Have you suffered practice injuries? Trigger-finger, Carpal-tunnel, etc.

  • I had wrist pain issues several years ago - after many months of cortisone shots, chiropractic and physical therapy, I had nearly given up hope that I would be able to play pain free. My wife convinced me to try Acupuncture (which I was absolutely not interested in pursuing at first).


    It worked surprisingly/amazingly well - I highly recommend it.


    Hope everything works out well for you.

  • I have a bit of trigger finger , for several months. It doesn’t seem to be getting worse, so far,

    But at 71 , I’m getting worried, I’ve only gotta a few more gigging years in me

    A shot in the finger works but only 6 months each time for me. The trigger finger release surgery I had on my index finger was a permanent fix but it took about 5 months for the finger to feel normal again. When your finger won't bend or is painful everyday then you are left with no other options.


    I get the damn shot today in about 2 hours, so no guitar the rest of the day. ;( I will either get permanent relief or have to have surgery around November.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I had trigger finger on my left middle finger. Ended up with the 3rd injection working and no issues for about 4 years. Then just 2 years ago had it in my right hand middle finger. On injection number 2 and so far all is good. The worst injury to my hand was a displaced fracture of the 5th metacarpal on my left hand, my fretting hand. Had to have surgery and have a plate and 5 screws installed. Took months of physical therapy to even begin to play guitar. My left pinky is almost 1 cm shorter now but I make due.

  • Hands and fingers can be touchy (no pun intended). When I have had issues I have had success with ice if it is immediate then after 36 hours I am on the heat. Ultra sound and massage along with acupuncture did wonders for me. Diet can help as well. A lot of the things we eat cause inflammation within out bodies and when we do have injury it really slows the natural healing process of the body. Stretching, proper warm up, building up your endurance (consistency is key here) help a great deal. Lighter gauge strings may also be a help or even necessary depending on what you already use and the injury or damage one is up against. Good playing posture and positioning is also vitally important to keep your body aligned as best as one can and to reduce (if not eliminate) stress points. Oxygenation is key for many health related things and one of the best and cheapest little things you can do is rub your hands down with hydrogen peroxide and get that extra oxygen into your hands and system. It will help a great deal, is safe and cheap and easily available. I stopped having surgeries and focused on nutrition and acupuncture and the ability to give my body the chance to heal itself and have been very happy with the results and in return it has saved me from having surgeries the doctors told me I would have to have in order to get things right.


    Hopefully something I shared is helpful to those reading this and saves you some pain and frustration or even surgery. Good luck!

    The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

  • Man, that sucks. I hope you get better.


    I read a fair few examples of carpal tunnel injuries but I've avoided it luckily. I have sprained fingers and suffered some pretty significant cuts and crush injuries. I'm fortunate as I'm only an amateur and if I can't play, I don't.


    However, mid pandemic, I developed diplacusis following a series of ear infections. This essentially makes each ear hear a note as different pitches. It manifested mostly in the upper midrange, so bass was unaffected, as was high end. Most male vocals were ok within a certain range, but female vocals and distorted guitars were completely atonal and unbearable. It was as if there was a ring modulation effect in place, even when the spoken voice got even remotely raised.


    My GP could offer no advice other than it might improve a little, a lot or not at all. I ended up avoiding music and listening only to podcasts for 3 months until the symptoms improved. Unfortunately another ear infection came, bringing my diplacusis back with anger......


    I'm incredibly lucky, it did improve much more quickly but it hasn't fully gone away. My left ear is now intolerant of high volumes. I saw Devin Townsend a few months back and both he and Vola would have been unlistenable if I hadn't have taken ear plugs. The same for a gig I went to a few weeks ago.


    I'm just a hobbiest, I don't need to earn a living from music but it's been a passion for so long. However, I had grown used to the idea that my life might not feature it much anymore. It was surprisingly easier to take than I thought as I still had the rest of my health and other things to enjoy.


