great tips, andy. i will definitely look into the glove, as i tend to wake up with my left pointer finger locked up and with some discomfort. thanks as always!
Hello Andy, thank you for taking the time to make this video and share with us the therapy and tools you are using to assist you with your trigger finger issues. This should be very helpful to those with some pain in their hand/fingers, as well as some preventative measures to healthier fingers. Hope all is going well for you. Cheers!
You described my experience exactly. I had one finger done along with carpel tunnel. My hand took a very long time to heal and it isn't yet. Unfortunately the doctor didn't suggest rehab until some weeks on when I complained to him about my outcome. He didn't even have any post surgery instructions provided to me. If I have the other finger done, I will go elsewhere. I really don't want to be out of work for another 10 weeks though.
Hi, A good friend of mine had the trigger finger release done privately as the NHS waiting lists were ridiculous. She had no post op advice. I waited for many months for my op (all of 15-20 minutes) and watched the whole thing. The most painful aspect was the tourniquet! The occupational therapy sessions after were as important as the op in my humble opinion.
I sold my cool Gibson B45 12 strings years ago because I had a ganglion cyst on my fretting hand middle finger. Had surgery, and healing was slow. Wish I hadn’t sold the 12 string, because all these years later I’ve regained my strength. Thanks for the exercises!
May I say you’re looking fantastic Andy. From a combination of the upset from looking after and seeng my dads decline from latter stages Alzheimer’s and my ditching the guitar for months I couldn’t bring myself to watch your excellent videos. Anyway in a funny sort of way my hiatus has helped get rid of the muscle memory of my first well loved Yamaha LS6🤔 Meaning that I can now play my 12 fret Brook Taw with genuine love.
Sorry to hear that. I went through the same thing with my Dad. I cared for him from 1979 until 1986. It took a high toll. I was seriously ill through exhaustion and stress and could not play for ten years '83-'93. In about six months time I'll be the same age as him when he died. So, you have my empathy. However, our Dad's are at peace now, and we have tomorrow.
@@SillyMoustache That’s a long time for sure and I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not his fault as I can find myself becoming resentful. Nonetheless so long as we can look after him we will
mmm, well, the fingers are still a bit "cranky" and need to be exercised to get working. but I'm 74, left handed and it is what it is! Thanks for you kind thoughts tough.
I have had all the surgeries on most of my fingers/wrists and yes getting back to a new normal requires lots of time and perseverance. When I started suffering new symptoms I of course visited my friendly hand / wrist Dr. All that is good but what I found the best results with was wrapping the offending finger around a one inch pipe and gently pull on the offending finger for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (everyday without fail). From what I understand, the offending node that develops on the tendon is not in the finger itself so the gentle pulling on the finger just kind of lengthens the tendon enough to ease the symptoms of the trigger finger.
Very informative , my son who is only 35 also suffers from trigger finger, he's had an operation but as far as i'm aware now follow up physio I will show him your video and hopefully he will get something from it which may help his recovery.
hi, I have a female singer guitarist friend who, instead of waiting for the NHS to get the job done, paid to have it done privately. she was given NO post-op advice or info, and so she's still suffering quite a bit. Post--op exercises are crucial I think, to keep these old mechanicals moving.
Reason why nobody will ever hear me say anything bad about the NHS Andy as I’ve had nothing but goos treatment over the years. I remember thinking of my neighbours disparaging remarks about the NHS as they were stood at their doorsteps banging pots n pans🤔🙄
I forgot to mention playing style. Thanks to many early years spent playing poorly made guitars with high strings, Kent, Stella, Harmony, Kay, etc., I developed a bad habit of chording with a death grip. Now that I have decently built and adjusted acoustics, I could chord with an easy touch but, once I get into the zone, will find myself resorting to the same old death grip. 58 years of bad habits are not only hard to break, but are also hard on tendons and joints as well.
Tell me about it! I have had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (with many cortisone jabs) and operations on both hands for trigger fingers -e last one in April after a 26 month wait, and, now I have the effects of Dupuytrens manifesting. But we carry on. Nothing quite like playing a good round g chord in the morning!
