carpal tunnel anyone?

dobby · #1 05-07-2009, 05:40 PM

I hope this is an approriate place for this post . Ive been playing injured for quite some time. Just getting over Rotator cuff surgery. Left side.
I thought that was bad but now my right hand is Eat Up with Carpal ! Man it is difficult enough just to use this hand at all and playing is a whole new challange.
Im getting the emg and mri this month so I should know where I stand with this.
Ive known people with it but had no idea just how wicked this stuff can be! My first 3 digits , thumb and next 2 fingers are novacain numb. My hand cramps and Im dropping things because sometimes that nerve just goes to hell "50 to a 100times a Day" it seems like anyway and it feels like somebody jabbing a filet knife in my palm. Nothing really helps but drugs at this point. I know I cant keep that up for long.
Has anyone here been through this ? I see a long rehab to it If cut on , with shoulder I was playing in about 6 weeks.
Im just hoping that someone here can share some experience , strengh and hope.
Thanks, Dobby

TroyK · #2 05-07-2009, 09:14 PM

Yes, all that. It's been a bad couple of years. I haven't solved it yet, but generally balance in my life seems to help as much as any medical treatment I've come across so far. Still worries me, take it seriously. If you're the type who can take NSAIDs (like Advil), then they and ice could be helpful.

I feel you, brother. Work through it. Get some help.

hdiddy · #3 05-08-2009, 12:57 AM

Buy this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Car...1762223&sr=8-1

neilG · #4 05-08-2009, 02:20 AM

Go see an orthopedist who is a hand specialist. They are generally surgeons too, but DO NOT let them cut you! The surgery is for people whose pain is ruining their lives and nothing else works. The doc can give you cortisone injections which can help immensely and are not harmful if taken at appropriate intervals. A nerve induction test will show where the impingement is and how severe.
I would get the book recommended above too. I've had some good results with a good massage therapist and that was written by one. Good luck.

Don C · #5 05-08-2009, 02:40 AM

Sorry to disagree guys.
About ten years ago I had Carpal so badly in my left wrist that I couldn't get through a gig without either severe pain or complete loss of feeling in the hand.
It got so bad that it kept me from sleeping at nights and made my life miserable during the day.
Tried everything the doctor could think of but unfortunately nothing worked.
When I had the induction test, it showed that very little was passing through the nerves in the wrist and that they were almost completely blocked.
I had the operation and it was the best think I ever did.
It is a relatively simple procedure and has completely fixed the Carpal problem.
It only took a few weeks until I could play some Electric Bass and a little longer for Double Bass but all that pain is gone.
It's like having a new wrist.
So if it is really bad, have the operation - it worked very well for me.

geoffbassist · #6 05-08-2009, 10:17 AM

ive had the operation in both hands last year and its been well worth it for me...Ive suffered with numbness for a few years and the the op has been the only thing that helped...and i had tried everything i could first...
i still have occasional problems but nothing massive....

arnoldschnitzer · #7 05-10-2009, 07:30 AM

My wife had the operation done this past Wednesday. By Friday she was using the hand with no brace and little pain. her surgeon is one of the few that does carpal surgery with a scope, rather than an open incision. Previously, the pain was ruining her life and keeping her from sleeping unless she was drugged to a near-death state (hey, that reminds me of growing up in the sixties, but wait, I don't remember anything...).

dobby · #8 05-10-2009, 07:46 AM

I thank you all for sharing your experience , I think not resting has made it worse and Ive been playing and working through the pain and neither will last much longer @ this rate.
I dont have any gigs for a while and maybe work will be kind to me this week. Im going to treat myself to a cortisone shot today @ the local Doc in the Box to see If there can be any releif at all , so far nothing else has worked but oblivian.
I ordered the book.
Thanks , Dobby.

Nuno A. · #9 05-12-2009, 04:13 AM

I also have carpal tunnel problems for some years now and i tried an Osteopath, pills and nothing really worked.... although it can happen that i can be without numbness and pain for 3 or 4 months, the numbness always comes back soon or later and its very hard for me to play specially long shows ... i've been thinking about the surgery, but not the traditional one because i dont want to have that big scar in my hand because im almost positive that it will make my bass playing uncomfortable.... the surgery with the scope (the endoscopic approach) seems the best so far.... i will have to evaluate, but honestly im a bit afraid.....
also , what kind of medicine do you take that helps a bit, so far nothing that was prescribed for me really worked...
thanks to you all

Nuno

christ andronis · #10 05-12-2009, 08:30 AM

I don't think that numbness will ever go away if it's not treated. I chose CT surgery about 5 or 6 years ago with great success. The numbness is almost completely gone and there is absolutely no pain. Flexibility is good and the scar is hardly noticeable. It doesn't affect my playing at all. Most of the feedback I heard before having it done was to try every non-invasive procedure I could before opting to get cut. While I respect the advice, I can't say that the outcome (in my case) would have been better had I not had the surgery. Best wishes.

geoffbassist · #11 05-12-2009, 10:27 AM

my doc advised me that the safest and most effective was the normal operation not the endoscope one....they scars are not a big deal and the operation is very routine...

arnoldschnitzer · #12 05-12-2009, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoffbassist

my doc advised me that the safest and most effective was the normal operation not the endoscope one....they scars are not a big deal and the operation is very routine...

