keep pocket hand warmers with my equipment before performing. A heating pad helps at home. Avoiding cold weather definitely helps. I live in Southern California, so it doesn’t get too cold here most of the year, but sometimes when the wind is going from the ocean in the late evenings it gets pretty chilly here. Tiger balm sounds like an idea too. I see the rugby players here use that quite often when I work at their games. Thanks again for the help.
Love it and I am sure the dogs do as well. You have some beautiful dogs. I hope you get through it as well and I appreciate knowing I am not alone in this struggle. Have a great week.
