I have developed a case of trigger thumb on my LH, my doctor tells me. At the moment, we are attempting to treat it by splinting the thumb and using anti-inflammatories. Naturally, in the splint it is very difficult to play, but there's quite a bit of pain if I take it off, and the thumb locks over in the curled up position (I have to straighten it out with the other hand!) if I whack it playing lines (ouch!).

Are there any other members out there that have gone through this issue, and perhaps have some treatment suggestions or advice for me?

Thank you...

I have had the same...

An injection with corticostero�den helped me a lot and removed the injury quickly..

Using the brace will take a longer time to heal it in the naturall way, its a bit more safe, because with the injection there is a small chance the corticostero�den will damage the tendon...

Diki hope you recover quickly.

maybe this info can help also...
http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/guide/trigger-finger
http://tinyurl.com/23ncqwe

Diki... wishing you speedy recovery...
With your 'trigger finger', Gary's hand problem, my having to stop piano lessons due to tendonitis in my forearm, etc., etc., to paraphrase Gary - "being a musician ain't for wimps' ! ...
How many of us don't have arthritis in our fingers/hands?
t.

This is why alternative playing measures should be taken when the problems arise, don't be a one trick pony....
the "Show MUST Go On"

That sounds like a nightmare for a keyboard player. I'd be inclined to listen to Bachus and leave the steroids as a last resort (to avoid any possibility of permanent damage). Tony is right. My orthopedist maintains that with arthritis, it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN (and where). Except for my knees, shoulders, elbows, back, neck, knuckles, wrists, fingers, ankles, and toes, I'm fine, so far . I try to be positive about it, so I blame every 'clunker' on the arthritis.......unless there's a pretty girl watching; then I claim I was distracted by her dazzling beauty. Hasn't worked so far, but I keep hoping .

Diki, make sure your priorities are straight. Take that money you were saving up for the MS/Groove and spend it on the best doctor you can find.

Seriously, my friend, get well soon.

chas

Diki,

no more playing in a full band
i think it's time you get an arranger (ie. AUDYA)
this way your LF does not have to do so much work & move so much...
wait, the AUDYA is too heavy
and so is the G-70 which you have too

seriously, hope you get better soon, and fully recover



[This message has been edited by leezone (edited 05-07-2010).]

Diki,

Sorry to hear of your malady. The last thing a keyboard player needs is hand problems--I should know. The only thing I know that works for trigger finger is a regiment of steroids, usually Prednisone, which can have some nasty side effects, plus splinting, which allows the tendon to heal naturally. The combination usually takes a month or more to work, but the bottom line is trigger finger is essentially a warning that you may have to lighten your left hand playing technique. It's usually the result of tendon inflammation due to some sort of repetitive process.

Good luck,

Gary

gary....in that case maybe Diki will have to buy a YAMAHA S910 with it's ligtning fast & light keybed

Sorry to hear that, Diki. Doing what the doc tells ya plus common sense will get you through.

Diki..
Bummer. The one thing none of us wants to do is take time off from playing to heal.

Even after a heart attack, I felt the necessity to play a gig a week later. I knew better than to lift anything and had a music buddy haul in and set up all my gear. But, truth me known, I really should have been home resting.

Sounds like your thumb needs a rest to help the splint help your thumb. Here I would suggest you do as I say..not as I do. But, who am I kidding? I know you will do what you think is necessary and what you hope you can get away with.

Good luck. Hope you heal soon.

Eddie

Just set your G70 to single finger chording & fire the band.

Diki good luck that's not good news. ditto to what Bachus and Chas mentioned. Careful with the cortisone. I heard that just 2 days ago from my wife's doctor who is going to have to operate on her rotator cuff. He reluctantly gave here a 2nd shot this year according to what he said with 3 or 4 shots a year that tissue damage is eminent.

Wishing and hoping for a speedy recovery.

Taike


ps. you might want to try accupuncture as an alternative

------------------
Bo pen nyang.

[This message has been edited by Taike (edited 05-07-2010).]

Thanks for all the well wishes. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to take time off work, but I'm gigging four evenings with a five-piece, so at least my left hand is not tied up doing LH bass out of necessity. The cast makes my thumb completely out of the equation, but I can still use my four fingers, but it's difficult to spread them enough for a normal open voicing. I'm getting used to smaller, two note voicings in my left or closer three note chords. And I'm learning to play like I type (I'm a one or two finger typist!)

But I always try to look on the positive side... sometimes a handicap is what is needed to break you from familiar and possibly over-worn tricks and techniques. I am discovering that sometimes, two notes can do the work of four if they are the RIGHT two notes!