I think your doc may be full of beans, because he doesn't do the endoscopic procedure. In every part of the body, it is an accepted fact that healing and scarring are improved with endoscopic procedures vs. open incision.

dobby · #13 05-13-2009, 08:09 PM

I had the EMG today and it was confirmed severe CTS , at this point I wont be able to funtion much longer , Im droping everything and cussing all day long. If I can hang in for a few weeks Im going to do 2 more gigs that mean alot to me on Memorial day weekend Im going to see the DR that did my rotator cuff in Jan next Wed 5/20, I totaly trust him.
The test showed that the median # normally < 4.5 showed 7.5 He called it Man eating CTS with all the other #s . Anyway Im not sweating this I dont have any choice but to go for it now. I got alot of support from friends , Family and Employer.
Thanks for all of your support , that means alot to me coming from my fellow bass players , normal people just wouldn't understand

TroyK · #14 05-13-2009, 08:17 PM

Stopping typing!

dobby · #15 05-14-2009, 05:23 AM

Your right typing hurts , Ouch! Thanks.

Kam · #16 05-14-2009, 09:26 AM

I went through this about...3.5 years ago. Luckily I was in a situation where I could take time off from the bass, it took about 2 months of physical therapy and another month of slowly re-evaluating my approach, but I came out of it knowing much more about how my body works. It was kind of hellish not playing, and I lost a bunch of semi-regular gigs to the next guys in line, but I wouldn't trade the knowledge I gained from it for anything.

Another Book I'd recommend is Playing Less Hurt http://www.playinglesshurt.com/

Also, the Alexander Technique really helped me understand and listen to my body more.
http://www.alexandertech.org/

Don Higdon · #17 05-18-2009, 03:48 PM

To a significant degree, the onset of CTS is a consequence of unconscious, habitual misuse of the self. In its early stages, a person can self-heal by stopping the behavior that causes the symptom. The problem is that by this time, the person is usually not capable of recognizing the problem behavior. That is where the Alexander teacher comes in. The Alexander Technique is brain work, using kinesthesia for access.
The Alexander Technique is not a response to a symptom, it is a preventative, with indirect therapeutic cosequences. In advanced stages, the only response is medical care.
On the other hand, medical treatment of the condition does not prevent it from reoccurring.

dobby · #18 07-05-2009, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobby

I hope this is an approriate place for this post . Ive been playing injured for quite some time. Just getting over Rotator cuff surgery. Left side.
I thought that was bad but now my right hand is Eat Up with Carpal ! Man it is difficult enough just to use this hand at all and playing is a whole new challange.
Im getting the emg and mri this month so I should know where I stand with this.
Ive known people with it but had no idea just how wicked this stuff can be! My first 3 digits , thumb and next 2 fingers are novacain numb. My hand cramps and Im dropping things because sometimes that nerve just goes to hell "50 to a 100times a Day" it seems like anyway and it feels like somebody jabbing a filet knife in my palm. Nothing really helps but drugs at this point. I know I cant keep that up for long.
Has anyone here been through this ? I see a long rehab to it If cut on , with shoulder I was playing in about 6 weeks.
Im just hoping that someone here can share some experience , strengh and hope.
Thanks, Dobby

5 1/2 weeks after CTS surgery , Ive been playing for 2 weeks now and Im about 90 % @ this point. The hand was a pretty stiff @ first , The more I use it the better it gets.
As soon as a few days after surgery I noticed that the Nerve Pain was gone!
I still have numbness but I can deal with that O.K.
I feel pretty lucky , I may have to get the other done @ some point but for now it's tolerable.
I had these symtons for years and now there gone.

Square Bear · #19 07-05-2009, 12:31 PM

+1 to don

find an alexander coach. really great stuff, it's basically just a philosophy of body usage, but will improve every aspect of your life.

Don Higdon · #20 07-05-2009, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Square Bear

+1 to don

find an alexander coach. really great stuff, it's basically just a philosophy of body usage, but will improve every aspect of your life.

Thanks for the plug, but I have a problem with "really great stuff, it's basically just a philosophy of body usage".
It's not a philosophy, and it's not about body usage per se. It's neurophysiological education. Applied, it enables the brain to disengage certain neural connections and to forge new ones.