Thumb Joint Arthritis

[fergybass]

Has anyone found a way around thumb joint pain? Basal joint arthritis causing pain on my left (fretting) hand. I'm hoping someone has solved this with a thumb brace or something. I already get steroid injections. Using a topical treatment. There's an operation available however the recovery time is a couple months. Please share if you've been down this path. I do not want to just stop playing.

 

[fearceol]

If you scroll down, there are links to arthritis is this thread.

Health Related Issues To Playing

 

[12BitSlab]

I deal with a different form of arthritis - psoriatic arthritis. You might want to speak with the doc who is currently treating you. That doc can either assist you or possibly refer you to a different doc who specializes in pain treatment.

Good luck and I hope you find the relief that you seek.

 

[OldNARDGuy]

No answer for the arthritis, I just switched from 34” to short scale. It still interferes, but not as drastically.

 

[Watchootognbout]

It seems you may be gripping too hard.
If one has the action quite high it may result in pressing down hard just to fret.

Many say that the fretting hand thumb should rest lightly on the back of the neck.
Used just for a stabilizing anchor.

 

[chris_b]

Has anyone found a way around thumb joint pain? Basal joint arthritis causing pain on my left (fretting) hand.

I'm getting this, but I'm only at the discomfort stage.

I play with a low action and with a very light grip and currently I'm keeping the pain at bay.

Turmeric might be worth investigating. Good luck

 

[groove pump]

Has anyone found a way around thumb joint pain? Basal joint arthritis causing pain on my left (fretting) hand. I'm hoping someone has solved this with a thumb brace or something. I already get steroid injections. Using a topical treatment. There's an operation available however the recovery time is a couple months. Please share if you've been down this path. I do not want to just stop playing.

My particular issue may be different from yours, but I've been running into off-and-on thumb pain when I've played a bass that's a bad fit for my fretting hand. A bad fit for me seems to be a combination of the neck being too narrow and/or too shallow under the fingerboard so that my thumb needs to set too close to my palm when I'm fretting notes. I can get this thumb strain even when playing a bass with very low action, so it seems to be at least as much about my thumb position as the pressure that I use to fret at string.

If a neck has enough "chunky-ness", that seems to let my thumb remain in a more neutral position instead of it squeezing in too close to my palm. I'm considering the project of converting a 5-string to a 4 to get a fit that's ideal for me (never been at home on a 5), but I might just try using a 5-string set up with strings and tuning from low E to high C.

I like the idea of some sort of simple brace to relieve some pressure, but I don't recall seeing one lately. I'll definitely keep an eye out there.

 

[BargeOn]

My doc recommended one of these
https://bracelab.com/metagrip.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=LVL_Search_TRDN_DR_TN_NGR_Metagrip&utm_device=c&utm_content=599711524698&utm_term=push metagrip&utm_keymatch=p&utm_adposition=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwMTu1-DY-wIVkInICh1Wgg7YEAAYASAAEgKzEvD_BwE

It's the best brace I've used. Expensive without a prescription, see your doc. I never got much relief from the ones in the drug store.

Do some research on that operation. One case I know of basically ruined the guy's hand for playing.

 

[Lobster11]

It seems you may be gripping too hard.
If one has the action quite high it may result in pressing down hard just to fret.

Many say that the fretting hand thumb should rest lightly on the back of the neck.
Used just for a stabilizing anchor.

I think this is right. Your thumb really shouldn't be doing much of anything, and certainly not squeezing. It might just be a matter of teaching your thumb to relax.

An exercise I've often seen recommended is to try playing for a minute or two without your thumb touching the back of the neck at all, which can help your thumb "learn" how little work it actually has to do.

Something else that might be worth trying, if you don't do it already, is to allow the thumb to point toward the headstock, more or less parallel to the neck, rather than forcing it to say perpendicular to the neck (as many players have been taught to do). This is a more natural and relaxed position for the thumb and hand. (As a bonus, this position makes it much easier to keep your wrist straight, especially when playing on the lower frets.)

 

[fergybass]

If you scroll down, there are links to arthritis is this thread.

Health Related Issues To Playing

Thank you

 

[fergybass]

I deal with a different form of arthritis - psoriatic arthritis. You might want to speak with the doc who is currently treating you. That doc can either assist you or possibly refer you to a different doc who specializes in pain treatment.

Good luck and I hope you find the relief that you seek.

Thank you, I appreciate your comments. I started using Voltaren cream and it's allowed me regain a light grip.

 

[fergybass]

No answer for the arthritis, I just switched from 34” to short scale. It still interferes, but not as drastically.

Thank you! I played my buddies short scale recently and it did seem easier to manage.

 

[fergybass]

It seems you may be gripping too hard.
If one has the action quite high it may result in pressing down hard just to fret.

Many say that the fretting hand thumb should rest lightly on the back of the neck.
Used just for a stabilizing anchor.

Thank you. I'm not sure this was all caused by playing. I also play keys, do woodworking, bike riding, etc. I like to say "use it or lose it" regarding my aging (67) body. A corollary may be "over-use it and lose it". I need to focus on the "rest lightly part.

 

[fergybass]

I'm getting this, but I'm only at the discomfort stage.

I play with a low action and with a very light grip and currently I'm keeping the pain at bay.

Turmeric might be worth investigating. Good luck

Thank you. I do need to review my set up. I play with the "low tension" strings from Sadowski. I'll add turmeric to the list. I am taking fish oil daily as suggested by my hand doc.

