|
For
the curious...
I've had tendinitis (initially diagnosed as Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome, or CTS) in my fretting hand since November
1997. The CTS symptoms (tingling fingers, weakness, etc.) went away
after a month or so, but the “tendinitis” (wrist pain)
aspect did not (details below). To date, I have pounded Ibuprofen
(the “conventional” medical treatment), Niacinamide (vitamin
B6, which reportedly helps repair nerve damage), Glucosomine and
Chondroitin (both joint-repair related), NONI Juice (gag me!), Garlic
(yummy!)... worn a brace/splint, engaged in physical therapy, tried
acupuncture numerous times, got voice-dictation software for my
computer (typing made it impossible for my injury to heal—duh!),
saw a massage therapist a lot, and spent months where I visited
the chiropractor on a more-than-weekly basis. (All totaled, can
you say $$$$$$$?) Oh yeah, and I guess I should also add that, on
a tip given directly to me from Yngwie Malmsteen (advice he got
directly from Ritchie Blackmore!), I drank gallons of Gatorade and
ate loads of bananas (the high level of potassium those items contain
is supposed to help repair/strengthen/lubricate soft tissue, or
something)!!! And of course, throughout that entire period, there
were numerous instances where I refrained from playing completely
(the first stretch—immediately after the injury—was
one month). Other times, I could only play “open-position”
stuff. To say the least, after years of unaffected playing, that
phase of my experience was pretty unpleasant.
 |
|
|
Today,
my condition has improved some (a chipped bone in my left wrist
is supposedly preventing it from healing; I'd have to get cut open
to have it fixed... sooner or later, I'll do it). I have problems
playing barre chords (due to lack of grip strength), bending (primarily
bends that involve “pushing” the string skyward), and
playing single-note phrases beyond a certain tempo. However, because
I am aware of these limitations, I can avoid them by using alternate
fingerings for common chords (I
use a lot of “thumb voicings” now),
using slides instead of bends, and SLOWING DOWN. Since I was kind
of out of “chops” mode anyway when the injury developed,
this wasn't totally the end of the world, though it still obviously
sucked (and continues to). Pick-and-fingers acoustic guitar (arranging/songwriting/accompanying)
is pretty much my main thing now. And I'm somewhat content just
soloing with my voice
(while playing), for
the most part.
I attribute the bulk of my improvement to my chiropractor (Dr.
Claire O'Neill, of Glen Feliz Chiropractic Associates),
massage therapy, using computer voice dictation (Dragon PowerSecretary
for Mac), regular
exercise, and improved sleep. Obviously some of those treatment
steps cost considerable dough.... But out of all of these, let me
stress one that is perhaps the easiest (and cheapest) to do after
an injury, a major first step towards getting—at least some—healing
results fast:
DO
NOT TYPE WITH YOUR INJURED HAND!!!!!!! In fact, DO NOT DO ANYTHING
YOU DON'T HAVE TO with that hand. Seriously. For
most of the first four years of my hand injury, I used the aforementioned
“PowerSecretary”
voice dictation software all the time. It was slow, and tedious
as hell, but necessary. Eventually, the company discontinued updating
its software for Mac (the only one for Mac), so when I had
to upgrade my computer, I was screwed.
Believe
it or not, everything I type nowadays is with ONLY my right
hand (still quicker than Mac's horrid voice dictation). It is a
royal pain, considering I used to be able to type 80-100 words a
minute with both hands, but it's WAY BETTER than worsening the problem.
(By
the way, if you have a Windows setup, voice dictation for that OS
is a million times better than Mac's, so you'll be in good shape.)
Meanwhile, as for “not doing anything you don't have to with
your injured hand,” among other things, I don't put my seatbelt
on with my left hand, don't open a door with it, don't pick up groceries...
I save it for playing only. I know this probably sounds overly dramatic,
but that alone has helped a lot.
By
now, you might be wondering just HOW my specific injury developed.
I'm glad you asked!
Basically,
I trashed my hand doing a Joe
Satriani Signature Licks instructional CD, recording
much of it without sleeping (extended insomnia stint; soft tissues
need sleep to recouperate from overuse). Also, I had previously
partially chipped the bone in my left wrist, jumping off my roof
a year earlier (long, somewhat funny story). The tendons apparently
were rubbing on a microscopic bone abrasion (from it not healing
correctly) the entire time, unbeknownst to me... And a few years
prior, I was in a couple bad car accidents which resulted in some
prolonged back pain. (Supposedly back injuries can have an affect
on the way strength is distributed to your limbs, in some cases,
forcing the body to overcompenate, leading to the muscles/tendons
being overworked.) Further, due to no sleep, I had stopped exercising—the
greatest natural way to “warm up.” Because of this,
I
wasn't in as good physical/playing condition as I was a year or
so before. Since I'd never experienced problems playing on no sleep
before, I continued to shred my brains out... until the pain came.
Contrary to the experience of many, in my case, my technique (playing
posture, hand positioning, etc.) was absolutely not the problem.
In
closing, let me say that many of the things I've listed above as
being “helpful” were things I tried after reading materials
on various web sites dedicated to the prevention and treatment of
Repetitive Strain Injuries (R.S.I.). Below are links to many that
served me well (particularly the “accounts” on the LA
RSI Support Group pages).
Please
realize that there is no substitute for seeking advice/treatment
from a qualified professional. For that reason, I recommend checking
out the following links merely to 1) read about other people's personal
experiences, and 2) research the various “alternative”
sources of treatment that are out there. Please don't assume my
inclusion of these links constitutes a 100% endorsement of every
word contained within each site. And remember: What works for one
individual may not work for another.
Good
luck!
|
