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I just went to my doctor after experiencing a bit of pain in my wrist. I was informed that I do indeed have tendinitis of the left wrist. This isn't normally a big deal, but my mother and all her siblings, and their mother, all have/had(until death) rheumatoid arthritis. I fear that this could be the beginning of the end for my guitar playing
However, I'm assuming that it isn't, and that I'm only being paranoid. Does anyone have any experience with tendinitis?? My doctor said to 'take it easy' for at least 3 weeks; how may I refrain from stagnating guitar progress in the meantime? Thanks =)
edit: it appears it is in both wristsLast edited by mr quick; 11-27-2014 at 02:53 PM.
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11-27-2014 11:20 AM
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I ain't no doctor but to keep moving forward:
Work on your right hand
Work on your ear
Work on theory
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What gauge strings are you using?.....L..
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12 flatwounds by D'Addario, Larry.
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I had tendinitis. I rested, iced and took ibuprofen. Every time I execute something in practice I ask myself if it was comfortable and relaxed--effortless.
Not everything can be comfortable on the guitar, so you may need to adapt, and weed out uncomfortable techniques. Hopefully that will keep you playing.
Best of luck with it.
if you don't already, learning to sing is a good complementary project.
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Thanks for the advice =) But I took vocal classes (in which I ultimately got a B+) my first year of studying music =)
It's just been a few hours and I can feel the craving in my hands... this isn't going to be easy for me
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When this happened to me and it became clear I'd have to rest for a long long time, I took up a brass instrument. Trumpet, Cornet or Flugelhorn hardly engage your left hand fingers. You might want to look into that. In my experience, Flugelhorn is the easiest of the 3 but most trumpeters will tell you it's the other way around. You can probably rent a Jupiter 846 flugelhorn for the equivalent of $20/month and it's a fine horn. PM me if you want to know more.
Minimize your typing activities too, and look into an ergonomic keyboard. I recommend the Kinesis Advantage.
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i have had a lot, just not in my hands. tendinitis is an overuse injury. relative to muscles, tendons don't get much blood flow, therefore they take longer to heal. sometimes much longer.
i realize that's tough to hear, it was for me when i first experienced it.
in the short run, rest will be your friend, and maybe anti-inflammatory drugs too. once healed, gentle stretching, warm-ups, proper technique, and sensible work/rest cycles will keep you healthy.
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You are probably not using properly some part of your body while playing. All muscles are interrelated. An unnecessary tense posture or may be the cause of pain in the arm. Go se an Alexander technique teacher if you want to be free of this for your whole carreer.
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As things are today, I know of no available renting service for musical instruments in Stavanger, Norway. I only have laptop computers, and type for 8-16 hours a week(excluding spare time, when I also type a lot)
Originally Posted by coolvinny
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You can connect an external keyboard to a laptop computer. If you are typing that much and you value the health of your guitar-playing tendons, you should give the idea of an ergo keyboard serious consideration. Typing is a part of modern life, and doing it in a way that protects your guitar playing just makes sense.
As for a brass instrument, first of all I would wait until you get a better sense of what your tendonitis prognosis looks like, since learning any new instrument requires dedication and brass can be really tough in the beginning...and can be annoying for those around you! Hopefully you don't have to go there. But if you do, then you can probably find an old trumpet or cornet (or possibly flugel) on the 2nd hand market for a few hundred euros.Last edited by coolvinny; 11-27-2014 at 02:06 PM.
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that's a great idea, but after debt and 25% + gas/other car related expenses, I'm left with about € 100 disposable per month, which is to provide food, clothes, hygienic products etc. As it is right now, I can't afford a single 'luxury' item. =(
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All good advice here. Lower your string gauge and see how it goes, it worked for me..
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Oh gosh, that's a sacrifice I can't do... I need me some 12s
was even considering jumping to 13s
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If you type that much and it will affect your tendenitus. Consider buying a voice recognition system for your computer.
