I have carpal tunnel syndrome

isida.d · #1 10-30-2006, 02:33 AM

Lately i had been having pains in my wrists and pins and needles in my fingers, numbness, pins and needles up my foreams sometimes. and just generally feeling weak in the fingers. the first time it happened it went away after a few days and then i didnt feel it again for almost 2 weeks until friday last week when it came back and didnt seem to subside, so i went to the doctor thinking i had tendonitis. He ran some tests some of which included prodding which actually slightly flared it up worse temporarily. And we spoke about the symptoms a bit and he told me i had CTS.

Which is quite upsetting but he assured me that i was good to come in when i did and not waiting for it to get really really bad.

He also assured me that i will play guitar again. But for now i need to rest my hands and wrists etc.

He has me going to massage therapy starting tomorrow and i am on anti inflamitory (spelling) pill's.

So far i havent played guitar for about 4-5 days and its already wearing at me, guitar has become over the last year pretty core to my being and very theraputic and good for relieving stress when i feel that way.

Anyway i hope i get better soon because i want to keep rocking out

Ant1981 · #2 10-30-2006, 02:42 AM

I hope you get better soon and get back onto the guitar.

I wish you well.

Myst and rain · #3 10-30-2006, 04:25 AM

Yikes! That sounds like a horror story.

You know, Katrina posted a thread about her having hand problems, similar to the ones you're having. I think it was JJEMMER777, who had a good solution for that. But it could be someone else who helped her. I'm not sure. I searched for the thread, but I think it was erased.

You could ask Katrina to help you?

Kind regards,
Myst and rain

mi2tom · #4 10-30-2006, 05:03 AM

That's sad

I hope you get well soon

Sabre · #5 10-30-2006, 05:09 AM

What a nightmare, get well soon and make sure you don't completely leave your guitar!

isida.d · #6 10-30-2006, 06:51 AM

thanks guys, i start massage therapy tomrorow and am on some anti inflamatory medication. well see how it goes, i hope the doctor is right and that i can play guitar again, i'd be lost without it.

in the mean time i can save up for the upgrades i need for the rg and now feel impatient because i cant play the guitar right now anyway

EL-CeeDee · #7 10-30-2006, 07:06 AM

Hi there !

I feel for you bigtime.

You're smart to hav evisited your doc soon. I waited and ended up playing very minimally for about half a year. A list of the things I did which completely prevented it from coming back:
- Engage in sports! A fit body can handle things like this a lot better
- Use light gauge strings ( if you aren't already )
- Buy a scalloped neck guitar ( might not be necessary, but worked for me )
- Play while watching your hands in a mirror
- try to relax your hands as much as possible while playing. Go overboard, play with left hand mutes and build up tension just enough to fret the notes.
- Watch posture while playing. A good angle in back, shoulders, wrist and fingers is essential for a good blood flow.
- Take breaks while playing
- Add a trackball or other pointing device to your mouse driven computer. Switch them up.
- When building up when you start, stop on first signs, no questions asked.
- Play standing up, sitting down, hanging upside down, on one leg, etc. switch postures.
- Watch potassium intake. Eat good in general.
- And a lot more I can't recall just now.

And while you're not able to play the guitar.. Compose music without it! It will make you a better musician !

CTS can be beaten if you take it smart. Hang in there, better times will come ! I can easily shred for a long time now again without problems. My technique has improved a lot because of the measures I took and my musicality has grown in the process.

Hang in there !

isida.d · #8 10-30-2006, 07:16 AM

i had 12-56's tuned to D standard on a RG570 before these problems started happening.

this is it here.

*Picture courtesy of David McCarroll
Note: doesnt have seymour duncan dimebucker in it anymore

When i'm this way i can get it setup for 10's or something in standard.
I never liked 9's much, but i may have to get used to them if and when i start playing again.

I wasnt depressed when i first was told i had CTS but i'm a little down now.

supermau · #9 10-30-2006, 08:38 AM

I had that a little bit too. I wore a wrist brace overnight for a few weeks and the problem has mostly gone away.

LonePhantom · #10 10-30-2006, 04:27 PM

Hey, I'm pretty much in the same position as you dude. Have you had a nerve conductor test done yet? This will tell you if you have definitely got it. I wouldn't completely rely on the GP just telling you you have CTS.

I injured both my forearms/wrists at work by sitting at a badly set up work station April last year, and I'm still feeling the effects of it now (although not so bad).

Your physio person should hopefully show you some stretches that will be good for getting good movement in your wrists and forearms. Another good thing to do when you are a bit sore/tender is ice massage. Get a few ice cubes in a tea towel or face washer and massage your wrists and forearms with it. It helps with inflamation and eases the pain a bit.

Also be extremely careful using anti-inflammatries and stuff like tiger balm and deep heat. These can mask your body's signals when they are basically telling you to stop doing what you are doing and you can risk doing more damage. By all means use them now when you are not playing guitar or using a computer too much, but when you are back to playing guitar and heavier computer use, or anything physical use the anti-inflammatries or rubs when you are not doing too much. Let your body tell you to stop what you are doing, stop what you are doing, and then use what ever you need to and don't start again.

Hope some of this helps

EDIT: As far as strings go, I use 10-52s in standard tuning and a custom 70-13 set on my B tuned six stringer. 10-52s tuned to D shouldn't be too hard on your hands.

tTz · #11 10-30-2006, 04:44 PM

Oh. ****. Not good.

I've had severe tendonitis for waaaay over a year now, and I feel your pain. I found that physio treatment really helped (though I'd had tendonitis for a year before I went to a physio, which meant it was pretty bad by then), so hang in there. Stretches helped me too, as well as using all sorts of wrist/elbow braces to take the strain off my tendons and promote good posture (says the guy slouching in his seat at the moment).

You'll get better soon enough, especially after seeking treatment fairly soon after discovering it. Hang in there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

Get a few ice cubes in a tea towel or face washer and massage your wrists and forearms with it. It helps with inflamation and eases the pain a bit.

I did the opposite; washed my hands/arms in warm water a lot, I found that helped. That said, the tendonitis variant I had was slightly different than yours.

JJEMMER777 · #12 10-30-2006, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myst and rain

Yikes! That sounds like a horror story.

You know, Katrina posted a thread about her having hand problems, similar to the ones you're having. I think it was JJEMMER777, who had a good solution for that. But it could be someone else who helped her. I'm not sure. I searched for the thread, but I think it was erased.

You could ask Katrina to help you?

Kind regards,
Myst and rain

Yeah, it was myself that helped her, but she didn't have CTS. Just strianed tendons / tight wrists / forearms. I just told her of some stretching excercises. I'm not sure that'll do anything for CTS.

I'm Sorry to hear this isida

Good luck and I'm glad you caught it early because if it's a bad case, it's usually requires surgery to correct. I couldn't even imagine the not being able to play part. That's gotta suck BIG TIME!!

Good luck

Lefty Robb · #13 10-30-2006, 05:47 PM

its a good thing that you caught it now and didn't allow it to get to the point where you started to randomly drop things or loose your grip really easy, and also having daily pain which in the end would require surgery.

Isn't that nerve test fun? gotta love needles in the hand...

LonePhantom · #14 10-30-2006, 08:13 PM

I didn't get needles in the hand, I got zapped with electricity in various places on my hands and arms! Not much fun either!

LonePhantom · #15 10-30-2006, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tTz

I did the opposite; washed my hands/arms in warm water a lot, I found that helped. That said, the tendonitis variant I had was slightly different than yours.

I did that at times too. I'd keep my arms under just bearable hot water and massage them to limber them up a little.