    But don't give up hope. Hope is not lost. Take your time, look after yourself and don't rush the healing.

  • Hands and fingers can be touchy (no pun intended). When I have had issues I have had success with ice if it is immediate then after 36 hours I am on the heat. Ultra sound and massage along with acupuncture did wonders for me. Diet can help as well. A lot of the things we eat cause inflammation within out bodies and when we do have injury it really slows the natural healing process of the body. Stretching, proper warm up, building up your endurance (consistency is key here) help a great deal. Lighter gauge strings may also be a help or even necessary depending on what you already use and the injury or damage one is up against. Good playing posture and positioning is also vitally important to keep your body aligned as best as one can and to reduce (if not eliminate) stress points. Oxygenation is key for many health related things and one of the best and cheapest little things you can do is rub your hands down with hydrogen peroxide and get that extra oxygen into your hands and system. It will help a great deal, is safe and cheap and easily available. I stopped having surgeries and focused on nutrition and acupuncture and the ability to give my body the chance to heal itself and have been very happy with the results and in return it has saved me from having surgeries the doctors told me I would have to have in order to get things right.


    Hopefully something I shared is helpful to those reading this and saves you some pain and frustration or even surgery. Good luck!

    Sorry to be negative, but if the diagnose is really "carpal tunnel syndrome" than only surgery can help. If done correctly than problem dissapears completely! I know what I am talking about. The complete recovery takes from 6 to 12 months but it is actually only real option. So my advise is: if your diagnose is really "heavy carpal tunell syndrom" don't waist your time with "alternative" treatments and go for surgery! Just my personall experience & advice!

  • My trigger finger on middle finger came back last week. I am so pissed. I guess I will have to decide when to schedule surgery. I had cut back on my practice hours for a few days, but the last two days, I wrapped my hand when I woke up using a "bed buddy" heated in the microwave. I was able to get in almost 4 hours of practice yesterday with almost no discomfort. I'm going to repeat this for the time being and take some Meloxicam to help reduce swelling and see if it gets me past the New Year.


    https://www.amazon.com/Bed-Bud…rap&qid=1669398961&sr=8-4

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • My trigger finger on middle finger came back last week. I am so pissed. I guess I will have to decide when to schedule surgery. I had cut back on my practice hours for a few days, but the last two days, I wrapped my hand when I woke up using a "bed buddy" heated in the microwave. I was able to get in almost 4 hours of practice yesterday with almost no discomfort. I'm going to repeat this for the time being and take some Meloxicam to help reduce swelling and see if it gets me past the New Year.

    Sorry to hear that :( But as I wrote some time ago:


    Sorry to be negative, but if the diagnose is really "carpal tunnel syndrome" than only surgery can help. If done correctly than problem dissapears completely! I know what I am talking about. The complete recovery takes from 6 to 12 months but it is actually only real option. So my advise is: if your diagnose is really "heavy carpal tunell syndrom" don't waist your time with "alternative" treatments and go for surgery! Just my personall experience & advice!

  • I've had Carpal Tunnel surgery at both hands and surgery from 5 Trigger fingers.

    I've got problems now with two others, one of them already got an injection.

    The only fingers that I never had a problem with yet are my thumbs and left hand index finger.

  • I've had many issues related to hands, arms, shoulders... All due to repetition. I've gone down many roads in search of a solution but have never found one. I've managed to make playing tolerable by:

    1. Learning to relax and play lightly. It is interesting how little force is necessary to play a guitar
    2. Light strings helped me a lot
    3. Probably the most significant is a percussion massager on hands, forearms, elbows and all the way to the shoulders. I turn it up high and pound away with it. I use it myself, but it seems more effective when my girl does it. This device has allowed me to keep playing with very little pain.

    Now if I could solve the tinnitus and hyperacusis...

    Best of luck

    I have a severe case of tinnitus (and hyperacusis), I also had surgery on both shoulders, forearm, elbow, Carpal Tunnel both hands and multiple Trigger fingers. Never ending story....