Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Lately I'm having problems with numbness in my bar hand fingers and forearm and pain and tingling in my left bicep and shoulder. A soon as I sit down to play my forearm and hand will go numb and it will take several moments of stopping and starting before I can use my hand halfways comfortably. It seems to radiate from my left shoulder but apparently CTS can cause shoulder pain even though the problem is originating with within the wrist. My doc thinks it's probably CTS but I'd have to see a specialist to be sure. Has anyone else here had this problem?

Robert Harper · From: Alabama, USA

No, but my brain seems to go numb and never recovers until I get up and some people argue not even then. I disagree with those however.

Jim Taylor · From: Escondido California, USA

I have a similar problem with pinched nerves in my cervical spine.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I started having issues with this on my left hand playing standard guitar in the mid-90s. I had to completely rethink how I was holding my left arm, which led me to change the way I was holding the guitar. I also had to give the arm and hand a serious rest for a few months. I found it was a bad idea to force playing when it hurt.

Terry Wood · From: Lebanon, MO

I have had surgery on my right hand ten years ago. Last winter it flared up again when I started using a chainsaw after a devastating ice storm, unusal for this part of USA. Anyhow it is better but was really painful then and now it is better.

Terry Wood

Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Terry, how long did the surgery put you out of commission? Also did the surgery completely eliminate the problem, at least for a time? I've spent a lot of time using chainsaws and brushsaws for many years and I've often had temporary problems with numbness in my hands. This seems a little different though because my whole left arm and shoulder blade are involved. I guess if it doesn't soon ease up I'll have to get serious about treatment options.

Malcolm McMaster · From: Beith Ayrshire Scotland

Bill, I recently did a European tour with Rosie Flores from Austin, she was suffering from CTS, and had been banned from playing guitar for three months by her doctor, she said she was near the end of the time scale of the ban, but had noticed only a slight improvement.Sure hope you get better soon.

Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

I curl my hands under when I sleep. Makes for numbness, so I went to Kroger and bought a couple of wrist braces that stop the wrist from turning under at night. Best thing I did in a long time for my hands. Feel much better during the day and when playing.

Mike Archer · From: church hill tn

i had CTS about 6 years ago in my left hand they did
surgery and after about 6weeks it turned out great
40 years of six stringing and steel too
i guess that did it Very Happy

Les Green · From: Jefferson City, MO, R.I.P.

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Les Green
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Tim Walker · From: Marin County, CA (originally U.K)

hi brad,

sorry to hear of your problem. i've had carpal tunnel for a few years now. as soon as it comes on i try to stop playing or doing anything that involves my hands ( not very practical, i know) for a month or two.

of course there are times when you have to play i've found a few things that help....

- icing the affected area for 20 mins before and after playing
- taking anti-inflamatory pills (ibuprofen etc.) before and after a gig
- stretching
- wearing a wrist supprt (though not when playing)

i think getting plenty of sleep is also important, at least for me. it often gets worse in times of stress.

peace. tim

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I'd definitely go to the specialist. They can do a nerve conductivity test and isolate where the pinching is - it could be wrist, elbow, shoulder or cervical in origin, and you can't fix what you don't know. In the meantime, NSAID anti-inflammatories will help, but check with your doctor and watch your stomach lining - they're pretty corrosive, but you can take other stuff like Prevacid or misoprostol to make it safer.

Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Thanks for the input on this thread. I won't be playing too much over the summer months so I hope this condition will resolve itself. If it doesn't I will be off to a specialist in the fall. A complicating issue is that I have to be very sparing in the use of anti-inflammatories since those meds elevate blood pressure, which I have a problem with.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Most likely it won't just disappear. Your steel playing is probably not the only thing contributing to your CTS. About 4 years ago, I got hurt on the my day job. First, my tendon on the outside of my right elbow started to tear off (tennis elbow). The workers comp insurance company stalled so long and just gave me NSAIDs and some physical therapy. Didn't work at all. So now the scar tissue from the tendon was pushing on my ulnar nerve (funny bone). It felt like I hit my funny bone and someone was standing on my hand 24 hours a day. They finally sent me to a specialist who did the nerve testing on my arm. He discovered I was also suffering from CTS. They finally decided to do surgery. So after they reattached my tendon to the bone, they relocated my ulnar nerve from the back of the elbow to the inside bend of the elbow. They did the CTS surgery. All this st one time. The physical therapist said CTS recovery usally lasts 3 to 6 months. Mine took 6 months (due to the trauma to my arm and the therapy needed to get it working again).

