OT: Shot for Tendinitis-Wondering how long to wait?

Stratman68

Stratman68

Axe-Master
So I have written here before about arthritis but this is relatively new for me; tendinitis, overuse tendinopathy. Left hand, I am right handed.
It's my middle finger-closing (trying anyway) it caused severe sharp pain right in the middle of my palm. Could NOT close my hand at all. Felt like I was going to break or snap something. Holding some ice cubes or cold pack for a few minutes allowed me to close my hand and play normally.

So finally saw a hand surgeon at the VA West Palm Beach, FL. He works in the teaching hospital in Miami normally, but actually drives from Miami on Saturdays to help Vets in WPB. Very cool.. Smart guy.
I have had shots in joints in my fingers decades ago. But he gave me the shot in my palm and I saw white. I mean it hurt but since I have had shots in my neck before I knew the pain was actually pressure and the medication going in. So that was Saturday morning. I asked about playing the guitar and he said I should give it a rest for a couple of days.

Feels fine tonite (Sunday) Just wondering if anyone has had this type of heavy duty shot there and how long did you actually wait to play?
Sorry for the long boring story.
Thanks Folks
 
Hello Stratman68;

I'm very sorry to hear of your trouble, and do hope that your procedure was successful!

Before I go on, please know: I am no doctor or medical professional. What I'm going to relate is my own personal experience, and you should consider it carefully before subjecting your one-and-only incarnation to any advice.

I've a "somewhat rare" genetic disease called CMT, or Charcot-Marie-Tooth. My particular variant affects continual neuropathy, meaning: loss of sensation, loss of muscle mass, loss of coordination, etc.. As such, I too have struggled for a very long time to regain and maintain some level of musicianship, and have found some ameliorative practices.
  1. Yoga
    I find that Yoga is very helpful to engender and maintain flexibility and strength. The nice thing about it is that the heaviest thing you gotta lift is yourself, and the farthest you can fall is yourself. Do find a qualified teacher to get you on your way. For me, a year of classes gave me enough confidence and knowledge to strike out on my own.
  2. Medicine Balls / Baoding Balls
    These are wonderful for hand strength and relief of tension: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoding_balls.
    My suggestion is to get a pair without the chiming balls inside - the chiming can drive one a little mad after awhile.
  3. Shiatsu/Acupuncture
    I've had great luck with shiatsu and acupuncture. Again, do find a qualified practitioner and speak with them.
    The nice thing about Shiatsu is that you'll learn techniques you may apply to yourself when you're in need
  4. Revisit your techniques - all of them
    I'm a bass player, and moved from a traditional two-finger walking technique to that akin to the technique developed by Gary Willis. I, as well, revisited my left hand technique and made many adjustments. I've yet to re-conquer slapping yet. But I will.
    After speaking to a few professional bassists about my quandary, I saw a pattern in their advice: Play as lightly as possible.
    I've taken this advice in all usages of my hands, and it has helped greatly.
Very good luck, and don't give up!

Vittorio
 
Last edited:
Wait until all pain subsides.

Anti-inflammatories soften the tissue and increase the potential for injury until the shot dissipates and the inflammation subsides. Depending metabolism, age and the amount of inflammation, that can take up to 2-3 weeks. I've had a great deal of soft tissue injuries the doctors tried to solve using these shots. It caused more harm than good and I ended up with cataracts at age 42. Had to have my eye lenses replaced in 2017.
 
VittorioAngelo said:
Hello Stratman68;

I'm very sorry to hear of your trouble, and do hope that your procedure was successful!

Before I go on, please know: I am no doctor or medical professional. What I'm going to relate is my own personal experience, and you should consider it carefully before subjecting your one-and-only incarnation to any advice.

