Playing Taylors with Old Hands - Exercise Suggestions?

[Scriptor]

As I grow older, I feel my grandfather's pain ... he was an old-time fiddler ... in his later years, he had problems with his hands and joint pain ... I can feel this slipping up on me ... does anyone have suggestions about hand exercisers specific to guitar players?  Thanks.

[jjrpilot-admin]

Hi Scriptor!  Sorry about the pain...I'm not sure about hand exercises but have looked at taking glucosamine?  It helps to lubricate joints and helps to alleviate pain around the joints. You can purchase it at any drug store and it's just a daily pill to take like you would vitamins. Fish oil also helps the joints as well. 

Playing soccer at college just made my knees hurt etc but combining glucosamine and fish oil made massive improvements.

[mgap]

I did a lot of skiing as a teenager and it was often in the danger zone.  After three knee operations I have been taking glucosamine/chondroitin, fish oil, and yes I think it does help. 
The other thing I would do is stretch your hands and forearms before you play, I find this helps to make warm up faster.

[Edward]

I'm a gettin up there as well, especially with the more I play.  My sis-in-law is an Occup Therapist so has told me to stretch my hands and wrist in all directions before and after playing, with an emphasis before playing.  On the after-play stretch, icing (really a cold pack more than ice) on the wrist/carpel area is helpful to some.  FWIW, that latter point has helped me.

I get lax and don't stetch more often than I do: and I feel the difference.  Don't be lazy (as I say this to my own aging bod), and you will play longer w/o issue in the immediate, but will feel even better in the long run.

Edward

[cigarfan]

I'm a gettin up there as well, especially with the more I play.  My sis-in-law is an Occup Therapist so has told me to stretch my hands and wrist in all directions before and after playing, with an emphasis before playing.  On the after-play stretch, icing (really a cold pack more than ice) on the wrist/carpel area is helpful to some.  FWIW, that latter point has helped me.

I get lax and don't stetch more often than I do: and I feel the difference.  Don't be lazy (as I say this to my own aging bod), and you will play longer w/o issue in the immediate, but will feel even better in the long run.

Edward

Sounds like good advice for players at any age. Stretching the body pre/post most muscular activities is a good plan and will extend one's ability to continue that activity.

Thanks for the posts guys. Limber up!

[ggj]

Great subject. 

I've started to feel some sort of numbness (for lack of a better term) in the index and middle fingers of both hands.  An orthopedic guy has scheduled a EMG to dertermine whether it is early onset of carpal tunnel.  If it turns out to be that, he has suggested I do the surgery to "release" the stress in that area before the nerve damage becomes too severe or irreversible.

Anyone had this experience?

Any sort of remedial suggestions?  I'm sure the primary culprit is computer use but my primary concern is the long term impact on my guitar playing.

[Edward]

GGJ,

The whole thing that prompted me to address my issue (and to avoid from freaking out as guitar playing is part of my soul!) is that mine may have been the early-onset of Carpel Tunnel Syn.  I did not have that professionally diagnosed, but I had all the classic symptoms  ...though mine was more pain and sudden loss of strength (like turning "off" a switch to the muscles) than numbness.  I did a few things to address it:

1. Raise the guitar on the strap to get a more comfortable/natural angle for my fretting hand/wrist (I play lots of electric, so this was a more a biggie for that than for acoustic).

2. Stretching the wrist/hand before playing really helped warm-up (relax?) my whole wrist/fretting hand.  I found doing these things alone helped a lot with post-playing discomfort/pain.

3. Icing the wrist area was important for me in the early weeks that I started addressing the problem.  And Advil (Ibuprofin) is an anti-inflammatory, even if it doesn't "hurt enough" to take it.