Thanks for the warning about the cortisone injections. I was tempted to try them as a 'quick fix', but I might try to simply stay in the cast a few more weeks and stick to the ibuprofen and see if it will heal naturally. At least, due to the economy (and my regular guitarist/partner/friend relocating to Oregon), I'm not on the insane schedule I had a couple of years ago. Mind you, I have a double tomorrow... full Latin band in the afternoon, and a wedding at night! A month ago, I would have loved this... now I'm just hoping my hand can take it

Diki,
I have had arthritis in my lower back for many years. Taking a minimal 100mg(blue) dose of Celebrex 3-4 times a week is so much safer than the knee-jerk 200mg(yellow)daily dose most doctors will prescribe, and no stomach problems as with Ibuprofen (that stuff KILLS my guts) and has completely ameliorated the problem. Without it I couldn't sit or stand in one place for more than 15 minutes..has also greatly helped the tendinitis in my hands. Try it.

But this may be even better: TURMERIC, an Indian spice that contains capsaicin(sp?), a natural anti-inflammatory. it's almost miraculous, but you have to get the concentrated caps, eating the spice will do little. they are available thru VITACOST.com,
not only the cheapest source for supplements but the best, especially their superb house brand called NSI. i had tennis elbow for months that no remedy incl Celebrex could help. I started with one capsule Turmeric a
day--after a week felt a little better. I bumped it to 2 caps a day..and voila! a week later the tennis elbow was gone. My hands had serious tendinitis after i practiced on my E60..took 2/3 Turmeric a day for a week..problem GONE. i now take it daily as a matter of course..it has other health benefits as well..great for digestion too.
The guy that gave me the heads-up on it was a guitarist whose thumb went KAPUT...nothing helped until he tried turmeric..in 2 months he was cured! He did tons of research on it and i'm grateful for all he told me. it works a lot more slowly than drugs..but it really works, and no side effects. Hope this advice helps! Lemmeknow

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Miami Mo

[This message has been edited by keysvocalssax (edited 05-09-2010).]

[This message has been edited by keysvocalssax (edited 05-09-2010).]

Hi Diki,
No Advise, But Hope all repairs quickly,I Can imagine how frustrated to a musician this must be, at lease you can still use your Mac.
Best Gilbert.

Mo.... A guitarist just turned me onto turmeric pills, too (small world!) and I started them today. Hopefully they can get the problem solved. Only problem is that, unlike ibuprofen, there's no pain management aspect to turmeric, and I played tonight just on the turmeric pills, and had to run out on a break and go and get some ibuprofen just to stop it hurting (like an idiot, I can't stop myself from pulling off the splint from time to time on more complex songs, but if I whack my thumb, watch out! ).

I'll let you know how it progresses.

Diki, if you can tolerate the Ibuprofen, fine, it works best-but if it becomes a problem, i recommend you get Rx for Celebrex, which doesn't upset the digestive tract.

Oh and I forgot this..there's something called VOLTAREN which was stronger than Ibu but had some bad side effects..now they have recently made it into a topical Gel..my doctor prescribed it for me for my elbow when i asked him for a cortisone shot..he refused and said try the Voltaren Gel first..i don't know how much it helped, but it can't hurt...

------------------
Miami Mo

Diki,

Sorry to hear about your pain/problems. Anytime I hear about someone experiencing pain in joints or muscles during playing, I always go back to the foundation and rudiments of technique and style.

I had developed sever wrist pain whist playing alot on keyboards. I was in so much pain, I started compensating.

I decided to go see a VERY GOOD teacher to evaluate my playing technique and BINGO! He discovered bad habits and poor ergonomic position of my hands, fingers and more importantly my wrists. We went through the basics (which I always thought I knew!) and reinforced them through exercise, repetition, and stretching and today I am pain free.

You might want to get back to basics and see if there are underlying bad habits that are contributing to your pain.

Al

Diki,

I can make an extra-strong batch of Kickapoo Joy Juice and Fedex it to you. Can't hurt, and it just might help.

Just a thought,

Gary

Now that's what I call pain management, Gary!

The ibuprofen so far isn't messing with me, so I'm going to try a combination of it and the turmeric pills for a couple more weeks, see how that works out.

The issue is with my LH thumb ONLY, everything else is pretty copacetic, and I had enough formal training to know when my position is poor. I must admit, after talking to many players round here that stick to 88 wood keybeds, and MOST of them have some sort of joint inflammation, carpal tunnel and the like, I'm glad I have mostly stuck to plastics most of my career, even if they ARE some of the heavier plastics (G1000/70 and K2500).

Funny thing is, the problem started while I wasn't gigging very much at all - I would have thought it would have got me when I was doing ten a week or more... Oh well, go figure!

Once again, thanks for everyone's well wishes. I feel such a baby complaining about this compared to some of the issues some of our older members have, but it's the first time in my life any kind of hand problem has arisen. Bit scary, the first time, I suppose...

Yeah, that's JUST what we need; Diki on the sauce . Of course, then, we could find out what he REALLY thought about open arrangers .

chas

Diki,

Good luck on whatever course of treatment you pursue. This must be very hard for you.

Tom