So I developed tendinitis over the years, mostly from weight lifting, although I’m sure playing guitar didn’t help things either.
It’s in my left hand only, so it doesn’t effect my play too much (thinking about throwing with my left hand seems really painful!) but some tricks still give me a jolt of pain every now and then. Suicides are a good example - The pain occurs during the catch.
Does anyone else suffer from the condition? Any advice? I’ve been told (by doctors) that it’s a condition that can’t be healed, but I refuse to believe that, because it complicates almost all my passions in life. Hey. I’m not quitting. So what can I do to relieve the pain?
But what you can do is stretch often, and exercise to better build up the specific muscles around your tendons so that they have more support and carry less of a load.
The pain comes and goes, but when it’s coming on I immediately put on a wrist brace and immobilize them. Once the pain has subsided (or at least dulled to something manageable) I start back up with my exercise. Gyro Balls are really good since they work that entire muscle group around the tendons well without any impact, you can also use Thera-Band exercise bands.
It’s no joke, take care of it. And get used to it, unfortunately. It’s not going away. Even surgery will only partially alleviate the issue.
This post is timely for me, since after doing more manual labor, I started developing the symptoms. Take frequent breaks from activities like playing guitar, and consider light gauge strings and very low action. Mine started with numbness in the morning which goes away. Also, you didn’t mention your age, it is more likely to develop this with age, but prolonged activities which stress the tendons at any age is not good.
I was twisting staples and nails out of a beam in an apartment with pliers on a job (bad idea) and the symptoms of tendonitis appeared the next morning. This motion applied a perfect storm of strain on the tendons in my arm and wrist, I will never do this again, at least not in this manner.
There’s a lot out there regarding diet and inflammation. Some say wheat is an enemy, some say more magnesium, sorry I’m not a nutritionist, but these are points to ponder.
Yep, mine’s more in the back of my left hand down through my wrist. As others have said, it comes and goes and the best thing you can do when it happens is immobilize it with a brace of some type. This really goes for any repetitive strain injury, I’m starting to get it in my right (throw hand) shoulder/bicep area especially since I started to do finger spins so throwing with my hand turned the wrong way. That being said, it’s worse when it’s cold/damp so might just be arthritis setting in too
For me it’s just a case of trying to avoid anything that I know will make it worse. It’s always so easy (and comfortable) at work to sit with my elbows resting on my chair and my wrists on my desk, but I know if I do then by the end of the day I’m gonna be paying for it. Same with messing about on my phone for extended periods of time (damn you Monster Hunter for IOS!).
I try to take joint support supplements and the like (fish oil, glucosamine etc etc) purely as a “might as well” kind of deal, but really it’s a case of avoiding anything I know will make it worse and taking some painkillers if it gets too bad. Fortunately it doesn’t bother me too much when I’m throwing, so I just want to try and keep it that way.
same. i have carpal tunnel pretty bad in my wrist and tendinitis in my wrist/elbow, all in my throwing arm. when it comes on it feels like those joints are just barely connected and i can’t straighten my arm. i have elbow and wrist braces for the tendinitis and then usually sleep with a wrist brace for the carpal tunnel. i find the solidifying tennis elbow brace helps a lot since it takes some of the pressure off the tendons when i throw down. it hasn’t kept me from throwing, but i definitely gravitate away from harder throws (more stalls). i also tend to “work out ideas” left handed or with a dead yo-yo just to avoid overworking it.
take care of it.
