wrist pain

[Kirk P Brosius]

Good morning to all of my LowEnd brothers & sisters,
My apologizies if this post is in the wrong spot.
Witnin the last two montgs i am feeling some tingling and pain in my right wrist.
My doc says "maybe carpal tunnel syndrome" and I am awaiting an interview with a specialist.
Meanwhile I have weekly rehearsals with three projects and I'm an avid mountain biker!
Gigging since 1959 (yep, I'm 80 years young) this is issue new to me and I am a bit apprensive about the effects of surgury if it comes to that.
Any info will be appreciated.
And, I'm ready for the "wise guy" comments also.
Thanks, again, for any help.
Kirk

 

[Minimalist]

What kind of MTB are you riding, what terrain and how is your set up. I used to get tingling in my hands after or during longer rides. if your position is off or your suspension not set up correctly that can definitely cause your issues. That would be actually the first thing I'd look at.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Good morning to all of my LowEnd brothers & sisters,
My apologizies if this post is in the wrong spot.
Witnin the last two montgs i am feeling some tingling and pain in my right wrist.
My doc says "maybe carpal tunnel syndrome" and I am awaiting an interview with a specialist.
Meanwhile I have weekly rehearsals with three projects and I'm an avid mountain biker!
Gigging since 1959 (yep, I'm 80 years young) this is issue new to me and I am a bit apprensive about the effects of surgury if it comes to that.
Any info will be appreciated.
And, I'm ready for the "wise guy" comments also.
Thanks, again, for any help.
Kirk

Nice to know I'm younger than some folks here. My first gig was in 1966 and you have 6-years of age on me.

First thing to look at Kirk would be the angle of your wrist when playing. If you bend your wrist at a steep angle, such as you see with low-slung bassists, that will be a big part of it. If that's the case, raise the angle of the neck of your bass up to about a 45° angle or more from horizontal and also push it out at about a 45° angle from your body instead of holding it close to your shoulder. That will allow you to fret most of your notes without much if any tension in your wrist. It also makes it much easier to play above your 12th fret when you need to.

I've had carpal tunnel before and that stuff sucks if that's what you have. However, when I had it (was work related) I was given a brace to wear on my upper forearm with a plastic bubble above the end of the offending tendon, which was only about 1 to 2" below the elbow joint. That put pressure on that end of the tendon and I could finally pickup a coffee cup again. As long as you avoid aggravating it, it does go away. You just have to know what you are doing to aggravate it and stop doing that.

I also have Psoriatic Arthritis, which is well controlled now. However it got so bad that prior to treatment, my hands were permanently in a cupped position and I couldn't straighten them out. I also play guitar and was totally unable to do so at the time. However, I was still able to play bass and did so by using that 45° angle I referred to above. Doc put me on Humira for that and that has controlled it very well for me. I have great flexibility in my hands again.

Give that bass positioning method a shot and see if it helps.

 

[Watchootognbout]

One point to remember : Carpal Tunnel Syndrome = Palm up wrist pain.
Tendonitis = Top of the wrist pain.

People get them mixed up.

 

[Geepers]

+1 on the mountain biking being the suspect, particularly if you haven’t had this before from 65 years(!) of gigging. Congratulations on an amazing career which is still obviously going full steam ahead. Inspirational. Back to the mountain biking: the vibrations through the handlebars are a classic cause of CTS. I had to give up V twin motorcycles (lots of vibration) and go to a 6 cylinder Goldwing (no vibration) for this reason. When I did, the CTS gradually resolved. All the best to you man.. you rock!

 

[Fender_Bender]

I would immediately try soaking your lower arms in hot water for about 15 minutes at a time X 3-4 times a day. Maybe with some gentle stretching afterwards and see if this has any benefit. It will help increase the healing blood flow through the area. Probably want to switch to walking instead of the bike for a week and see how that helps as well.

 

[2goody!]

What kind of MTB are you riding, what terrain and how is your set up. I used to get tingling in my hands after or during longer rides. if your position is off or your suspension not set up correctly that can definitely cause your issues. That would be actually the first thing I'd look at.

