jonnybass Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Hi folks, hope this is in the right place, if not sorry mods. Since mid december I have been getting pain in my right hand on my ring finger, after visiting the GP, we are undergoing tests but the likely outcome is arthritis in my finger (possibly Psoriac arthritis). This is an appeal to the BC hive mind, anyone have any real world experience on things i can do to help it ? Stretches, supports, Turmeric capsules? Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I have pretty much given up bass playing after 50 plus years because of osteoarthritis in the fingers of my fretting hand. I have been (still am) taking turmeric & black pepper capsules, and calcium with vitamin D, but it is impossible to know whether it's doing any good or not. I still can't play, but it's possible that the arthritis would be worse with the capsules or not - there is no way of cloning myself and not allowing the clone to take anything for it, and see what happens. I have resigned myself to selling up all the gear and fading into the background. I hope that your situation is better than mine, life is not the same without bandmates and gigs. 2 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 1 minute ago, FinnDave said: I have pretty much given up bass playing after 50 plus years because of osteoarthritis in the fingers of my fretting hand. I have been (still am) taking turmeric & black pepper capsules, and calcium with vitamin D, but it is impossible to know whether it's doing any good or not. I still can't play, but it's possible that the arthritis would be worse with the capsules or not - there is no way of cloning myself and not allowing the clone to take anything for it, and see what happens. I have resigned myself to selling up all the gear and fading into the background. I hope that your situation is better than mine, life is not the same without bandmates and gigs. Thanks for sharing Dave, that sounds like a journey you are going through and I wish you all the best with your hand. Its very early stages for me however, i think if it was my fretting hand or my middle or first finger I'd be struggling, as it is the ring finger on my plucking hand its less important for me anyway, however I have noticed that my hand is fatiguing earlier than it would. 3 hour pub gigs may be beyond me. Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Right hand you say, so presuming you're right handed and its your plucking hand...? I don't have arthritis, but due to breaking my arm badly years ago I have nerve damage that means I have no feeing in my right ring finger and pinkie and they don't obey commands properly. A different cause, but liable that the end result is going to be similar. Practice was the only way around it as I learned to play around the problem, and I've not snobbish about using a pick if it comes to it. I also used the outside two fingers - ie, the two that dont work properly - to steady my hand on the pickguard and pluck with the other two fingers and thumb, rather than anchor with the thumb. It helps that I was a guitarist long before picking up bass and can fingerpick, so it was a case of adapting that technique a bit. Might be worth a try for you. Beet of luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 See if you can borrow a short-scale bass to see if that helps. If movement is the issue then less movement than usual might be beneficial. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyJ Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Immersion in hot water helps with both my thumb ip joints to the point I can begin to bend them slightly without excruciating pain. The pills and potions haven't worked for me. Thankfully this condition hasn't affected my fingers, yet. Sorry can't be of any further help. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I have the onset of OA in the fingers of both hands and have found fingerless compression gloves help when it starts to flare up. Can still play with them on. I do find the ladle gets in the way sometimes. 5 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 44 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: See if you can borrow a short-scale bass to see if that helps. If movement is the issue then less movement than usual might be beneficial. I managed to play two gigs last year using a Mustang bass, but my finger have deteriorated further and I can't play 30" either now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 11 minutes ago, Paul S said: I have the onset of OA in the fingers of both hands and have found fingerless compression gloves help when it starts to flare up. Can still play with them on. I do find the ladle gets in the way sometimes. Could you use the ladle to play some sort of slap bass style? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I have this also - the telltale sign is thickening joints in your fingers. turmeric capsules are quite helpful, but get the ones with black pepper in them. Also try fingerless gloves as suggested above 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I've been suffering with what I thought was arthritis for years. GP sends me off to physio - "not arthritis" they say and put me on a course of exercises which I don't believe have done anything to improve the condition. NHS have little interest in getting to the bottom of it. I also did the Chondroitin/ fish oil/ Glucosamine thing - might as well have been Snake oil - again zero benefit. I think that we need to accept that the MOT on our bodies have a limited shelf life and enjoy playing while we can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 22 minutes ago, Crusoe said: Could you use the ladle to play some sort of slap bass style? As a kind of evolution of Tony Levin's chopsticks? Why not - can only be an improvement over what I do at the moment! I'll have a rummage in the kitchen utensil drawer see what else I can come up with. Off the top of my head I remember seeing an old apple corer or maybe a vintage runner bean slicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, JazzyJ said: Immersion in hot water helps with both my thumb ip joints to the point I can begin to bend them slightly without excruciating pain. The pills and potions haven't worked for me. Thankfully this condition hasn't affected my fingers, yet. Sorry can't be of any further help. Thanks for this. Your condition sounds fairly bad I hope you are in good health. I have found the warmer my hand, the less painful it is. Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, Lozz196 said: See if you can borrow a short-scale bass to see if that helps. If movement is the issue then less movement than usual might be beneficial. Thanks Lozz, at the moment its the ring finger of my plucking hand, string spacing miught become an issue but its very early days Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, Paul S said: I have the onset of OA in the fingers of both hands and have found fingerless compression gloves help when it starts to flare up. Can still play with them on. I do find the ladle gets in the way sometimes. Never knew these existed, they could be exactly what I'm looking for, especially if I move to a soup based diet... