Not an intruction but... carpal tunnel / tendonitis (?!?!!??!? i have no idea yet)

    Last weekend my girlfriend was visiting her sister for 3 days, so of course I played a lot more guitar than I usually can do.


    Three days, almost constantly practicing upcoming live setlists so they really get stuck in my head.
    But on the third day my left arm started to feel a bit numb. and "tingling", which was a fitting word after looking up some carpal information.


    Now, I'm absolutely NOT sure this is the case, but have anybody else had it?
    How did it start, and how are you now?


    I hope for the best there's nothing wrong of course, but I haven't played guitar for 3 days, maybe I should rest my arm more before getting back?


    I have a big festival gig in exactly 2 weeks and really dont wanna miss out on that :/


    EDIT:


    maybe its tendonitis instead


    I still dont know


    still resting

    Make a break for two days and see what happens. Best whishes


    Your Style of playing is very hard for your hand and arm. 3 days of powerplaying is alot....


    PS: congrats to your playing. I like it very much!


    Frank

    Ice and rest? I get strained wrists at times, not carpal tunnel but still not great and that's the only thing that really helps. Also curcumin is reasonably effective, taken over time. For me anyway.

    Quote from Ingolf

    Carpal tunnel syndrome NEVER affects the arm, only the hand, fingers I-III.
    Have a proper diagnose.

    Maybe so!


    Just that I watched this video as soon as I became suspicious:


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    I KNOW this is not proper diagnostics...

    i am a trained physiotherapist maybe i can help a bit ...


    please do not make the exercises while having an active inflammation. Only slight easy movements without force, put a bit compression on it (use bandages and also roll them on without any force), cool it and don't let the arm hand down very long ... the exercises make only sense if the inflammation is gone


    the tingling as you describe it can also come from a problem in the sulcus ulnaris or the neck ... if the small finger and ringfinger gets numb it could be the sulcus ulnaris, if it is the thumb index and middlefinger it could be the carpal tunnel, if the whole hand gets numb this can be a problem of the neck ... or a problem in your arteries ...


    but i really recommend seeing a doctor, the best tipps about how to behave differ a lot therefore a doctor must have a look at it ... or a physiotherapist ... i really can't help more online ...

    Might be just muscle trapness (there is a word for that but I have no idea sorry)3 days playing when your not used to it.. is gonna put some strain on you,.


    I had a scare a few years back. where my inner thigh, outter leg was complete numb.. was like it for about a week. No idea why, its fine now and has been for several years, thankfully that was a one off. but I rekon it was a trapped nerve.. might be what you are going through perhaps?? No idea.


    Drink lots of smoothies! :)

    At 13 my swimming career ended due to severe tendonitis. I lost the use of both hands for 3 years due to stacking and packing 140 tonnes of fruit juice a day when I was 19 (carpel tunnel / RSI).


    I now know that these are the healing-and-prevention factors common to these conditions:


    Reduce inflammation - Curcumin, Ash's turmeric milk, green-lipped muscle, raw, cooling vegetables such as cucumber and celery, and best-of-all, Lunasin (get it through me - not available in shops).


    Increase rest - Sleep is actually the most-effective form of rest in this case, not just "favouring" the arm / hand.


    Increase mineral intake - Colloidal minerals are the most-absorbable (100%), and can cure bursitis (tennis elbow) in a matter of days.


    Cheapest-and-first course of action should be to try to get some rest, mate, and follow this up with never diving straight into your blistering licks, but slowly build up to them over a period of perhaps 20 minutes.


    Lastly, try not to worry; anxiety plays a huge role in feeding this sort of condition, I've found, plus it affects rest in both quantity and quality.


    PS:
    The typical doctor's prescription of rest and the anti-inflammatory drug Voltaren is insufficient as a long-term solution IMHO, and became tired for me 38 years ago after having seen many specialists, the head orthopaedic surgeon in the state and even the official AFL (Aussie-rules Football League) and Olympic sports doctor. Their collective last-resort measure was to inject Voltaren directly into my tendons. No thanks.

    Well, all in all, good luck... I'm in the same boat as you right now: for a month now my fretting forearm hurts after pursuing to play something that maybe was a little too difficult for me right now ;) it went away during my holiday, but came back when i picked up my guitar again... Never encountered this sort of thing on piano, guitar is a dangerous instrument for your tendons...


    Monday I have an appointment with a doc which specializes in musicians injuries. Apperently they exist...


    PS: trying to rest your hands by not playing guitar is veeerry bad for your GAS :D

    Thanks, I will call doctor tomorrow...

    Quote from Cederick

    The doctor confirmed indeed I do have tendonitis X/


    I got some antiimflammatory pills, bought a wrist spleen to reduce movements and was told to rest for at least a week.


    Thats a good thing. Now, I will still be on the safe side and not touch a guitar until I'm actually on stage, so I wouldt be surprised if I screw up something

    Better a tendonitis than a carpal tunnel syndrome.
    Tendonitis will cure itself if you don't overdo guitar playing.
    And yes, antiinflammatory treatment (ibuprofen, diclofenac, and the like) will help, too.

    HOWEVER I suspect I've been MIS-DIAGNOSED


    This isn't new the local hospital.
    My girlfriend have had some issues, and been misdiagnosed and got reciepts for medicine that doesnt even work for several years


    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312643/


    Tendinitis is the inflammation of the tendon and results from micro-tears that happen when the musculotendinous unit is acutely overloaded with a tensile force that is too heavy and/or too sudden. Tendinitis is still a very common diagnosis, though research increasingly documents that what is thought to be tendinitis is usually tendinosis(1,2,3,4,5).


    Tendinosis is a degeneration of the tendon’s collagen in response to chronic overuse; when overuse is continued without giving the tendon time to heal and rest, such as with repetitive strain injury, tendinosis results. Even tiny movements, such as clicking a mouse, can cause tendinosis, when done repeatedly.

    GAAAH


    The "OSIS" description is far closer to what actually happened


    So I probably dont even have an inflammation, but becuase the doctor doesn't care about anything he just gave me whatever pills he found.
    And it wont even help

    I was starting to have some pretty serious discomfort in my fingers, wrists. Even had some less painful stuff going on in my picking hand elbow and shoulder. Did some research. Started talking BioCell Collagen (UPC 657520090037). Halfway thru my second bottle everything cleared up. No more pain. What a relief. Thought I was just gonna have to deal with it along with all the other gifts that getting old has in store. Might be worth looking into for you...