@@SillyMoustache Yikes. And that right there is why a have a case of harmonicas stashed away for musical emergencies. I forgot one further guitar related malady, which comes to mind because it just now happened and my fingers are still tingling. If I stare at my fingers long enough while playing, they will go to sleep. Numb fingers and thumb make for difficult playing. It's a bad habit but I find it fascinating to watch my fingers moving and playing faster than I can think. (It's not that I play incredibly fast, it is that I think very, very slowly.) I had a similar problem on the right side and received a cortisone shot through the front of my neck to the nerve at my spine, which worked miraculously well. I was lying on a stainless table while the doctor administered the shot with a 10" long needle, literally threading the needle between jugular vein, carotid artery and trachea to the spine, where things could really get messed up in a hurry, all the while guiding his efforts through a surgical binocular microscope. The last thing he said before the injection was, "Don't move." The last thing I said was, "No shit."
I agree that surgery is largely used. But my hand Doctor asked about upper body scarring. He could see from surgery on my hand at age 3 and 4 to remove webbing between my fingers that I have large scars. ( It took 2 hand surgeries to remove the webbing: once for webbing; 2nd for scarring. He said my trigger finger surgery would probably take 3 surgeries over 5 years, the last 2 surgeries to remove scarring. We have been trying non surgical alternates that have helped. I have trigger fingers in both hands. Thanks Andy
Hi Tex, I guess you must have been called "aquaman" or some such at school? Sorry to hear about the scarring issues. The scar from my first op on my right hand was made along the natural crease and virtually invisible, the recent one is just a straight line above the crease - about one inch long for both sheaths. The scar doesn't worry me although it caused a little swelling in the palm for some time.
Cheers. I have trigger thumb from playing guitar. Just got my first steroid injection. While the inflammation has subsided, the tendon hasn’t yet gotten better.😊
Hi, me too. Cycling, weightlifting and gardening has caused arthritis/swelling in my right thumb. Even more important to use the best possible hand posture.
It’s no joke the pain from fingers n tendons. I used to suffer from a thing called tenosynovitis in both wrists and needed the things with the metal plate to keep em from clicking. One thing that did for me was me using my little finger to form power chords and im sure it had the effect of triggering other things off unrelated to my hands n fingers
Yeah, I had the triggering in my ring and middle fingers and my Duputrens reduced in April, but they both ache and I have to stretch them straight and do these exercises every day. My other pass-time is growing our own fruit and veg and gardening means a lot of gripping, pulling etc, and ... I'm left handed, so .... and yet ... we privail!
Thanks for the informative video, Andy! I have a tendency to clench my fists at night when sleeping. In the morning my middle finger is locked. I found wearing a finger splint prevents it from locking.
hi yeah, I tried those but they didn't suit me. The NHS Occupational Therapy lady gave me a couple of soft thin gloves, (like women used to wear to balls) but with the ends of the fingers cut off. I don't understand why/how they work but they really do! Thanks for watching.
Very helpful! I don't have Duypertens or trigger finger, but I do have old injuries to my right hand. These things will certainly help alleviate some of the problems I do have. Thanks!
I find that the prayer movement works. To get a little more stretch, I'll lift my elbows until just the pads of my fingers are touching. I had some tendonitis but managed to stretch my way out of it (so far). I also take Boswellia and Turmeric. For some that might be considered snake oil but my doctor doesn't mind and no matter whether it is psychological or physical, it's working for me (so far). The fellow who taught me how to play guitar back around 1964 has trigger finger. I'll be sending this to him right after I post my thanks.
Same age, similar situation. Carpal tTunnel in left hand. Chording is sloppy and difficult. Muscle memory shot. I've been a guitar player for a long time and having to make the changes and adapt is very very difficult.
Hi Joshua, sorry to hear about your hands and I agree that it can be depressing, but, as you say, it is learning to adapt, and to continue. I've found that my left hand now sometimes uses different fingers for some thing - nothing to do with me - my hand decided it. Perhaps a zoom meeting and chat might help?