First thing I'd look at for sure. Back when I raced with some seriousness a bad setup could cause relentless pain and tingling in the wrists, fingers, and assorted other places you'd rather not have tingling. Have a pro check your riding position.

 

[mapleglo]

Tendonitis here. No treatment, no cures. I have the sadz

 

[Pdaddy1978]

If its CT... night pain will rear its ugly head. You wake up with your hands feeling like their on fire. The test involves putting electrodes high up on your arms and on your fingertips and seeing how much registers when current is applied. The more current required, the more the nerves are "choked off" through the Carple Tunnel in the wrist.
The first therapy usually involves wearing splints to hold the wrist strait, especially at night.
When that dosent help....surgery.
They'll only do one wrist at a time. Because the recovery takes 3 months.
Some insurance does ok with diagnosing and treating..others, not so much.
When I first got symptoms, I was playing a big outdoor festival. My hands went numb and tingles. For the first time in decades I had to "look down" to see what I was playing.
I thought I was having a heart attack! Turned out to be 3 decades of turning wrenches all day and playing bass 4 nights a week . "Repetitive motion".
Hope yours gets better!

 

[MindinAction]

My husband, a lifelong woodworker and artist, had carpal tunnel surgery about 30 years ago. He healed up well and it didn't take too long. He also hasn't had any problems whatsoever with his wrists since then. Knees are another story....

 

[Five or Six]

Watch how your hands are positioned while sleeping. I was having issues long ago and asked my Doctor about it. He said if your hands are closed or clinched during sleep it may cause issues. Especially if your arm is under your pillow and your hand is closed. It (both) needs to be open.

It took me a while to keep my hands open during sleep, especially under my pillow. But, when I finally did my problem was pretty much solved. I've had right hand issues for years. I've broken my right 5 times. But, following my Doctor's advice really helped.

 

[GreyBeard]

Good morning to all of my LowEnd brothers & sisters,
My apologizies if this post is in the wrong spot.
Witnin the last two montgs i am feeling some tingling and pain in my right wrist.
My doc says "maybe carpal tunnel syndrome" and I am awaiting an interview with a specialist.
Meanwhile I have weekly rehearsals with three projects and I'm an avid mountain biker!
Gigging since 1959 (yep, I'm 80 years young) this is issue new to me and I am a bit apprensive about the effects of surgury if it comes to that.
Any info will be appreciated.
And, I'm ready for the "wise guy" comments also.
Thanks, again, for any help.
Kirk

Adjust your strap so that your right wrist is straight and not at a sharp angle. The muscles that drive your fingers are in your forearm and not in the hand. When your wrist is at an angle everything has to work harder.

 

[GIBrat51]

Good morning to all of my LowEnd brothers & sisters,
My apologizies if this post is in the wrong spot.
Witnin the last two montgs i am feeling some tingling and pain in my right wrist.
My doc says "maybe carpal tunnel syndrome" and I am awaiting an interview with a specialist.
Meanwhile I have weekly rehearsals with three projects and I'm an avid mountain biker!
Gigging since 1959 (yep, I'm 80 years young) this is issue new to me and I am a bit apprensive about the effects of surgury if it comes to that.
Any info will be appreciated.
And, I'm ready for the "wise guy" comments also.
Thanks, again, for any help.
Kirk

Yeah, I'll have to second the mountain bike as the culprit. After playing for so long? It would have shown up long before this...

If its CT... night pain will rear its ugly head. You wake up with your hands feeling like their on fire. The test involves putting electrodes high up on your arms and on your fingertips and seeing how much registers when current is applied. The more current required, the more the nerves are "choked off" through the Carple Tunnel in the wrist.
The first therapy usually involves wearing splints to hold the wrist strait, especially at night.
When that dosent help....surgery.
They'll only do one wrist at a time. Because the recovery takes 3 months.
Some insurance does ok with diagnosing and treating..others, not so much.
When I first got symptoms, I was playing a big outdoor festival. My hands went numb and tingles. For the first time in decades I had to "look down" to see what I was playing.
I thought I was having a heart attack! Turned out to be 3 decades of turning wrenches all day and playing bass 4 nights a week . "Repetitive motion".
Hope yours gets better!