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie C Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 50 minutes ago, TheGreek said: I've been suffering with what I thought was arthritis for years. GP sends me off to physio - "not arthritis" they say and put me on a course of exercises which I don't believe have done anything to improve the condition. NHS have little interest in getting to the bottom of it. I had a similar experience - the first hour of the day my left hand is sore, stiff joints, etc. The NHS physio said "not arthritis" but admitted that we'll probably see each other in 10 years and it will be by then. Using power tools seems to set it off, as does playing double bass too much 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Psoriatic arthritis can be tricky to manage - it can pop up anywhere and hang around for a period of time, the only advantage being it tends to settle down eventually, but unfortunately can then just move on somewhere else. It's worth asking your GP for a referral to your local hospital's Rheumatology department, and depending on the severity, they can prescribe various drugs such as Methotrexate, which generally keeps a lid on it. It'll lessen the spikes of flare-ups, but doesn't stop it completely. As it's an auto-immune condition, it's a fine balance between controlling the immune response that causes the flare-ups, and not suppressing your immune system to the point where you become susceptible to all and sundry. I'd recommend getting it assessed by a specialist sooner rather than later. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 2 hours ago, jonnybass said: Thanks for sharing Dave, that sounds like a journey you are going through and I wish you all the best with your hand. Its very early stages for me however, i think if it was my fretting hand or my middle or first finger I'd be struggling, as it is the ring finger on my plucking hand its less important for me anyway, however I have noticed that my hand is fatiguing earlier than it would. 3 hour pub gigs may be beyond me. Jonny two or three years ago I was regularly playing 3 hours or more when playing in a Grateful Dead tribute band without any problems. My picking hand is already compromised with a damaged tendon on the second finger caused by a motorcycle accident. I'm running out of options, but I started playing bass when I was 14 or 15 and I'm 66 now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 8 minutes ago, Rosie C said: I had a similar experience - the first hour of the day my left hand is sore, stiff joints, etc. The NHS physio said "not arthritis" but admitted that we'll probably see each other in 10 years and it will be by then. Using power tools seems to set it off, as does playing double bass too much This is the bit that kinda worries me, At least with a diagnosis iuts easier to look for treatment. Hope you get to the bottom of it. Jonny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, TheGreek said: I've been suffering with what I thought was arthritis for years. GP sends me off to physio - "not arthritis" they say and put me on a course of exercises which I don't believe have done anything to improve the condition. NHS have little interest in getting to the bottom of it. I also did the Chondroitin/ fish oil/ Glucosamine thing - might as well have been Snake oil - again zero benefit. I think that we need to accept that the MOT on our bodies have a limited shelf life and enjoy playing while we can. That sounds quite frustrating, hope you get to the bottom of it. and you re right, in the words of a certain canadian band ' we are only immortal for a limited time' Jonny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 4 minutes ago, lowregisterhead said: Psoriatic arthritis can be tricky to manage - it can pop up anywhere and hang around for a period of time, the only advantage being it tends to settle down eventually, but unfortunately can then just move on somewhere else. It's worth asking your GP for a referral to your local hospital's Rheumatology department, and depending on the severity, they can prescribe various drugs such as Methotrexate, which generally keeps a lid on it. It'll lessen the spikes of flare-ups, but doesn't stop it completely. As it's an auto-immune condition, it's a fine balance between controlling the immune response that causes the flare-ups, and not suppressing your immune system to the point where you become susceptible to all and sundry. I'd recommend getting it assessed by a specialist sooner rather than later. Thanks this is really helpful. I am waiting on the bloods and xray results, but Psoriatic arthritis was the first suggestion from the GP. Reading up later, it does describe whats happening with my finger. Only issue is I dont think I have Psorisis...i get red dry skin on my elbows and I have a couple of really small blemeshes on my skin which I have had for years, but thats all. Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 4 minutes ago, jonnybass said: Thanks this is really helpful. I am waiting on the bloods and xray results, but Psoriatic arthritis was the first suggestion from the GP. Reading up later, it does describe whats happening with my finger. Only issue is I dont think I have Psorisis...i get red dry skin on my elbows and I have a couple of really small blemeshes on my skin which I have had for years, but thats all. Jonny That could still be it - about 10% of people with some form of psoriasis can go on to develop Psoriatic Arthritis. Red, flaky skin on elbows, knees and nails are all common places where it can appear initially. Best of luck with the diagnosis 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Just now, lowregisterhead said: That could still be it - about 10% of people with some form of psoriasis can go on to develop Psoriatic Arthritis. Red, flaky skin on elbows, knees and nails are all common places where it can appear initially. Best of luck with the diagnosis 👍 Thanks I'd say fingers crossed but not sure if thats appropriate in this topic. Jonny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie C Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 20 minutes ago, jonnybass said: This is the bit that kinda worries me, At least with a diagnosis iuts easier to look for treatment. Hope you get to the bottom of it. Jonny Thanks. They did do some blood tests and ruled out rheumatoid arthritis, that was pretty much it - the physio advised it's likely wear and tear as I get older, but not to let mild discomfort stop me playing - as moderate use is better than resting (just my interpretation of what he said for my particular case!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 A favourite of my physio years ago was always motion is lotion.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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