In a sense our entire body is a collection of levers and pulleys :). This sounds very similar to carpal tunnel, and they do the operations for those like it's nothing. Nothing wrong with an operation but I do feel that if something originates in overuse then an operation alone can't realy fix it.
Hi Roderick, yes, it is all about repetitive strain, but my levers and pulleys are nearly three quarters of a century old and as I'm left handed playing righty my left hand gets a LOT of overuse.
@@SillyMoustache Just curious were you more or less forced to play (and/or write) righthanded or just by choice playing righty. Does make it a bit easier to get guitars, as a fellow lefty I know ;). Ah yes I can imagine, but rest assured I'm quite a bit younger but have collected quite a few repetitive strain injuries but the kingpin that trumps those is fybromialgia, which in layman's terms is basically emotional stress translated into rheumatic nerve pain. But I can only imagine people used to get that too they just didn't have names for it, and the musicians probably just took heroin or something for it ;)!
Haha! i had to look! I actually said "blond haired people" -I should more accuratly have said that it is said to be more common in people with nordic heritage or "The Viking's disease : www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/dupuytren-s-contracture-the-viking-disease-explained That would have made it much more interesting! Thanks far watching!
great tips, andy. i will definitely look into the glove, as i tend to wake up with my left pointer finger locked up and with some discomfort. thanks as always!
Hi, it is also well worth having the trigger finger release surgery if available to you.
Fantastic advice Mr Moustache. As a sixty year old this is greatly valued. May the Grim Reaper spare me from such travails.
Keep everything moving Steven, Andy. !
Hello Andy, thank you for taking the time to make this video and share with us the therapy and tools you are using to assist you with your trigger finger issues. This should be very helpful to those with some pain in their hand/fingers, as well as some preventative measures to healthier fingers. Hope all is going well for you. Cheers!
Hi Mojo, thanks for watching and I hope it helps guitarists and anybody else. However if you have hand mobility issues, I'd still say see your doctor.
You described my experience exactly. I had one finger done along with carpel tunnel. My hand took a very long time to heal and it isn't yet. Unfortunately the doctor didn't suggest rehab until some weeks on when I complained to him about my outcome. He didn't even have any post surgery instructions provided to me. If I have the other finger done, I will go elsewhere. I really don't want to be out of work for another 10 weeks though.
Hi, A good friend of mine had the trigger finger release done privately as the NHS waiting lists were ridiculous. She had no post op advice. I waited for many months for my op (all of 15-20 minutes) and watched the whole thing. The most painful aspect was the tourniquet! The occupational therapy sessions after were as important as the op in my humble opinion.
I sold my cool Gibson B45 12 strings years ago because I had a ganglion cyst on my fretting hand middle finger. Had surgery, and healing was slow. Wish I hadn’t sold the 12 string, because all these years later I’ve regained my strength. Thanks for the exercises!
Definately help, but trigger finger corrective surgery is fast healing, as long as you ger remedial physio after, ot at worst these exercises.
Hope you doing good I always loving your playing on guiter it's make my day better 💜!
Hi Lucas thanks - no playing on this one, but another song coming along soon. Andy
May I say you’re looking fantastic Andy. From a combination of the upset from looking after and seeng my dads decline from latter stages Alzheimer’s and my ditching the guitar for months I couldn’t bring myself to watch your excellent videos. Anyway in a funny sort of way my hiatus has helped get rid of the muscle memory of my first well loved Yamaha LS6🤔 Meaning that I can now play my 12 fret Brook Taw with genuine love.
Sorry to hear that. I went through the same thing with my Dad. I cared for him from 1979 until 1986. It took a high toll. I was seriously ill through exhaustion and stress and could not play for ten years '83-'93. In about six months time I'll be the same age as him when he died. So, you have my empathy. However, our Dad's are at peace now, and we have tomorrow.
@@SillyMoustache That’s a long time for sure and I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not his fault as I can find myself becoming resentful. Nonetheless so long as we can look after him we will
I am glad to see your hand is healing well and those exercises really sem to be helping. George in Montana
mmm, well, the fingers are still a bit "cranky" and need to be exercised to get working. but I'm 74, left handed and it is what it is! Thanks for you kind thoughts tough.
