Arthritis anyone??

[Tim]

The open C chord is a problem for me too as I have mild arthritis in my left index finger. Ironic that the easiest chord becomes the hardest to play - barre chords no problem. I find massaging the finger before starting to play helps, as does Deap Heat or Voltarol rub, and it eases up as I continue playing.
The joys of geting older!
Tim

[MeBHank]

I have Reptitive Strain Injury which flares up from time to time, usually when I've been playing for too long. It originally flared up whilst I was trying to perfect the lead guitar part of Sultans of Swing, which has a lot of barre chords across just three or four strings (using just the first one or two joints of the index finger). Maybe fixing my hand in one position and having to apply constant pressure on the fretboard for hours on end was the cause. Probably.

I have a friend who is very knowledgable about massage and aromatherapy and she recommended I use Voltarol gel, which did help to a certain extent. The problem is that the time you want to kill the inflamation is when you play, and the gel will kill off your strings very fast, no matter how well you rub it into the skin. Taking a painkiller does the job enough to get me through a gig. A more long term solution is massage. When you play an instrument, the intricate, repetitive movements of your hand are controlled by tiny movements in muscles further up your arm and in your back. These movements can cause knots to occur in the muscle that you are unaware of and that would, without treatment, never go away. Some knots are easier to get rid of than others and it may take multiple massage sessions to get rid of the worst.

Whenever I start feeling the pain in my hand I immediately stop playing, unless I'm gigging, in which case I have to grin and bear it. Trying to ignore it and playing through it can cause irrepairable damage to your hand. Some great musicians have been forced to give up their instruments completely due to not heeding the warnings.

Thankfully my RSI has not caused me any problems for quite a while, but I bet it will flare up again at some point.

J

[Mikey]

I have arthritis in my knees but daily glucosmine over the years does seem to have helped....or maybe I just think the condition will worsen if I stop taking it?
Thankfully, it doesn't affect my playing - apart from when I do "Foot Tapper" of course

[Iain Purdon]

Glucosamine, chondroitin and fish oils are all available in health food shops and are claimed to work as joint lubricants. Some people swear by them, others say they make no difference. An osteopath we know said the same, if it works for you, go for it, if not , don't waste your money. But persevere for six weeks before you decide. If it hasn't kicked in by then, it's not going to, he said.

I forgot to say that my GP also recommends Voltarol (diclofenac) gel.

Iain

[Paul Childs]

The time may come, if my arthritis gets worse, I will have to settle for open tunings or slide playing. I hope not as these methods are restricting.
I will struggle on the normal way as long as I can.