Some on this forum say that they got over it by doing nothing. Some will say herbal remedies work. My advice is to see the specialist and take the surgery if he recommends it. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. The surgery isn't a permanent solution. I am having a little problem with discomfort, not necessarily pain, but I do expect I will have trouble in the future.
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

With the continual vibrato applied by the left hand it's a wonder we're not all suffering from some sort of perpetual motion ailment. Sad

One of my best friends in England had to give up playing the Lute and the Harpsichord because he had developed a syndrome where the fingers of his right hand were locking together. Sad

He subsequently gave up the lute and is now playing a plectrum guitar.

A few years ago I was sitting next to Douglas Drake, the concert pianist, on a plane from London to San Francisco, and we were discussing this very subject. He related how among professional pianists this was one of their major concerns. It doesn't surprise me to find it among steelers. We play in such uncomfortable positions. I advocated long ago that they redesign the pedal bar so that the playing position is more like the position you would be in driving a car. I don't know that you can do much for the fingerboard angle. Crying or Very sad

Dennis Coelho · From: Wyoming, USA

About four years ago my right hand started having all of the CTS symptoms. They did a nerve conduction test and found both CTS and ulnar nerve compression (ulnar nerve is your "crazy bone" at the elbow). The surgeon was a classical pianist himself and understood the crisis of loss of playing ability. I was in a cast for two weeks and then had six weeks of therapy, and it has been fine since then. I have a very nice six inch scar on the inside of right elbow, but the CTS left no marks at all, the surgeon just extended some existing lines in the palm. Two years later, I started having similar problems in my left hand, but the conduction test showed a much lower level of compression. So...now I have one of those "tennis elbow" bands, and I use it from time to time to eliminate the finger buzz.

Upper arm and shoulder radiated pain could be CTS, but it could also be a problem in the neck. Should have a specialist look at it. While I can blame forty years of guitar and banjo playing for my right hand problem, the surgeon said I probably did most of the damage milking cows by hand when I was a kid.

Our other guitar player had both of his wrists done about ten years ago, but the left still gives him trouble now and then, esp. if he has to hold a barre chord too long.

Dennis

Tommy Young · From: Ethelsville Alabama

Bill iI have had all that you have spoke of and have had the cts surgery both hands and I'm so glad I went and had it done no mo pain no mo hands goin to sleep no numbness it didn't hurt just sore for a few days after the stitches i worked the soreness out pretty quick i would have it done again if it returns for sure TOMMY

Johnny Cox · Posted 5 Jun 2007 6:56 am

Bill, I had CTS in both hands. It was more prominate in my left hand. I reached a point where I could not hold the bar for an entire song or I would drop it. I had surgery about five years ago on both hands about six months apart. I have had no problems since. Pick your surgeon carefully.
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Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

All of your positive accounts of CTS surgery are very encouraging, especially coming from fellow musicians. Picking the right surgeon does seem very important and if it eventually comes to surgery I'll probably look to have the procedure done elsewhere than this little one horse town. My sister in Toronto is a nurse and her husband is a doctor there, so between the two of them they may be able to point me in the right direction. I'm still hoping it won't come to surgery but now I'm a bit less concerned about the outcome if it does. Thanks again.

Ken Mizell · From: Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA

I had CTS in both hands back in the mid-80's. It got so bad that a pencil would fall out of my hand if writing too much. The upward radiating pain was in my biceps and shoulder. Had to take pills to sleep. One thing for sure, if you have it bad enough, it won't go away by itself. If it is left along and progresses to far, it can cause permament nerve damage. I was a deputy sheriff at the time I got it. Causes were thought to be shooting a pistol, driving a lot, and night-stick practice in our yearly training session. I was also practicing PSG obsessively at the time too, and it got hard due to the CTS. It didn't take too long to recover from the surgery, and I didn't even have physical therapy, other than a couple of things the doctor told me to do at home. I had the open palm type of surgery. Today, they have refined the small incision surgery (1/4 cut on the wrist), which has a lot shorter recovery time. I suggest finding a good hand specialist. There are orthopedic surgeons who specialize in micro-surgery of the hand, they are the best at CTS surgery, by far.

