Strange thing happening with my hands and stuff...

Sammetal91

Sammetal91

Power User
Hey guys I haven't been on the forum in quite a while due to my phone being dropped too many times and might as well be a brick :razz

Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the symptoms I've been experiencing now for 3 months approximately. In short, my hands just don't work or feel the same.

In more detail, my hands get tired significantly quicker, cramp up a lot more frequently, experience stiffness and some sort of light numb sensation, significantly weaker gripping strength and dull pains. It wasn't so bad at first, but by the time it hit a month, I was becoming aware that I was slowing down. I've cut back a lot of hand activities to see if my hands needed rest as I have a desk job, play video games and of course play. So I have cut back games and playing guitar but it still didn't do anything at all. My symptoms still persist and kicked at bad times like the 2 gigs I played with my band. Also, my playing has suffered which frustrating and discouraging to say the least. :(

For the record, I went to my PCP and she has no idea what it could be as no other areas of my body are affected except my hands/ everything under my elbow to be exact. So I'm waiting for my insurance to give me an authorization and referral to a neurologist as of now.

If any of you guys have any experience or advice I'd greatly appreciate it :)
 
sorry to hear that. I can't help unfortunately. Proper medical advice/treatment can take a while to get, especially if your general practitioner has no idea.

If nothing else, perhaps seeking alternatives like acupuncture could give you some temporary relief?

good luck
 
Sammetal91 said:
Hey guys I haven't been on the forum in quite a while due to my phone being dropped too many times and might as well be a brick :razz

Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the symptoms I've been experiencing now for 3 months approximately. In short, my hands just don't work or feel the same.

In more detail, my hands get tired significantly quicker, cramp up a lot more frequently, experience stiffness and some sort of light numb sensation, significantly weaker gripping strength and dull pains. It wasn't so bad at first, but by the time it hit a month, I was becoming aware that I was slowing down. I've cut back a lot of hand activities to see if my hands needed rest as I have a desk job, play video games and of course play. So I have cut back games and playing guitar but it still didn't do anything at all. My symptoms still persist and kicked at bad times like the 2 gigs I played with my band. Also, my playing has suffered which frustrating and discouraging to say the least. :(

For the record, I went to my PCP and she has no idea what it could be as no other areas of my body are affected except my hands/ everything under my elbow to be exact. So I'm waiting for my insurance to give me an authorization and referral to a neurologist as of now.

If any of you guys have any experience or advice I'd greatly appreciate it :)
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Hopefully it is not focal dystonia. I was diagnosed with this about a year ago. I've had problems for the last three years. Pretty much feels like a cramp where your palm/fingers cant relax correctly. Pretty much the result of me practicing hours a day for over 25 years. I have made some good progress with it but it can be very annoying at times. There is no medical cure for this however if you have developed this you can do things to try help with it. It is a neurological condition where your brain actually slurs together muscular movements which causes a cramp. You can research it on google. Get a good hand specialist and get an emg on your hand. Although if your hand is tinging and feels weak it sounds like Carpal or Cubital tunnel syndrome. With FD there is only a problem while playing because its task specific like writers cramp
 
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Check if you have cubical tunnel syndrome. This can happen if your ulnar nerve is aggravated. I have a mild case of it and some your symptoms were familiar. Go see a neurologist. Best wishes ad good luck!
 
JJunkie said:
sorry to hear that. I can't help unfortunately. Proper medical advice/treatment can take a while to get, especially if your general practitioner has no idea.

If nothing else, perhaps seeking alternatives like acupuncture could give you some temporary relief?

good luck
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It's all good man I appreciate the concern though :) Yeah those authorizations take a bit but what can ya do? As for acupuncture, anything that uses more than 1 pointy thing definitely gives me the willies. :razz
 
Hi man, sorry to hear that. It sounds like something with the nerves in your arms. Not sure if this will help but I had a Radial Nerve injury(like Dave Mustaine) years ago. I went to a neurologist and a doctor and they couldn't give me any definitive answers about when I would get better. My friend who's a Chiropractor told me to start taking as much Vitamin B(which helps the nervous system) as I could. Within a day I started feeling normal again and within 3 days I was recovered. Hope this helps it can't hurt.. Good Luck..
 
guitarsrule said:
Hopefully it is not focal dystonia. I was diagnosed with this about a year ago. I've had problems for the last three years. Pretty much feels like a cramp where your palm/fingers cant relax correctly. Pretty much the result of me practicing hours a day for over 25 years. I have made some good progress with it but it can be very annoying at times. There is no medical cure for this however if you have developed this you can do things to try help with it. It is a neurological condition where your brain actually slurs together muscular movements which causes a cramp. You can research it on google. Get a good hand specialist and get an emg on your hand. Although if your hand is tinging and feels weak it sounds like Carpal or Cubital tunnel syndrome. With FD there is only a problem while playing because its task specific like writers cramp
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That sucks man :( do you take anything in specific to better the situation like injections or certain physical therapy? Is focal dystonia limited to the hands/fingers in your case?
 
Guitarist9891 said:
Check if you have cubical tunnel syndrome. This can happen if your ulnar nerve is aggravated. I have a mild case of it and some your symptoms were familiar. Go see a neurologist. Best wishes ad good luck!
Click to expand...
I've never heard of this one before actually and it does sound similar. What do you do to alleviate the symptoms?
 
