Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Really helpful. Nice pics too. It's great that you're working your way through this. The brace is working for me along with Voltaren and minimizing thumb involvement. May be time for a thicker neck.
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Again, just my opinion, but a thicker neck makes it harder to get by with the "hand" pressure I described. It's just more to wrap your hand around. I put a Bronco neck on my '78 Musicmaster bass body and my parts-bass to get the neck thinner and more like the '97 Squier Musicmaster I have. The Mustang neck I have is very similar to the Bronco ones.
Just my experience, others may disagree. YMMV
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I too get left thumb pain. Thought it was from playing bass but found that's not the case.... culprit: mobile phone.
Totally escaped my thought process but a definite possibility.
It sucks! CMC arthritis here, hurts to use my left thumb for much of anything. Not considering surgery but will see what the orthopedic doctor says about steroid injection and brace and whatever else I don’t know about. Got the referral from my primary doctor now just waiting on orthopedic to contact me.
Another hearty endorsement for the Push thumb brace mentioned above. I’ve been dealing with slowly progressing CMC joint arthritis in both thumbs for several years. I found the Push braces myself after enduring the torture and short-lived relief from cortisone injections (Dr gave me a couple of those “seal flipper” braces for carpal tunnel). Over time I learned that chunkier necks on my guitars and basses resulted in less pain due to the more relaxed thumb position, so I sold off several that didn’t fit and really appreciate the ones that are comfy. I finally reached the conclusion that I just have to learn to play while wearing the braces - or sell my gear and not play at all. I’m a fan of Voltaren on the bad days too.
I will add that these braces can be carefully trimmed (I used aviation snips) to personalize the fit for your activities. Makes ‘em almost comfortable!
Another tip: When the original Velcro wore out I used my Dremel to cut two additional slots at the attachment point. I then bought a roll of 1/2” Velcro and replace the straps myself as needed. Just loop it through the new slots and attach the Velcro hook side to hook side with contact cement or Shoe Goo.
Good luck!
I will add that these braces can be carefully trimmed (I used aviation snips) to personalize the fit for your activities. Makes ‘em almost comfortable!
Another tip: When the original Velcro wore out I used my Dremel to cut two additional slots at the attachment point. I then bought a roll of 1/2” Velcro and replace the straps myself as needed. Just loop it through the new slots and attach the Velcro hook side to hook side with contact cement or Shoe Goo.
Good luck!
Am suddenly dealing with pain over my left hand fretted thumb joint. I’m all over the place with my instruments and I just play for fun. On a typical evening, I start with a 30” fretless and often wind up with a 35” fretless. My pain began when I went back to one of my fretted basses Long story short- I typed in- Voltaren” and wound up here after changing my thumbing behind the neck. Has anyone here ever gotten relief using Voltaren?
Got the brace made but decided to pass on using Voltaren, too many side effects for my liking. The brace really helps though, kinda bugs me when playing but getting used to it.
Believe it or not it’s actually pretty comfortable other than a little sweat. Since it was molded to fit my hand, I find it more comfortable than off the shelf products.
I have basal joint arthritis too. The cause in my case was playing mandolin, not bass, but once the damage is done it’s done.
I’ve found that upright is much more thumb friendly for me than electric, and try to transfer that technique as much as possible by supporting the instrument firmly without thumb pressure.
The prescribed brace didn’t do anything for me at all. In fact, i think it made the problem worse.
I’ve found that upright is much more thumb friendly for me than electric, and try to transfer that technique as much as possible by supporting the instrument firmly without thumb pressure.
The prescribed brace didn’t do anything for me at all. In fact, i think it made the problem worse.
Here’s my modded Push thumb brace in action on a guitar neck:
And here’s a view of my customized Velcro straps:
I finally realized that my choice was down to learning to play while wearing these things (both thumbs are affected) or giving up and selling my five guitars and two basses. Soooo… just call me Slowhands as I learn to adjust to aging.
Feel free to PM me for more details and photos of these.
After just four days with Voltaren and a Meullers thumb stabilizer that I picked up on Amazon for $12, I’m CONSIDERABLY better. Still some soreness but I’m at least 50% better. Pleasantly surprised. Thought for sure I was looking at a cortisone shot.
I tried the cortisone injections but the relief never lasted long - started losing effectiveness after a 3-4 weeks. What the cortisone did do was knock my blood sugar out of the park for several days following the shots. I'm on a low dose of metformin that, with attention to my diet,keeps my blood sugar at near ideal levels for my age (73), but I had to totally eliminate carbs from my diet for several days in order to get my BG levels below 300 (my normal average is more like 140 or so). Be very careful about cortisone injections.
Voltaren when my thumbs really bother me, and naproxen (Aleve) when my other arthritic joints flare up are my NSAIDS of choice, and the thumb braces minimize my use of either of those. Good luck with your aging joints!
Agreed! For me it’s holding an iPad mini, one handed, in my left hand. No more!
