I have had tendonitis for three years and Ive been following RICE for all that time. Rest it, Ice it, Compress it and Exercise it.
My wrist is getting to the point where guitar playing it becoming virtually impossible and it looks like I ll have to give up playing forever because my wrist just refuses to heal. Ive done everything concievably possible. Ive changed how I hold the guitar, how I fret etc. Everything about the way I hold the guitar screams perfect in the classical guitar sense. I hold the electric like I hold the classical guitars that I play. There is no wrist tension when I play.
The injury is actually a mixture of different things. Ive had nerves in my arm trapped at various points along my entire arm. This caused delayed signals to reach my fingers and also caused a hell of a lot of tension. Three years of physio and only now is the nerve becoming unstuck. The problem is, my neck and shoulders are now stiff and my wrist is hurting even more.
And on top of that I have tendonitis, and I have massive amounts of swelling around my carpel tunnel, although the test of carpel has come back negative 6 times in 3 years.
Cortisone injections havent worked. The only thing that keeps the pain and inflammation away is anti inflammatories. I dont want to be popping pills everyday. So Ive decided.
I have to end my guitar playing days until the time that I have no more chronic wrist pain and all my RSI goes away.
Three years, a battery of tests, the doctors, the physio nurses and my guitar teachers do not know what the exact problem is.
So... I ll have to keep resting it, keep on icing it, keep on compressing it, and keep on doing the wrist exercises that make me look rather retarded.
Maybe you can try an instrument that is less stressing for your fingers for a while? And maybe recover in the meantime. I really hope this is something that will be fixed in the future, I mean, who knows? The area of medicine will advance very quickly soon I have a feeling.
That sucks dude and I have come across this many times with guitarists not just suffering from your problem but with age related issues such as Rheumatism,Arthritus and such...stick with your routine and don't give up, Life throws us a lot of curve balls sometimes but sometimes we hit them back hard...peace
that really blows hard. you must be pretty young, and i've heard of this happening to older folk, but not young guys like you. you'll be able to pick it up again, but you just gotta wait for it, and know that you'll get better again.
Wow. I give you my sympathy, because that really, really sucks.
I'd try what Kensai suggested. Move to an instrument that is less stressful. Maybe try learning to sing? Just because you can't play guitar doesn't mean you have to give up on music.
sorry 4 ur troubles man;ive played bout 10yrs now n last jan my strummin hand swole up n im currently goin physio bout 3mths n with rest n stretches its not chronic but still i cudnt play 4 an hour withou pain kickin in;just as i felt i was gettin gud enuf to really njoy me playin,i also now getn shoulder and neck.
maybe both our physios are brothers! caz mine hasnt got a clue eida
maybe u shud look in2 music production as i am as it is still great to hear an axe grindin if not by u by some1 else.tryn keep up the chin.n rememba it cud be worse;
u cud have tendonitis n be livin in basra!!!!!!!!
corpcleg wrote on Aug 22nd, 2009 at 1:42pm : sorry 4 ur troubles man;ive played bout 10yrs now n last jan my strummin hand swole up n im currently goin physio bout 3mths n with rest n stretches its not chronic but still i cudnt play 4 an hour withou pain kickin in;just as i felt i was gettin gud enuf to really njoy me playin,i also now getn shoulder and neck.
maybe both our physios are brothers! caz mine hasnt got a clue eida
maybe u shud look in2 music production as i am as it is still great to hear an axe grindin if not by u by some1 else.tryn keep up the chin.n rememba it cud be worse;
u cud have tendonitis n be livin in basra!!!!!!!!
English?
Man, Thats horrible. Im trying to think of an instrument you could play, Maybe very relaxed Piano/Keyboards?
Yes , sad but not so rare, you should certainely stop completely for a few months then start again later, and then practice relaxed and progressively, play slowly and gently... good luck
I know how you feel ,Im going through the same shit,it started when I first began to play & has now progressed...tingling finers ,burning shooting pain,cramp,muscle wastage,both my shoulders now give me untold grief as well as both wrists ,one elbow & two fingers,I dont even bother to practice anymore,Im at a point in my life where I dont feel the need to be an overly flash bastard on the guitar...so I make mistakes,who cares? What I still do is write & record my own songs,Its so much easier than trying to play some impossible shred of someone elses,Break up your playing sessions,limit what you do & make things easier on yourself...You dont have to be malmsteen....his songs are shit anyway,cobain wrote better songs & his shit is easier to play,also remember Django, Good luck any way,these fucking guitars should come with a warning on them!
Shit ,Sorry ,I didnt read your profile,I didnt realize I was slagging the mighty swede to his number one fan,I do concede ...he is a a phenomenal guitarist,I just think rock n Roll shouldnt be so paganini inspired!
I feel for the loss man. I've had wrist problems for years (probably due to computer use) and i lived with a ganglion cyst in my left wrist (about teh size of a golf ball) that was painfull as hell. I have 3 other cysts in my right wrist (attached to various bones) and I've been diagnosed with tendonitis twice.
I've been on anti-inflammatories and had the ganglion removed. I've stopped playing for months at a time and even now (while things are SO much better) i'll get a humid day or something and it just kills to play.
I hope everything turns out and you get better. +2 for perseverance.
Dude, those doctors are quacks. If you are really serious about getting some treatment that works try acupuncture - swear to god it works. You got nothin to lose, give it a short. Best of luck man
Thanks for all the kind comments and sympathy. I've been booked for an MRI scan and more physio. Ive been re reffered to an oestopetrician for some more tests etc and possibly an op if I need it.
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