finger joint pain from picking...?

[Drew]

This one's a bit odd, but here goes... the knuckly of my right (picking) hand's pointer finger's been hurting me on and off for a while now. It seems to happen when I've been practicing my picking a lot, although i'm sure it's augmented by the fact that i'm one of those "two fingers and a thumb" typists, and i type a decent amount (look at my posts here- i'm wordy, lol) At first, i was pretty sure that it was a result of the picks i was using- a dunlop 3.0 "stubby" would translate quite a lot of the impact of the pick into the joints holding it- so i've dropped down to lighter and lighter picks. Currently, I'm using a Fender Thin, but i'm still getting this ache. What gives? Does anyone else have a problem like this? could it be a result of improper picking technique? I can take a picture for anyone who has any background in this and could help me out, and i think i can do video on my sister's digital camera too, if that helps... Any thoughts would be appreciated, as this is pretty frustrating. Thanks,

-D

[btweensunandmoon]

I have the same problem in the same joint but on both hands. It seems to be caused from overuse and wear in the joint. After speaking to my doctor, offhand, at my last visit, he mentioned it being one of 2 scenarios. It could be inflamation in the ligament that holds the bones together. It could also be the beginnings of an arthritic condition. In either case, the best remedy is resting the joint and taking a few days off from playing. If you type a lot, that will make things worse and you would have to find a way of not using that finger so much.

[jemsite]

it hurts at the knuckle... where the finger meets your palm of the index finger? did you injure/bump/strain/etc the hand in any other way recently. either way, you definately need to rest it (no repetitive motions) & should do some finger/hand stretches several times per day, especially before and after playing. When you get back to playing focus on a lighter grip of the pick and a much more relaxed pick hand to avoid ongoing problems. good luck.... glen

[Drew]

finger meets palm. No recent injury or anything, i just started typing a lot more recently than i have in a while. guess i'll be keeping a low profile here the next week or two and pra tice legato a lot- thanks for the advice, guys.

-D