Left thumb tendonitis

[LowEndLikeJLo]

Hi all - First off I'm new here to the forum, so a little intro. I've been playing on and off since I was 16 (32 now). After a recent two year hiatus I just joined a band in November.

I finger pick and hold my left hand wrist. As luck would have it, two weeks after joining the band my thumb joint is swollen and I have pain and tingling. It's worse when I practice so I've pretty well stopped practicing except rehearsal

I've read up a little bit about how to hold the thumb but I was wondering if anyone has had this issue - did you actually have to stop playing for the 6 weeks? I just saw a doctor and she thought it was tendonitis and not CTS. I'm going to a chiropracter on Monday and starting hand therapy next week.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it but I'm female and have small bone structure. I'm generally a wuss haha. I play a music man sterling, about the only bass (besides a hofner) that was small enough for me.

Anyway - any advice, support etc. would be appreciated. This is depressing me majorly - I dread having to stop playing bass because of this.

[fu22ba55]

Welcome to the mighty Talkbass.

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TB user Chris K is compiling some info re: bass playing, health and ergonomics. It's worth a read through there.

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I'm 40, I've have been playing since I was 13, and my left thumb is pretty much shot.

I can't tune my bass with my left hand anymore, I can't close a ziplock bag, I can't open a bag of chips, I can't use my thumb & forefinger to button my jeans or pull up my socks, I can't hold a coffee mug, I keep dropping stuff with my left hand... you get the picture. My left thumb is EFFED.

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I've got tendinitis, not CTS.

Doctor says the only cure is to stop playing for 6 months to a year.

Ibuprofen and warming up before playing helps, and icepacks after playing helps, but yeah... my days are numbered.

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I had the same issue with my right hand (no thumb strength) for about a year. I went berzerk one winter cutting up a bunch of firewood with my right hand, and I totally screwed up my shoulder and thumb. Exacy same symptoms that I currently have with my left hand. I had to stop using my right thumb for almost a year straight before I got any strength back.

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If you look at your left palm, your thumb and 1st finger make a "J" or backwards "L." My understanding is that there are tendons that run along "pulleys" in your bones, and when you get this condition, the tendons are hopping out of their pulleys and trying to "cut the corner." I can feel my thumb "pop out" if I exert it too much. Pretty painful, so I avoid exertion.

I guess cops and competitive gun shooters are prone to the same "thumb pulley" issue since they're stressing their thumbs with gunfire.

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1) Listen to your doctor. I am not a doctor. I've gone to three doctors, and they've all said short of surgery, the only solution is to stop playing guitar for a year. Great. Not currently an option for me.

2) Maybe part of the problem is that your bass necks are TOO small. I've played some bigger necks that are more comfortable. And some super-small necks that were excruciating after 20 minutes of rehearsal.

3) Listen to your doctor.

Good luck.

[Skitch it!]

I have had this once or twice in the past, it does feel quite sore but it recovers quite quickly, due to the fact that the inflammation is around the thumb joint, I think more this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursitis

[Rockmusician]

A few years ago, I went through a several battles with tendonitis. I had it in both hands. It was so painful that I couldn't even shake hands with anyone, never mind play. Anti-inflammatory medicines caused abdominal pain so I had to stop taking them. The doctor told me to soak my hands in ice water prior to playing to reduce the chance of swelling. That didn't work either. The only thing I could do was stop playing for a while.