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Take the time off. You'll be worse off if you don't. Limit straining your tendons as much a possible. Don't hyperextended if you can avoid it. Even most "ergonomic" keyboards are bad for your tendons a...sure they place your wrist in a better position, but the pressure creates the same issues you get from hyperextension. you can practice a lot in other ways, transcribe, write out solos, etc. When you've healed I would find yourself a reputable classical teacher. I recommend a classical teacher mainly because they focus heavily on proper technique, while few jazz guys do. Develop your technique to use your body in the most ergonomic an efficient way. You can likely avoid a recurrence if you adjust your technique.
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I started playing guitar in middle school, playing gigs, then music school and so on for decades. I got into computer field about 1982 so typing all the time. I've been lucky and no issues, part of that was just luck and then when in music school we had a short class with a doctor who was a guitarist on proper warmup and playing position. What I learned was basically don't bend you joints further than they naturally want to go. Hold you arm up and let you wrist flop forward that is as far as you should bend it doing something repetitive. Let is flop back it won't go far that the other point. I've applied that to guitar as well as typing on computers night and day and no issues. Guitar raising the neck up a bit more can make a world of difference. Computers I try to set thing up very little back bend in my wrist. At times I've used or made a wrist support, other times I push the monitor and keyboard back so my forearm is on edge of desk supporting and helping tilt my wrist up. All this is mainly about observing what you do and making little adjustments.
Last if doctor says take a break take it or you'll regret it in the long run. Pat Metheny's parents took his guitar for a few months because his grade in school sucked. Pat said he probably did more practice and figured out all sorts of things using the guitar in his head. Take that break.
Using lighter strings if necessary Ted Greene and other had to drop gauges when having hand issues. Getting a phat tone is more about technique than string gauge. Gary Willis a great bass player get a monster tone but has the lightest touch when playing. Gary says he watched how he struck the string and started experimenting to get a relaxed light touch that generated a big sound. I'm sure there are guitarist with light touch that get a big sound. Necessity is the mother of invention, focus on our technique not your gear.
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I've been dealing with it in my elbow for over a year now, and have only just started seeing improvement. At first, I had my orthopedic surgeon address it with two rounds of elbow injections. Then after a short period of relief, my elbow developed a clicking sound and worse pain, and the surgeon wanted to operate. At that point, I found a Youtube video by a sports therapist, showing several stretch exercises specifically for tendonitus. I have been doing them for about two months and it is starting to normalize. The therapist also recommended drinking lots of water and taking vitamin C (which I am also doing). Not sure if the vitamin and water is of any help, but it certainly hasn't hurt anything. Good luck, because I know what a nuisance it is.
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Rest, ice, anti-inflammatories and gentle stretching. Set up an appointment with a physiotherapist to review your posture and body mechanics, and to help you to identify other contributing factors. Any symptoms of numbness or tingling in your thumb or index finger? If so it could be carpal tunnel syndrome, which could be stemming from an inflamed carpal tunnel in your wrist, or from the shoulder due to postural issues. If it is CTS a night splint can be effective in resting the wrist while you sleep. Ultimately, with any form of tendinitis the most important aspects of treatment are to identify the cause of the symptoms, allow the inflammation to resolve, then make the necessary postural and mechanical changes to prevent symptoms from returning and becoming chronic. Best of luck!
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Just saw the doc. again today. 3 more weeks, total abstinence this time. Wear braces on both arms, and a daily dose of anti-inflammatories.
Merry Christmas...!
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A lot of the time tendonitis is caused simply from RSI (repetitive strain injury). It is very common among musicians. tendonitis essentially is inflammation of the tendons. The best way to address that is with cool compression therapy. Another great treatment is Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy. There are great wraps for both cold and blood flow. It is worth a look into at least. They make the wraps for the wrist, elbow and shoulders as well. The blood flow wraps are great to use before playing as it acts like a warm up and helps against re-aggravation. Get the cold on immediately after to help prevent the inflammation from building up.
Tendinitis, Tendinosis and Tendon Injury Treatment
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