I'll most definitely second this. The Air Force did this sadistic crap to me, back in the mid '80s ( I'm not quite as old as you); I'd rather be poked in the left eye once a week with a sharp stick, than go through that test again. It wasn't the pain so much, as it was the unholy glee on the face of that frickin' doctor... Turned out , the problem was in my elbow; "Radial Ulnar Nerve Entrapment", which made the middle, ring, and pinky finger of my right hand stay pretty much numb. It was caused by a motorcycle accident; oddly enough, working the throttle and the front brake lever on my motorcycles, is what "cured" it... One of the reasons I still ride - a lot - to this day...
So... yeah; hope yours will get better - or, at least is manageable...

 

[tothemax]

I just had the release surgery for DeQuervain's Tenosynitus (not the Tub-er-lu-cas or the sinus Blues ). DeQuervain's effects the tendon that lets your thumb grip. The tendon sleeve becomes inflamed and swells crimping the ability for the tendon to move freely. The test for this is to press on the side of your upper wrist above the thumb where that tendon moves, you'll feel it immediately. This pain is mostly in your wrist and thumb. If that's the issue a shot of cortisone may provide relief, the shot is no joke, right in the tendon. The release procedure is fairly simple, just requires two weeks in a splint. I was able to practice a few days after I got the splint off. At 68 I feel like a kid compared you, you were gigging when I was 4... to cool.

Like the others have said the wrist position while biking may be the source, maybe try some angled handle bars and where wrist brace. My wrist issue was on the left hand (fretting side), but others have had the procedure on both hands.

Good luck to you brother, keep the faith

 

[Stewie]

Wear one of these as much as possible. Take the aluminum support out. This will allow your wrist to relax and heal while you are not using it, yet not keep you from doing things. Souns wrong, but it will help a lot.
It's simple, but it allowed me to continue carpentry as well as surfcasting despite arthritis and carpal tunnel.

 

[mapleglo]

I wear one of these which seems to help:



Wrist Brace

 

[bassdude51]

and I'm an avid mountain biker.

80 yrs young and still mountain bike? WOW! Very impressive!

Carpal tunnel....I think it comes with the "age territory". I am 73 and now when I play my bass, my left index finger tip starts getting a numb burning sensation from fretting notes. So, I'm looking at about the same situation as you. Surgery.

I noticed that I'm bad for holding my cellphone with my left hand and that was causing numbness in my hand. I stopped doing that and my hand improved.

When I sleep at night, depending on my position of my 2 hands, they can go numb.

I'd advise a thorough Google Search about carpal tunnel to learn about the success of surgery.

Good luck!

 

[Derek Kay]

Before you contemplate surgery, check you are not suffering from a mineral deficiency.
The classic for men is Zinc (Zn) which can cause white spots in the fingernails.

Taking Zn supplements solved my wrist pain, which slowly returned when I stopped taking them. I don't eat much meat or seafood and get a lot of minerals from using kelp powder instead of salt in cooking.

 

[KenSmithFan]

If you’re going to use heat and cold, be careful. Heat to warm up before practice, cold afterwards to prevent swelling. Surgery is the last thing I’d try. Rest and physical therapy first.

I had tendinitis in both wrist. I ‘d have been better much sooner except for some awful medical advice. When I finally found a doctor who knew what the hell they were doing, I got back to where I could play almost as much as I want. I have to be careful to mix it up, I can’t practice the same thing for an hour straight, but I practice 3-4 hours a day, seven days a week. I take a day or two off each month, but other than that, it’s pedal to the metal.

 

[tothemax]

Just following up on the D'Quervains surgery I had around Thanksgiving... it took a little longer to heal than expected but at 68 I guess that's going to happen. Back to normal again... haven't done a long gig yet, but 2 hour practices are not an issue. Plus the cold weather is always rough on the hands and fingers. At this point the other goal is to make a concerted effort to take better care of my hands.

Thought I would follow up for anyone contemplating the procedure...

FYI I do wear a brace overnight.... I found this model works well.

Wrist Brace with thumb support​