Re: Thumb Pain
Originally Posted by
Sherry Cadenhead
Thanks, Ranald. I just now realized you posted the link! Can't watch the whole thing right now, but I can tell you my 2nd and 3rd fingers are joined at the hip, wanting to do everything together. Fortunately, reaching with the 4th finger is not a problem for me. Anyway, looks like this is a great video, and not just for the pinkie.
Thanks, Sherry. My sweetheart gave me a D'Addario Varigrip Hand exerciser a few days ago, with finger buttons that can be pushed all together or one at a time. My pinky is weak as the result of a broken wrist and related injuries. I know that's not your issue. I've been using the device for a few days and find it helpful, though I have to be careful to limit myself to about five minutes at a time so I don't overdo it. I can't give you a six-month report though. Another exercise I find helpful is to lay my left hand palm down on a surface, and lift the fingers one by one, then bending the finger and pressing down as I would on the strings. Over time, my fingers have become used to moving independently. However, when I look at this week's Mandolin Mondays video (#243), I know that I can't bend my fingers like Josh Turner does. I'm old and arthritic now, but I'm not sure that I ever could.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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