Adapting in order to keep playing

[Mike_S]

Thought I would share my story on trying to keep playing guitar as best I can even though getting older, bad luck and a touch of being plain stupid has taken it's toll.

So I have been getting wrist pain (fretting hand) on and off for over a year or so when playing. It could be tendonitis, I did give it a lot of rest and don't even really play that much anyway, maybe half an hour a day just to keep my hat in the ring when not working on a song. Guitar parts for a song (averaging roughly 2 a month this year) might take about a few hours of practice and then maybe an hour or two give or take to record. So overall no great amount of playing really. It might also be down to the fact I broke my wrist pretty badly when I was young. Could be coming back to haunt me.

As a result I have to adapt my playing to avoid too much barre chords as over a full song it can start to hurt a little. So plenty of open chords and I use barre chords sparingly. Trying to balance out having fun, but with keeping an eye on the future. Want to keep playing long as possible... it's my only real outlet.

Another issue, a bit of bad luck mixed with pig headedness maybe... the smaller knuckle near the top of my forefinger is not really able to work that much when playing - hurts a bit. The wife says it is arthritis and I think she is right but I think I speeded up the process by over doing string bending and practicing bends too much. Who knows. So for any lead string bends on that finger are pretty much out. And that snookers me for fretting a few strings together with the tip of that finger too as its too painful... like the standard A chord in the open shape. So I just use the last three fingers to play open A now and all lead I just avoid string bends on that finger.

It's annoying and a bit restrictive but thankfully not enough to keep me from playing. I just need to take care and when your body tells you to give it a rest I now try and listen. One other thing I did was buy one of those wrist strengthening thingies that you can buy in sports shops. So you can sit and squeeze it while watching telly or whatever a few mins a day, to try and keep the wrist (tendons?) strong. In my head I think it helps.

Anyhow, a lot of us are not getting any younger so thought I would share.

Cheers
Mike

[guitarron]

Mike, I'm glad that you shared that. I can relate. About 15 years ago I started feeling stiffness in my wrist while on stage playing in a cover band I was in. Scared the fuck out of me. It would crop up from time time.
Now years later, my middle  finger on my fretting hand "locks up" on me. It sorta snaps open from a closed position. Messes me up. I've been told it's arthritis. Which I believe to be true. Actually the best thing I do for it is play a little at least every day. Seems help the snapping thing, but is stiff.

I have my good days and bad days.

As far as the wrist is concerned, I rested it and begrudgingly switched to lighter gauge strings. I use 10s on the electrics. And extra lights on the acoustics. I think those are 10s as well.
I make sure I've got the best possible action and even tune down on my acoustic if I can get away with it.
Keep on rockin old timer.

[64Guitars]

One other thing I did was buy one of those wrist strengthening thingies that you can buy in sports shops. So you can sit and squeeze it while watching telly or whatever a few mins a day, to try and keep the wrist (tendons?) strong. In my head I think it helps.

D'Addario makes hand exercise gadgets for guitarists:

https://www.daddario.com/products/accessories/hand-fitness/

I have the Varigrip, although mine says Planet Waves on it rather than D'Addario. I guess D'Addario bought them out and started putting their own logo on the products instead of the Planet Waves logo.

https://www.goodwinsmusic.ie/D'addario_varigrip_hand_exerciser

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VariGrip--daddario-planet-waves-varigrip-hand-exerciser



The four spring-loaded posts operate independently, so you can press one at a time, two or more, or all four at once.

I have to admit that I haven't used it for a few years. When I first got it, I used it while watching telly. For me, even though the tension is adjustable, it was too hard to press repeatedly, even at the lowest setting. But maybe I've just got very weak fingers. Maybe if I'd used it more frequently it would have strengthened my fingers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWK_trsTLlA

[Groundy]

Painful Mike, I have had it for some years they put it down to arthritis one thing with mine after it feels ok then moves to my elbows or knees, I take quite a few tablets a day which eases it, Cocodomol, Naproxen, Amatriptolene, a total of 16 a day but it does help.
I have also had the locking finger that you get Ron, I have had it in 3 fingers the Doctor said its called trigger finger my finger locks and it is very hard and painful to get it straight, I have had 3 injections it really hurts apparently it goes into the bone but after about a week it clears it I have not had it for over a year now but it is starting in my little finger..... I must be falling apart. Lol.  Alex

[Mike_S]

Thanks for chipping in guys, I knew I was not on my own here! Thanks for posting that info on that other D'Addario gadget 64, I may well investigate further. Meanwhile I will wait patiently for the locking finger delights to raise it's head some day!

Mike

[StephenM]

yeah Mike that is no fun... I have read about Alex's plight in more than one spot... I am sure it happens to all of us...what blew me away is how good Steve Miller still plays at 72 or so...crazy really... I don't know if he cheats some...didn't seem like it.
Mike whatever you are doing in your songs sounds awesome to me...I am sure that adaptability is hard but maybe you are actually getting some cool sounds from it anyway...
I totally hear you on the barre chords.... I cheat like crazy in the group I am playing with and use alot of them...but I only have to play 8 songs a week on Wednesday night and Sunday morning so it's ok...I notice too that if I don't practice every way I use instruments I have problems when I try that again...for example playing bass...if I haven't played with a pick in a while and try that on the bass my pick hand gets fatigued quick...even though I play with a pick regularly on guitar. 
wouldn't it be cool if they made a gadget that you could press like that finger thing and it would play the notes...nah...never mind...that's a dumb idea..
you know what?  Our guitars are very intimate to us so losing that is like losing your girl in a way...hard to do for sure...

hope it works out ok Mike

[Zoltan]

No fun You do what you can. And there's always the possibility of using different instruments (keyboards etc.), or just plain computer for making music in the "off" days.
I suffer from semi-regular neck pains / headaches which are a killer when they happen... At worst i got a headache from just a few minutes of guitar playing and totally stopped for a while because of that. It felt like the "therapy" in Clockwork Orange. Do things you like = suffer = end up not wanting to do it again...

I did suffer from the repetitive strain injury on both hands. I guess from being a keyboard warrior / avid mouse user What cured me was those climber -type of exercises. Hanging on by fingertips... But i don't necessarily recommend this to anyone else because nobody's weird like me I think it's the weighted stretch in that otherwise static movement that helped me.

[Farrell Jackson]

I feel your pain, Mike! It does happen to some of us as we get older. I'll be 71 next month but it started hitting me about 10 years ago. I remember it precisely. I was on stage performing the last song of a 2-hour gig. The song was 867-5309 (The Jenny song). When it came to the breaking riff just before the lead solo. The knuckles between my index finger and the next finger of my picking hand froze up. So, I fumbled through it but nodded to the other guitarist bandmate to take the solo that followed, and we got through it.  Luckily it was the last song of the gig but since that time I've struggled with arthritis in various joints. I now take prescribed medication which keeps it under control. Alex suggested soaking my hands in warm water before I'm going to play and that does help a lot (thanks Alex). My left hand isn't as affected as my right so I can still make the barre chords. But I have adapted my lead guitar picking by keeping it simple (slowing down), relying on tone, phrasing and sustain. That gets me by. Anyway, I hope you find something that keeps you playing because I enjoy your music a lot and it would be a shame for you to stop.

Farrell