 

[fergybass]

My particular issue may be different from yours, but I've been running into off-and-on thumb pain when I've played a bass that's a bad fit for my fretting hand. A bad fit for me seems to be a combination of the neck being too narrow and/or too shallow under the fingerboard so that my thumb needs to set too close to my palm when I'm fretting notes. I can get this thumb strain even when playing a bass with very low action, so it seems to be at least as much about my thumb position as the pressure that I use to fret at string.

If a neck has enough "chunky-ness", that seems to let my thumb remain in a more neutral position instead of it squeezing in too close to my palm. I'm considering the project of converting a 5-string to a 4 to get a fit that's ideal for me (never been at home on a 5), but I might just try using a 5-string set up with strings and tuning from low E to high C.

I like the idea of some sort of simple brace to relieve some pressure, but I don't recall seeing one lately. I'll definitely keep an eye out there.

Thank you for this. My J bass neck is quite thin and I think I should sit down and try out a chunkier neck. I've found that tucking my thumb in toward the index finger alleviates the pain however it provides less control.

 

[fergybass]

My doc recommended one of these
https://bracelab.com/metagrip.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=LVL_Search_TRDN_DR_TN_NGR_Metagrip&utm_device=c&utm_content=599711524698&utm_term=push metagrip&utm_keymatch=p&utm_adposition=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwMTu1-DY-wIVkInICh1Wgg7YEAAYASAAEgKzEvD_BwE

It's the best brace I've used. Expensive without a prescription, see your doc. I never got much relief from the ones in the drug store.

Do some research on that operation. One case I know of basically ruined the guy's hand for playing.

Thank you. This brace looks helpful! I gotta try it! And ya, I have no interested in the procedure at this time.

 

[fergybass]

I think this is right. Your thumb really shouldn't be doing much of anything, and certainly not squeezing. It might just be a matter of teaching your thumb to relax.

An exercise I've often seen recommended is to try playing for a minute or two without your thumb touching the back of the neck at all, which can help your thumb "learn" how little work it actually has to do.

Something else that might be worth trying, if you don't do it already, is to allow the thumb to point toward the headstock, more or less parallel to the neck, rather than forcing it to say perpendicular to the neck (as many players have been taught to do). This is a more natural and relaxed position for the thumb and hand. (As a bonus, this position makes it much easier to keep your wrist straight, especially when playing on the lower frets.)

 

[fergybass]

I think this is right. Your thumb really shouldn't be doing much of anything, and certainly not squeezing. It might just be a matter of teaching your thumb to relax.

An exercise I've often seen recommended is to try playing for a minute or two without your thumb touching the back of the neck at all, which can help your thumb "learn" how little work it actually has to do.

Something else that might be worth trying, if you don't do it already, is to allow the thumb to point toward the headstock, more or less parallel to the neck, rather than forcing it to say perpendicular to the neck (as many players have been taught to do). This is a more natural and relaxed position for the thumb and hand. (As a bonus, this position makes it much easier to keep your wrist straight, especially when playing on the lower frets.)

Thank you! I'll try playing with out the thumb and see how it goes. And yes, I've found that pointing the thumb toward the headstock relieve some of the pain. I appreciate it.

 

[vilshofen]

. . . I've found that pointing the thumb toward the headstock relieve some of the pain.

ferg, try fingering 1st-position notes with the middle finger instead of the first finger; for me, this requires less support/upward pressure from the thumb and allows it to point more towards the headstock, as you & Lobster 11 mention. Likewise, past the 12th fret I've reduced the use of the pinky for the same reason - less "work" required from the lh thumb. In both cases these adjustments will slow you down and you'll have new, and more-difficult fingering patterns to deal with (hope you learned Simandl!) - but even for a hack like me the changeover was brief - and pleasureable, even.
I also inserted days-off into the practice & gig routine; if, say, gigs Fri & Sat, then Sun off; practice Mon-Tu, then Wed off. Or maybe every other day off.
Hope that helps.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Thank you! I'll try playing with out the thumb and see how it goes. And yes, I've found that pointing the thumb toward the headstock relieve some of the pain. I appreciate it.

It seems you already have an answer but I'll weigh in just because my personal experience is similar. I have osteo-arthritis in the thumb joint on both hands. For a couple years I was using a hand brace that helped but didn't totally alleviate the pain after gigs.

Medically I was recommended cortisone shots and possible surgery but I didn't want to go that route if possible. Or at least put them off for now anyway. I did alot of research and really tried to investigate my playing style. After all of that I did the following.

-started pick playing which IMO greatly increased note clarity with less fretting hand pressure
-learned how to do setups correctly myself and got the action on my basses as low as possible
-I already play only SS's so that wasn't something I needed to change

Based on a recommendation from another player I started practicing by not using my fretting thumb at all. Any "pressure" needed against the neck comes from the point in my hand where the finger knuckles hit the neck. And after doing that for awhile and getting it down, if my thumb is on the neck it's pointed at the headstock about 80% of the time, but I still fret E string notes from time to time with it too.

If it's helpful here's some photos of what I'm talking about that I posted on a different thread.

Point where the "pressure" on the neck comes from when not using my left/fretting thumb.

How I hold the thumb when not using it. And I'll find that sometimes at gigs I'll feel a little pain creeping up and realize again that I'm pinching the neck. It just happens when you're in the zone and thinking of other things. So at that point I'll pull my thumb away and things clear up again. No more brace needed and no more pain.

Just my 2 cents, hope it's helpful. This getting old thing hits us differently if we're lucky enough to still be here. Best of luck on your progress.