FINGER PAIN - ADVICE APPRECIATED

[richard parker]

Hi Folks,

About a month ago I started to experience a lot of pain in my left (fretting) hand index finger. I can play but there are certain things that are giving me a problem. Mainly, full barre chords. I'm a thumb over the neck player and there are only a couple of occasions in the band's set where I need to barre a full E shape but at the moment it's impossible for me to do this because it is WAY too painful.

I'm also experiencing pins and needles in my ring finger and pinky.

This is scaring the hell out of me.

I'm thinking of going to my GP but they tend to be dismissive of things like finger pain - " It hurts when you do that ? Don't do it then. "

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

[newking70]

see a acupuncturist.

[wahwah]

Pins and needles in the ring and little fingers is possibly a symptom of ulnar nerve entrapment. It usually suggests some kind of repeated compression at the elbow. Check your posture habits, particularly regarding placing elbows on desks. A little physical therapy may well fix it.

For the index finger pain, I would second newking70's suggestion of acupuncture. Reserve all freaking out until you see if that gives you some relief. Remember, worrying, per se, never did anything good for anyone, ever.




Cheers..................................... wahwah

[richard parker]

Thanks for the comments. I can play okay providing I avoid certain movements. Do you think I would best advised to lay off playing altogether for a while ? I'm concerned that I may be making things worse even if I'm being careful.

[wahwah]

You can stop playing if you want, but it may not be necessary. Personally, I'd speak to either a physio or an acupuncturist, or both. But then I have little faith in garden variety GPs for anything other than the most obvious complaints. I'm putting 5 bucks on the pins and needles being a pinched ulnar nerve. If that's the case, it's unlikely that it has anything to do with playing guitar. The index finger pain is still a mystery at this stage, but I can only say that I've had various finger joint pains come and go throughout my playing career, and stopping playing is not an option for me. Nothing has persisted long enough for me to take any further action, but if it did, I'd go straight for acupuncture, and take it from there.

All of this must be taken under the caveat that you are seeking medical advice on a public guitar forum, which is no replacement for consulting a health care professional of whichever flavour you prefer.



Cheers........................................ wahwah

[Aceman]

Two options:

See a doctor and get serious about diagnosis/treatment

Learn open tunings and play slide


I'm not saying that not doing a full bar CAN'T be overcome....but your not jammin' with me while you figure that out.

Go get it checked out seriously lest you end up not able to play at all....that would really suck.

[Myaccount876]

My suggestions:

- Have you tried WD40? It works for people with arthritis.
- Pain pills? (Low and occasional dosage, maybe even children's pain pills?)
- Lighter gauge strings? Flatwounds? Pure Nickels?
- Cover your finger tip(s) in thick tape or glue? Something like what Tony Iommi does for his missing finger tips.
- Not playing the bass side for barre chords? What I mean is instead of "355433" (G barre, low e to high E), you can play "XX5433". You can pull it off if the bassist can fill that low end really well.

Hope your finger pain goes away. Best of luck.

[Lucid_Lunatic]

I'm putting 5 bucks on the pins and needles being a pinched ulnar nerve.

You need to talk to Jaybo.

[richard parker]

I'm very grateful for your responses. Here's a thing - I've never used acupuncture and am rather sceptical about it. I did some digging on the net and came across a site that shows how to perform acupressure on yourself for carpal tunnel problems. . So I followed the procedure and today things are much improved. I've still got the pins and needles but I can fret a barre chord which I found impossible to do yesterday. It still hurts a bit but nowhere near as badly.

I think I'll postpone contacting my doctor for a few days and see how it goes. Thanks again.

[crusty philtrum]

This link was posted recently in a thread about the tingling pinky/third finger issue. Please check it out ......

http://www.ehow.com/how_5199086_reli...and-right.html


.

[richard parker]

Crusty, thanks for that. I've been reading a lot of stuff about this. I changed jobs last October and realise that I now spend a lot of time with my chin in my left hand and my elbow on my desk. I also sleep with my arm curled upwards. Trying hard to break these habits. The sleep one is harder because I tend to default to this position when I'm asleep. I'll try the towel wrapping tip.

[dystrust]

This link was posted recently in a thread about the tingling pinky/third finger issue. Please check it out ......

http://www.ehow.com/how_5199086_reli...and-right.html

.

I've had issues with this myself, and this is the first link I've seen that actually has correct information. A lot of what I've seen has been wrong and in the case of ergonomics, badly wrong. I'd also recommend seeing a specialist or a physical therapist. My GP's recommendations were at best not all that helpful and at worse were actually counter-productive.