Rain said:
Hi man, sorry to hear that. It sounds like something with the nerves in your arms. Not sure if this will help but I had a Radial Nerve injury(like Dave Mustaine) years ago. I went to a neurologist and a doctor and they couldn't give me any definitive answers about when I would get better. My friend who's a Chiropractor told me to start taking as much Vitamin B(which helps the nervous system) as I could. Within a day I started feeling normal again and within 3 days I was recovered. Hope this helps it can't hurt.. Good Luck..
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Vitamin B it is! Sure can't hurt :)
 
No I dont, botox is suggested to deaden your hand and try to have your neurological system relearn movements correctly. I basically work on modifying my technique to help lessen the cramps. It is extremely frustrating.
 
I don't know what you do for a living but I spend a lot of time on a computer and I've felt similar symptoms. For me it was a combination of a coup,e things: carpal tunnel and (idk what it's called) but bone growth around where the nerve exits the spinal cord going to each arm puts pressure on the nerve. I always have a slight tingle in my hands. It's gotten better by stretching & doing some exercises with my hands & back. Java has an excellent suggestion to see a doctor about it as everyone's case can be different.
 
This definitely seems to be a nerve issue.
Definitely not the easily detectable thing, I would recommend some serious yoga classes and continue with the medical advice.
I have heard though that yoga does wonders in such situations including carpel tunnel syndrome.
Your nerves seem to be stiff and tense in the hands,which you must now give rest to and get the nerves relaxed again for them to function properly.

All the best man.
 
I developed carpal tunnel and the doctor said it was directly related to playing guitar. He said "so stop playing guitar". Well that aint happening. A little research revealed that this wasn't unheard of - especially with people who play the guitar hanging low. So I adjusted my strap, raising the guitar which adjusted the angle of my wrist. I also went from 10's to 9's. My left wrist is significantly larger the my right, but it works now. Of course I use the right hand a lot to....but that is a different forum.
 
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guitarsrule said:
No I dont, botox is suggested to deaden your hand and try to have your neurological system relearn movements correctly. I basically work on modifying my technique to help lessen the cramps. It is extremely frustrating.
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I believe the frustration. You've been working at that for waay longer than me so I can't imagine how I'd react in a year. My alternate picking has just significantly degraded which was frustrating considering I was working on that alone for some time.
 
bobby_g said:
I don't know what you do for a living but I spend a lot of time on a computer and I've felt similar symptoms. For me it was a combination of a coup,e things: carpal tunnel and (idk what it's called) but bone growth around where the nerve exits the spinal cord going to each arm puts pressure on the nerve. I always have a slight tingle in my hands. It's gotten better by stretching & doing some exercises with my hands & back. Java has an excellent suggestion to see a doctor about it as everyone's case can be different.
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I do insurance billing and data entry mostly so it's definitely a keyboard intensive.
 
immortal_soloist said:
This definitely seems to be a nerve issue.
Definitely not the easily detectable thing, I would recommend some serious yoga classes and continue with the medical advice.
I have heard though that yoga does wonders in such situations including carpel tunnel syndrome.
Your nerves seem to be stiff and tense in the hands,which you must now give rest to and get the nerves relaxed again for them to function properly.

All the best man.
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Yoga huh? I really don't wanna buy spandex for it. I'm skinny enough as is :D
 
guitarmike said:
I developed carpal tunnel and the doctor said it was directly related to playing guitar. He said "so stop playing guitar". Well that aint happening. A little research revealed that this wasn't unheard of - especially with people who play the guitar hanging low. So I adjusted my strap, raising the guitar which adjusted the angle of my wrist. I also went from 10's to 9's. My left wrist is significantly larger the my right, but it works now. Of course I use the right hand a lot to....but that is a different forum.
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Ya know, despite me being a metal guy (yet play in an alt. rock band) I don't like my guitar low. I always thought that looked goofy anyways. I probably have to change my gauge though as I use 13s and at the time of our last gig, I couldn't do any note bends type of weak. I still actually can't note bend that well so off to 10s probably. As for the other... calm down sparky :D
 
My best advice is to pay attention to your body. If your posture whether it be your hand, arm, back...etc..is bad while you play or incorrect with whatever you do you will be more susceptible to develop problems. Even with having focal dystonia i still can manage by focusing on good posture and to try to relax as much as possible. Warming up properly is also essential. I can honestly say these are some things I ignored in the past that led me to developing focal dystonia
 
I sleep on my side and stomach a lot and when I put my arms up under my pillow, it puts a lot of pressure on my shoulder joints. I'm learning to sleep on my back. That being said, everything you do to your body must be undone. Make sure you stretch your arms; use a door frame and stretch them back. Think about how you hold the guitar and do the opposite stretches to your hands and arms. Slouching also puts pressure on your shoulders so lean back and wave your arms up and down. Hope this helps. Oh, and you may want to look into lifting weights, you may be strengthening one set of muscles while the other set atrophies, this can also lead to tension. As well, stay hydrated.
 
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I had some similar stuff going on and while I don't know what the exact cause was I do know that I finally went to the doctor and found out that I had obstructive sleep apnea and a severe vitamin D deficiency. Between taking massive vitamin D tablets (have to take it with some fat or it won't absorb) and getting a CPAP I experienced an amazing improvement in a lot of things. Funny how getting a good nights rest does so much for you.

But I haven't been taking the pills and I notice once in a while that my hands aren't feeling quite right so that may be part of it. I recently got a new job and really need to find time to get back out there in the sun and do some running. The body is such a crazy thing and it needs a good balance with some exercise. I feel like crap compared to the same time last year and I know it's because I haven't found time to exercise.
 
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