BTW - Don't even think about having both hands done at one time. Not good. Having one hand messed up is a big problem, two is impossible. Just think about the things you do of a day that takes two hands. Try fastening your drawers with one hand. Rolling Eyes

Good luck to you.

Ken
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Steve Pacholl · From: Minneapolis

I have CTS in my left hand as a result of playing acoustic guitar. I was also having the numbness during the night due to bent wrist while sleeping.

I went to a hand specialist. I was/am not a candidate for surgery at this time, but they had me see a therapist it it was quite interesting. For the sleeping portion I was given the wrist splint and it took care of that problem. After a year of wearing it to bed I don't have to wear it anymore and I no longer have that numbness problem.

As far as the guitar playing I was given several stretching exercises that do help, but you have to be consistant and do them daily. Unfortunately I don't do them daily.

One of the most interesting exercies (and it won't work with the steel guitar) is playing the guitar while sitting on one of those large exercise balls. It requires you to balance your body and have proper posture. It actually makes a difference while playing. But I'm not going to carry the ball around to whereever I play, although it could become a new trend.

The therapist also worked on the way I held the guitar. I had to take my guitar with me to the therapy sessions. This was the hardest. In some ways it was like learning to play all over again, because your brain and hand is doing something your not used to.

I'm sure a therapist who specializes in hands would be very interested in the way that we sit behind the steel and play. New challenge for them that most therapists are happy to take on. They also enjoy hearing musians play while working on the therapy sesion. You pay to play hahah.

Anyway, that is my experience.

Ken Mizell · From: Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA

Steve makes a good point regarding the position used to play steel guitar, and what therapists would say about it.

I was wondering if more people have trouble playing a double or single, or if playing a single without pad is better or worse. At work, they make us take ergonomic courses. Despite the advent of wrist rests for keyboards and mouse pads, they advise against using them. The desk jockeys at the office aren't supposed to use the supports. Based on that, I was wondering if a single neck would be less troublesome for CTS than a double wide with pad, or a double neck, since some folks tend to rest their forearms on the back, at least to an extent. The ergonomics class also said to keep your elbows close to your side, so reaching forward could have an adverse effect. Maybe having your most frequently used tuning on the back neck (like Ralph Mooney) might be a good idea. Just thinking out load. Interesting topic.

Presently, I'm coming down with it in both hands again, probably related to excessive typing this time, and maybe driving a lot. At least I'll be covered with workers comp this time.

Ken
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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Because of my particular variety of nerve problems, I can only play a single-wide, no pad - trying to hold my hands extended way out, with no load-bearing for long periods of time is really painful. However, it can be hugely varying, depending on which nerve chains are being pinched and where - I can move furniture, but vacuuming is painful? I can bend a guitar string all the way across the neck, but trying to use a handheld screwdriver can be excruciating, go figure. Mine are being pinched in the neck, though it's been greatly helped by cervical fusion. Again, until the specialist isolates where the pinching is, it's somewhat unlikely you'll find relief in a steel guitar advice column.... Smile

Lawrence Wroblewski · From: Chandler, Arizona, USA

I had carpal tunnel in both hands about 10 years ago. It was so bad I couldn't close either hand or make a fist. I went to a Chiropractor and it only took a couple weeks to clear it up and I've had no problems since.

Kenny Foy · From: Lynnville, KY, USA

I agree with JohnnyCox. Doc said I had one of the worst cases he had seen. Had it for about 25 years. And the doc also said I probably hadn't had a good nites sleep in 20 years because of it and he was rite. Couldn't use either hand over 3 to 5 minutes without them going numb. Checked around for the best doc and I picked the rite one. Made a brand new man out of me. Can sit down to the steel and play for 4 solid hours and my butt will get numb before my hands. Had both hands done 30 days apart and never even took anything for pain. The doc was a good one.If I had it to do over again I'd done it 20years earlier. GET-ER-DONE

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