I have had all the surgeries on most of my fingers/wrists and yes getting back to a new normal requires lots of time and perseverance. When I started suffering new symptoms I of course visited my friendly hand / wrist Dr. All that is good but what I found the best results with was wrapping the offending finger around a one inch pipe and gently pull on the offending finger for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (everyday without fail). From what I understand, the offending node that develops on the tendon is not in the finger itself so the gentle pulling on the finger just kind of lengthens the tendon enough to ease the symptoms of the trigger finger.
Hi, i guess that is an alternative method to "the guitarist's payer position. Thanks for watching.
Very informative , my son who is only 35 also suffers from trigger finger, he's had an operation but as far as i'm aware now follow up physio I will show him your video and hopefully he will get something from it which may help his recovery.
hi, I have a female singer guitarist friend who, instead of waiting for the NHS to get the job done, paid to have it done privately. she was given NO post-op advice or info, and so she's still suffering quite a bit. Post--op exercises are crucial I think, to keep these old mechanicals moving.
Reason why nobody will ever hear me say anything bad about the NHS Andy as I’ve had nothing but goos treatment over the years. I remember thinking of my neighbours disparaging remarks about the NHS as they were stood at their doorsteps banging pots n pans🤔🙄
I forgot to mention playing style. Thanks to many early years spent playing poorly made guitars with high strings, Kent, Stella, Harmony, Kay, etc., I developed a bad habit of chording with a death grip. Now that I have decently built and adjusted acoustics, I could chord with an easy touch but, once I get into the zone, will find myself resorting to the same old death grip. 58 years of bad habits are not only hard to break, but are also hard on tendons and joints as well.
Tell me about it! I have had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (with many cortisone jabs) and operations on both hands for trigger fingers -e last one in April after a 26 month wait, and, now I have the effects of Dupuytrens manifesting. But we carry on. Nothing quite like playing a good round g chord in the morning!
@@SillyMoustache Yikes. And that right there is why a have a case of harmonicas stashed away for musical emergencies. I forgot one further guitar related malady, which comes to mind because it just now happened and my fingers are still tingling. If I stare at my fingers long enough while playing, they will go to sleep. Numb fingers and thumb make for difficult playing. It's a bad habit but I find it fascinating to watch my fingers moving and playing faster than I can think. (It's not that I play incredibly fast, it is that I think very, very slowly.) I had a similar problem on the right side and received a cortisone shot through the front of my neck to the nerve at my spine, which worked miraculously well. I was lying on a stainless table while the doctor administered the shot with a 10" long needle, literally threading the needle between jugular vein, carotid artery and trachea to the spine, where things could really get messed up in a hurry, all the while guiding his efforts through a surgical binocular microscope. The last thing he said before the injection was, "Don't move." The last thing I said was, "No shit."
I agree that surgery is largely used. But my hand Doctor asked about upper body scarring. He could see from surgery on my hand at age 3 and 4 to remove webbing between my fingers that I have large scars. ( It took 2 hand surgeries to remove the webbing: once for webbing; 2nd for scarring. He said my trigger finger surgery would probably take 3 surgeries over 5 years, the last 2 surgeries to remove scarring. We have been trying non surgical alternates that have helped. I have trigger fingers in both hands. Thanks Andy
Hi Tex, I guess you must have been called "aquaman" or some such at school? Sorry to hear about the scarring issues. The scar from my first op on my right hand was made along the natural crease and virtually invisible, the recent one is just a straight line above the crease - about one inch long for both sheaths. The scar doesn't worry me although it caused a little swelling in the palm for some time.
Cheers. I have trigger thumb from playing guitar. Just got my first steroid injection. While the inflammation has subsided, the tendon hasn’t yet gotten better.😊
Hi, me too. Cycling, weightlifting and gardening has caused arthritis/swelling in my right thumb. Even more important to use the best possible hand posture.