I've a "somewhat rare" genetic disease called CMT, or Charcot-Marie-Tooth. My particular variant affects continual neuropathy, meaning: loss of sensation, loss of muscle mass, loss of coordination, etc.. As such, I too have struggled for a very long time to regain and maintain some level of musicianship, and have found some ameliorative practices.
  1. Yoga
    I find that Yoga is very helpful to engender and maintain flexibility and strength. The nice thing about it is that the heaviest thing you gotta lift is yourself, and the farthest you can fall is yourself. Do find a qualified teacher to get you on your way. For me, a year of classes gave me enough confidence and knowledge to strike out on my own.
  2. Medicine Balls / Baoding Balls
    These are wonderful for hand strength and relief of tension: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoding_balls.
    My suggestion is to get a pair without the chiming balls inside - the chiming can drive one a little mad after awhile.
  3. Shiatsu/Acupuncture
    I've had great luck with shiatsu and acupuncture. Again, do find a qualified practitioner and speak with them.
    The nice thing about Shiatsu is that you'll learn techniques you may apply to yourself when you're in need
  4. Revisit your techniques - all of them
    I'm a bass player, and moved from a traditional two-finger walking technique to that akin to the technique developed by Gary Willis. I, as well, revisited my left hand technique and made many adjustments. I've yet to re-conquer slapping yet. But I will.
    After speaking to a few professional bassists about my quandary, I saw a pattern in their advice: Play as lightly as possible.
    I've taken this advice in all usages of my hands, and it has helped greatly.
Very good luck, and don't give up!

Vittorio
Click to expand...

Hello Vittorio,
Thank you and sorry to hear about your issues also. I was able to control the arthritis pretty well until I lost a kidney to cancer (2001).
Tried all the biological s and they definitely helped. But after time they just stop working.
So a shot was my only choice. Hurt like hell, as I said but after 4 days now it definitely has stopped the issue.
I appreciate the suggestions also. I am far too OCD (actually 4 other letters, starts with P; think war) to the extreme to do any yoga. I have tried.
But the VA does offer acupuncture so I will check into that.
Hoping you feel better also.
Regards
Frank
 
I'm very sorry for all your trouble Stratman68, and wish you the best of luck. Keep pushing - our natural ingenuity often provides us with opportunities we stubbornly don't see.

Sincerely,
Vittorio
 
Stratman68 said:
So I have written here before about arthritis but this is relatively new for me; tendinitis, overuse tendinopathy. Left hand, I am right handed.
It's my middle finger-closing (trying anyway) it caused severe sharp pain right in the middle of my palm. Could NOT close my hand at all. Felt like I was going to break or snap something. Holding some ice cubes or cold pack for a few minutes allowed me to close my hand and play normally.

So finally saw a hand surgeon at the VA West Palm Beach, FL. He works in the teaching hospital in Miami normally, but actually drives from Miami on Saturdays to help Vets in WPB. Very cool.. Smart guy.
I have had shots in joints in my fingers decades ago. But he gave me the shot in my palm and I saw white. I mean it hurt but since I have had shots in my neck before I knew the pain was actually pressure and the medication going in. So that was Saturday morning. I asked about playing the guitar and he said I should give it a rest for a couple of days.

Feels fine tonite (Sunday) Just wondering if anyone has had this type of heavy duty shot there and how long did you actually wait to play?
Sorry for the long boring story.
Thanks Folks
Click to expand...

Some room for some real optimism here - I have a good friend who is an Internationally renowned classical pianist who has had recurring issues in both wrists due to a lifetime of hammering a piano keyboard and believe me that is RSI plus! He is over 70 now - that's a hell of a lot of lot of pounding.....
He had a shot in the worst wrist, continued world tours playing as hard as ever with 99% improvement and a longevity of greater than 2 years before any symptoms returned. He hasnt found it necessary to repeat.
So if its the same stuff you may well fare similarly. 👍 👍
 
sb-SG said:
Some room for some real optimism here - I have a good friend who is an Internationally renowned classical pianist who has had recurring issues in both wrists due to a lifetime of hammering a piano keyboard and believe me that is RSI plus! He is over 70 now - that's a hell of a lot of lot of pounding.....
He had a shot in the worst wrist, continued world tours playing as hard as ever with 99% improvement and a longevity of greater than 2 years before any symptoms returned. He hasnt found it necessary to repeat.
So if its the same stuff you may well fare similarly. 👍 👍
Click to expand...

Thanks very much-Great story-so good to hear!
 
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