Tendinitis in my hand.

[Frank Farley]

I've been playing a lot lately and am developing what I believe to be tendinitis in my left hand.Does anyone else have that problem and if so what do you do to help with the pain so that you don't have to sacrifice playing?

[Eric C.]

I'd review your hand placement, technique. Maybe you are using too much pressure when fretting and fingering. When my right hand/forearm starts hurting, it's always due to me getting sloppy, tense, etc.

[allenhopkins]

Hmm -- is the "eBay, Craigslist" forum the best place for this thread? Maybe should be in "General Mandolin Questions"?

[chris24]

Perhaps looking to buy 'second hand' or does this phrase not translate across the Atlantic ;-)

Apologies for the limey sense of humour (and spelling)

[MikeF]

Could it be arthritis? If so, check out this current thread on that subject?

xhttp://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?97853-remedies&p=1190284#post1190284

[bmac]

I think the tendency (pun intended) to stop playing, or cut way back might be a mistake.... In my case after a vigorous beginning playing, my novice, and slightly arthritic, fingers began to hurt big time.. I talked to my doctor about it and his suggestion was "Either use it or lose it." (my fingers, that is). So I continued playing and in fact in about three months the pain began to diminish and eventually went away completely. That was roughly ten years ago and since that time I have played roughly four hours per day and spent the rest of the day repairing and building instruments. I now have virtually no pain at all and can play for four hours without the slightest problem. In fact I have plenty of problems, but finger pain is not one of them.

[pefjr]

Advil, no red meat, & dry weather.

[twilson]

My wife is an acupuncturist. When I had a problem with my left index finger, she showed me a pressure point. Any time I would think about it, I would apply pressure and it got better after a little time. I don't think I can describe in words where that point is, and your problem might be in a different place. And I certainly don't want to practice acupuncture without a license. But you might want to get thee to an acupuncturist.

Best,

Tim Wilson

[Frank Farley]

Sorry for posting on the EBay section.I don't know how that happened as I've not had that problem before,still brought out some humor which is always good. Thanks for the replies,got some great ideas!

[JeffD]

Get it diagnosed by a doctor. I had tendonitis like pain in my left hand after playing for more than 30 minutes. Turned out I have diabetes. Corrected by blood glucose (with diet, drugs, exercise) and the pain went away. Entirely. Gone. Can play for hours.

[Frank Farley]

Thanks JeffD,that may be part of the problem. My Diabetes has been acting up lately.I take pills and shots and still don't control it that well. May be that I really need to try harder to get it under control better.i would have never thought that diabetes would cause my hands to hurt while playing ,but it certainly makes sense.Again thanks for the insight.

[Mike Arakelian]

Stop playing for a few days and see if the symptoms go away. If they come back when you resume playing you may want to see a doctor. I've had this problem for a couple of months now, and the doctor told me I had a mild case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome....almost sure it's a result of playing my mandolin. Here are a couple of suggestions from my doctor and me:

Use an ice pack on your hand or wrist for 10-15 minutes after you play and a couple of times a day.
Wear a wrist brace at night when you go to bed. This will keep your wrist straight.
I bought something called an "M Brace" from Amazon.com. It costs about $25 and works similar to an arm brace that's used for tennis elbow. It widens the carpal tunnel and helps relieve the tingling and pain in your wrist/hand.
I've changed my playing habits and only play for 30-45 minutes, but try to do that a couple of times a day. As soon as I feel any sensation in my hand, I stop.
The last and final resort is surgery, but that's a FINAL resort.

Good luck...

[houseworker]

On eBay right now, miracle cure.

Or maybe one of these?

[Sheryl McDonald]

I had tendinitis in my left hand (outer wrist) from overplaying. It was rather painful and stopping playing didn't seem to help. After a 2-3 months rest, a visit to a sports / ortho doc and a cortisone shot cured about half of it. Then just slowly working back up to playing again, and being aware of overusing it (and knowing when to stop). I shy away from 4-5 hour gigs now, for this reason, but I can play pain free.

[Bernie Daniel]

On eBay right now, miracle cure.

Or maybe one of these?

Looks like the same bottle -- of undefined ingredients -- cures just about anything. Anyone who would take that stuff must be desperate indeed! Wonder why they don't let you read the label! LOL!

[houseworker]

Looks like the same bottle -- of undefined ingredients -- cures just about anything. Anyone who would take that stuff must be desperate indeed! Wonder why they don't let you read the label! LOL!

You're far too cynical! Freud would say that the OP posted his request for medical advice in eBay, Craig's List etc because he was hoping for a quack cure (or maybe just a cheap cure). Either way, I was happy to oblige.

[stevejay]

There are mandolins that only need a very light touch or lighter strings. Can another mandolin player try your mandolin and confirm how much pressure is needed to fret it? Play light, really light.

[Frank Farley]

As I stated before I don't know how that this thread wound up in the EBay section,I never had that problem before.I guess chalk it up as human error but it wasn't my intent.I can appreciate a little humor but the problem that I have with tendinitis is serious. Serious enough to start a thread. Thanks for all the helpful tips,and thanks for the humor as well. Certainly wasn't looking for a quack cure or even a cheap cure at that but it's a thought!lol

[j. condino]

After 40+ years of playing music every day, I get pretty bad tendonitis in my left hand when I play a flat fingerboard mandolin and also when I play a factory spec original skinny neck Kay upright bass, both within a few minutes. If I switch to a radiused fingerboard or a thicker neck bass and it goes away almost instanty and I can play all night long with no hint of trouble.

j.
www.condino.com