May I re-iterate I started getting a bit afraid of what was happening to me as guitar playing is an important facet of my life.  Like so many things, we tend to ignore stuff until it gets bad.  Do NOT let this get bad!!  So when it started getting bad enough for me where "toughing it out" no longer became an option and I started doing the right things, guess what, I got better.  This obviously can develop into a very serious issue so Id advise anyone to eschew the machismo/bravado and make the necessary changes before it changes you.  Just sayin

Edward

[Scriptor]

Thanks everyone for the good suggestions and shared experiences.  I remember a long while back, Wood & Steel had a special hand exerciser in it.  It looked unique in that it seemed to allow for individual finger stretching/strengthening.  I haven't seen it since.  I wonder if anyone has used any excercisers of this nature or know where to find them. 

[cjd-player]

... I remember a long while back, Wood & Steel had a special hand exerciser in it.  It looked unique in that it seemed to allow for individual finger stretching/strengthening...

I believe that the Wood and Steel article referenced an artist who was recovering from a trigger finger problem.  And I think it referred to a ball with rubber loops on it like this:  http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/ghs-handmaster-plus-hand-exerciser-4583.html

And also a "glove" like this:  http://technabob.com/blog/2009/03/30/xtensor-gamer-hand-exerciser/

[S MS Picker]

I read about a creme on the John Pearse website. It's "Topricin". With twice daily application, and another about 30 min. before playing, I noticed a significant improvement after about a week.. I have a light case of CTS. I use the 30 min to limber up and squeeze an old tennis ball. The Pearse site also has a product that is supposed to neutralize the "acid" hands that some folks have.
If I do this regularly, three 45 min. sets are just kinda tiring not painful.
I have also found that the GA shape, or short scale helps also.
"If you think it works-- It works."
Steve

[Scriptor]

... I remember a long while back, Wood & Steel had a special hand exerciser in it.  It looked unique in that it seemed to allow for individual finger stretching/strengthening...

I believe that the Wood and Steel article referenced an artist who was recovering from a trigger finger problem.  And I think it referred to a ball with rubber loops on it like this:  http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/ghs-handmaster-plus-hand-exerciser-4583.html

And also a "glove" like this:  http://technabob.com/blog/2009/03/30/xtensor-gamer-hand-exerciser/

yep.  the first link looks really interesting and affordable.  the second link is what I saw in Wood & Steel.  Thanks.

[Cindy]

I had surgery for tennis elbow and followed up with physical therapy. I needed hand therapy because the muscles/tendons from the elbow run down the forearm and work the fingers. After PT ended, I bought the xtensor. It's okay but I can replicate the exercise (to work the extensors in the forearm) with therapy putty or even a single rubber band. The putty comes in different strengths, and even the softest strength will give quite a workout.

The most important thing to remember is that the muscles/tendons of the fingers and thumbs are really small so less is more! It can be VERY easy to overdo it!

Here is an online PDF of exercises you can do with therapy putty, but I'd strongly suggest getting your doctor's approval before starting any type of strengthening exercises so you don't inadvertently make things worse!!! Again, the forearm muscles that control the fingers are VERY small and can be easily injured by too much exertion so please be careful no matter how you proceed! http://library.osfhealthcare.org/PatientEd/Rehabpdf/OTDocuments/NEWOT/Theraputty.pdf

[Scriptor]

I had surgery for tennis elbow and followed up with physical therapy. I needed hand therapy because the muscles/tendons from the elbow run down the forearm and work the fingers.

Thanks Cindy.  About 7 years ago, I had a similar injury that all but disabled my right arm from the elbow down.  At its worst, I could be holding a coffee cup and my hand would suddenly lose strength and I'd drop it.  This went on for months until I decided I could no longer just hope things would get better.  I was skeptical that PT would help but it took less than 5 sessions (and regular doses of Ibuprofin) to "fix" the problem.  As it was described to me, the problem was really the muscles/tendons linking my hand to my elbow.  It seemed like a miracle to me but it worked.  I will never doubt the posssibilities of PT again.  And I am very thankful for the restoration of my picking hand!