It’s no joke the pain from fingers n tendons. I used to suffer from a thing called tenosynovitis in both wrists and needed the things with the metal plate to keep em from clicking. One thing that did for me was me using my little finger to form power chords and im sure it had the effect of triggering other things off unrelated to my hands n fingers
Yeah, I had the triggering in my ring and middle fingers and my Duputrens reduced in April, but they both ache and I have to stretch them straight and do these exercises every day. My other pass-time is growing our own fruit and veg and gardening means a lot of gripping, pulling etc, and ... I'm left handed, so .... and yet ... we privail!
Thanks for the informative video, Andy! I have a tendency to clench my fists at night when sleeping. In the morning my middle finger is locked. I found wearing a finger splint prevents it from locking.
hi yeah, I tried those but they didn't suit me. The NHS Occupational Therapy lady gave me a couple of soft thin gloves, (like women used to wear to balls) but with the ends of the fingers cut off. I don't understand why/how they work but they really do! Thanks for watching.
Very helpful! I don't have Duypertens or trigger finger, but I do have old injuries to my right hand. These things will certainly help alleviate some of the problems I do have. Thanks!
Hi Joel, I doubt thatb they could do any harm! Keep well old friend!
@@SillyMoustache Andy - are these available in print anywhere?
Thanks for the info..I just had a bit of surgery to replace a knee..also necessary but no fun..something about getting older..cheers!
Yup Ken, I guess we are both "out of Warranty!" Hope you heal quickly.
I find that the prayer movement works. To get a little more stretch, I'll lift my elbows until just the pads of my fingers are touching. I had some tendonitis but managed to stretch my way out of it (so far). I also take Boswellia and Turmeric. For some that might be considered snake oil but my doctor doesn't mind and no matter whether it is psychological or physical, it's working for me (so far). The fellow who taught me how to play guitar back around 1964 has trigger finger. I'll be sending this to him right after I post my thanks.
Hi, thanks for this - if my humble video helps others, then my work is done!
wise words and excellent advice 🥸
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching.
born with trigger finger here, always wanted to learn, hopefully this can help :)
I hope so! Just don't try to strengthen your fingers. Surgery possible?
Thank you
Very helpful , trigger finger
No Joke !
No, it is restricting, but fortunately, I finally got them done and had great aftercare from NHS Occupational therapy.
Glad you got your operation. Thanks for sharing rehab info with us...
Hi Jim you are having an ol' Andy day aren't you. I'm flattered! I just hope it might help some folks.
Same age, similar situation. Carpal tTunnel in left hand. Chording is sloppy and difficult. Muscle memory shot. I've been a guitar player for a long time and having to make the changes and adapt is very very difficult.
Hi Joshua, sorry to hear about your hands and I agree that it can be depressing, but, as you say, it is learning to adapt, and to continue. I've found that my left hand now sometimes uses different fingers for some thing - nothing to do with me - my hand decided it. Perhaps a zoom meeting and chat might help?
thanks very important video
Most welcome I hope it helps.
In a sense our entire body is a collection of levers and pulleys :). This sounds very similar to carpal tunnel, and they do the operations for those like it's nothing. Nothing wrong with an operation but I do feel that if something originates in overuse then an operation alone can't realy fix it.
Hi Roderick, yes, it is all about repetitive strain, but my levers and pulleys are nearly three quarters of a century old and as I'm left handed playing righty my left hand gets a LOT of overuse.
@@SillyMoustache Just curious were you more or less forced to play (and/or write) righthanded or just by choice playing righty. Does make it a bit easier to get guitars, as a fellow lefty I know ;). Ah yes I can imagine, but rest assured I'm quite a bit younger but have collected quite a few repetitive strain injuries but the kingpin that trumps those is fybromialgia, which in layman's terms is basically emotional stress translated into rheumatic nerve pain. But I can only imagine people used to get that too they just didn't have names for it, and the musicians probably just took heroin or something for it ;)!
Did you say that Dupuytren's disease is common in "long haired" people?
Haha! i had to look! I actually said "blond haired people" -I should more accuratly have said that it is said to be more common in people with nordic heritage or "The Viking's disease : www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/dupuytren-s-contracture-the-viking-disease-explained
That would have made it much more interesting! Thanks far watching!