Diagnosed w/Cubital tunnel syndrome, switching to a pick...

Bassman8416 · #1 02-09-2011, 01:57 PM

I went to a hand specialist do to tingling, numbness and loss of strength in my right hand...and its official, I have cupital tunnel
syndrome. I knew thats what I had. I have tried rest, floating thumb and nothing really has improved. I am now wearing a brace at night so I don't bend and sleep on my elbow and wrist.
I do get relief when I play with a pick. I am a jazz player but also play in r&b and classic rock bands. Its the jazz that has me struggling in this transition phase. But I figure Steve Swallow and Carol Kaye play very nice....so I just need to practice and maybe I will swing better with triplet drops etc. I see a neurologist in a week to test the ulnar nerve and check on strength loss....I am hoping to avoid surgery.

T40Chump · #2 02-09-2011, 02:11 PM

I've never been officially diagnosed with Cubital Tunnel and this is the first time I've heard the term used. I Googled it and it looks rough.

I probably need to have my left arm looked at. My day job is very physical and requires a lot of straight pulling of heavy items from overhead. This causes a lot of strain on my elbow and if I'm not careful I will get a burning sensation at the outside edge "the bump" of the left elbow that is very hard to get rid of unless I rest the arm for several days. On one occasion, my left arm was rendered almost useless for about three days because of the soreness.

The only relief is a change in technique and I try to keep varying the way I pull to keep my elbow "on it's toes", if you will. It seems to work and I'm hoping to avoid surgery as well. Hell, I'm trying to avoid going to a doctor! Haha!

I sincerely hope that you will find some relief without having to resort to going under the knife. Best wishes.

honeyiscool · #3 02-09-2011, 02:48 PM

You should get a good wrist strap. Best of luck to you.

I think it's important for all musicians to make sure that they are playing in a relaxed state. It's OK at first if you're strained, but in time, you should feel relaxed.

Anyway, picking is great. With the right strings and pickups, you can get the kind of fullness and definition that bassists dream about. That said, if you're switching to picking, you'll find that a lot of your best settings for finger style result in crappy pick tone.

Marginal Tom · #4 02-09-2011, 03:00 PM

You're lucky - I had it in my left hand. I had surgery 18 months ago. For the last year or so, I've been able to play a four-hour gig without any pain or swelling. The fingers still feel numb, but they work well enough to play single notes. I've given up on learning guitar, though. The surgery (they move the nerve to the other side of the elbow) wasn't a big deal. I had hoped for a faster, better end result, but I'm in my late 60's. Your outcome might be better.

tangentmusic · #5 02-09-2011, 03:11 PM

Sorry to hear of your condition, man. I think you will enjoy using a pick. Be sure to try a variety of thicknesses and brands to find the one most suited to your style. And for the fingerstyle sound, try out a felt pick. You get more of a thumpy tone out of felt than plastic.

Floridabwoy · #6 02-09-2011, 03:14 PM

Adamas 20mm.

TFunkadelic · #7 02-09-2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassman8416

I went to a hand specialist do to tingling, numbness and loss of strength in my right hand...and its official, I have cupital tunnel
syndrome. I knew thats what I had. I have tried rest, floating thumb and nothing really has improved. I am now wearing a brace at night so I don't bend and sleep on my elbow and wrist.
I do get relief when I play with a pick. I am a jazz player but also play in r&b and classic rock bands. Its the jazz that has me struggling in this transition phase. But I figure Steve Swallow and Carol Kaye play very nice....so I just need to practice and maybe I will swing better with triplet drops etc. I see a neurologist in a week to test the ulnar nerve and check on strength loss....I am hoping to avoid surgery.

I'm sure you have researched this a bit already, but in case you haven't it may be extremely beneficial to see a physical health therapist who specializes in musician-related injuries (if there are any in your area). They can correct tiny posture issues/tell you what else you might be doing wrong.

If it's something posture or technique related, they might be able to help you in avoiding surgery.

Bassman8416 · #8 02-09-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floridabwoy

Adamas 20mm.

Hey anyone know where to get these?

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was also looking into the Bunny Brunel approach,
I like the idea of a physical therapist for musicians. Anyone have experience with
ART?

devine · #9 02-15-2011, 09:01 AM

Hi there, sorry to hear about your problems... the human body is rubbish sometimes!

I've been plagued by loads of trapped nerves/neurological movement conditions etc etc... Anyway, around 18 months ago I couldn't use my right hand fingers at all due to a condition called Focal Dystonia so started using a pick.

Here's a demo i recorded for Overwater basses last year on one of their acoustics...

http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=...=post&id=57075

As you can hear it sounds fine, so don't feel beaten! I'm now using my right hand fingers again but i still like the pick for certain things.

I use quite a hard pick incase you were wondering.

cheers,

Scott.

http://www.scottsbasslessosn.com

http://www.scottdevinemusic.com

Omnihility · #10 02-18-2011, 10:30 AM

I am sorry to hear this. On a related note a similar injury is what got me to start playing with a pick. When I was 21 I started developing symptoms of carpel tunnel. I took over a year off, always wore a wrist brace and made sure to warm up every time I practiced for an extended period of time. Playing with a pick isn't bad either. After a while I actually began to prefer it.

dmusic148 · #11 02-18-2011, 10:33 AM

I had it and had the surgery; excellent results. In my case, the doc found that an abnormal muscular growth was the culprit. This was trimmed to avoid having to move the nerve. I was lucky; the recovery was minimal.

JimmyM · #12 02-19-2011, 02:44 AM

do what carol kaye says technique-wise and you'll find using a pick to be much safer. good luck with it.

Stanley Pugh · #13 02-19-2011, 03:07 AM

Sorry to hear about your problem. I had carpel tunnel both hands from my day job. Had both hands repaired and play like normal after a short time of rehab. My response time was too slow to play before getting them fixed, time lag from when I told my fingers to move until they did. I hope all goes well for you.