finger pain

[losthobos]

Help or advice needed please, I have started to develop pain and stiffness in the first joint of my index finger bass hand possibly caused by not having my arm far enough through bass strap but possibly knocked /pulled/jarred elsewhere in life....any one suggest any treatments,cures,advice before I start to get more worried. 50 years old and don't want to welcome arthritis yet, thanks

 

[barkis]

Go to a doctor.

 

[Anyanka]

I find that any injuries I sustain these days take much longer to heal than they used to; and small knocks or heavy gardening lead to sore hands, elbows and shoulders more lastingly these days. When I remember, I take glucosamine & chondroitin supplements which allegedly help stave off joint pains - but I have no idea how bad the fingers would feel without the pills!

However, the only people qualified to give medical advice are indeed doctors, so do get it checked if you're concerned.

 

[donn]

That's pretty specific - one joint, one finger, one hand - and apparently you see the accordion as a likely culprit. Was there something noticeably uncomfortable or awkward right there, when you play? I mean, before the persistent problem developed. We don't have much to go on here - I think you can figure this out yourself, but I guess the most useful real answer we can give you is "doesn't happen to me", so probably not (?) a common problem.

I don't know how to read "first joint." I always get numbers wrong, for example I'd have never considered numbering this index finger "2".

 

[Tony]

I have had stiff knuckle joint on left hand for over a year Have been to Dr etc: also get pain on the palm below second finger there is a small lump which have been injected needs injections twice a year, I am still playing but sometimes cannot bend fingers for Bass. Have not been given any reason for problem and I'm in my 71st year.

 

[losthobos]

thanks people, i was hoping someone was going to tell me to push arm further through bass strap thus moving "bend" pressure to different place on finger (i've never had a lesson on accordion and wondered if my technique has been wrong all along) or as Anyanka suggests start banging away at the Glucosamine...avoid wheat? etc anyinfo...just don't really want to hassle an over burdened NHS with a minor problem like a stiff finger joint....Tony did they inject the hydrocortisone into the knuckle or palm...

 

[donn]

Everyone here has perfect technique, all instructed in our youth by the best teachers, so we have no idea. Ha ha. Well, perhaps it's true that we have no idea, anyway. If you push your arm further through the bass strap, does that relieve the problem? You might have a look at online videos of some good players, and see if their hand positions look any different from yours.

Cortisone, wheat, glucosamine, etc.? For that, talk to a doctor ... and for me, if they started pitching any of that stuff I might try another doctor.

 

[Tony]

They Injected hydrocortisone into knuckle joint also palm and that hurt.

 

[Panya37]

Hi, I am a novice to accordion technique so can't help you there. But, I have had finger trouble, and know how worrying it can be. In my case I developed a condition where after a number of years, pain in my left-hand ring-finger turned to stiffness, and then increasingly frequently the finger 'locked'' closed due to inflamed tendons. That led me to do a lot of research into finger/hand pain and in the course of searching for answers I found out a lot from forums, etc. I have since successfully stopped the beginnings of trouble in other fingers, and managed to reverse most of the problems I had for years.

Obviously I am not a medical person, so it is worth getting your pain checked out. But in my experience you are not likely to get much help other than 'it's probably a touch of arthritis, take a paracetamol if it bothers you'.

Whatever the cause of the pain there is a LOT you can do. Firstly - a lot of finger/tendon (and other) inflammation is caused by lack of Magnesium in the modern diet (depleted soil, etc). Unfortunately the cheapest form of magnesium in health food shops (Magnesium Oxide) is not easily absorbed by the body. You could try a few weeks of Chelated Magnesium Glycinate (not as expensive as it sounds, and easily available online) and see if it helps.

Turmeric is very effective at calming inflammation anywhere in the body; as is bromelain (from pineapples). You can add turmeric to food; or you can buy 'medicinal' turmeric and bromelain capsules at most health food shops (I actually got capsules with both together).

Vitamin B6 deficiency can also lead to inflammation and pain. It could be worth trying a good Vitamin B supplement for a time.

A lot of 'finger trouble' forums discuss the widely used 'Glucosamine and Condroitin' - but most people seem to find they don't help.

If the pain is caused by the beginnings of arthritis or rheumatism, and you are serious about wanting to keep trouble at bay, you may want to look into natural means of altering the balance of acid and alkaline in the body. Basically, eating too much acid-creating food (or too little alkalising food) leads to inflammation. Google for lists of acid-creating/alkalising foods. This is science-based, not 'wild and woolly' stuff. Eat mainly alkaline-creating foods for a week or two and you will be amazed by how the aches and pains in your body evaporate.

A simple thing like massaging your fingers/stretching them gently backwards etc can help to keep them moving (but obviously won't stop pain). A great deal of wrist and finger pain can however be caused by over or under-stretched tendons/small muscles. You could search Youtube for very interesting FleXtend exercise routines (FleXtend is an American resistance exercise glove); they use re-balancing routines for specific wrist and hand problems. A lot of grateful people swear by them.

One thing I vowed NOT to do was accept the offered Cortisone injection. I had one earlier in life for a frozen shoulder and it was horrifically painful - and completely useless. I found out afterwards that it weakens the affected joint and certainly should not be repeated if at all possible. I know that maybe for some people it is the best option but I'd have to get very desperate before going down that route. And so many people say again and again on forums that after all the agony, their injection did no good at all...

Well, I hope something here might help a bit. This is in danger of turning into an essay :lol: so I'd better stop now!

 

[donn]

Neither online patient nor doctor be, Id say. For another perspective on the role of science in the alkaline diet thing, wikipedia Alkaline diet.

There is a tendon or ligament condition that can make it hard or impossible to straighten your fingers, I forget the details, a friend suffers from this and one of the remedies was surgical. That would again be for a doctor to diagnose.

 

[Panya37]

Hi, I agree that isn't good to be an online doctor. That is why I just flagged up the range of simple and harmless remedies which came up again and again in forums about finger/hand problems as having been of practical help. Again, the benefits of an alkaline diet, (which is pretty much just eating healthily, with lots of veg.) doesn't come from a 'medical' viewpoint but practical experience (myself and several other people I know personally).

The condition where a tendon or ligament condition eventually makes it hard or impossible to straighten your fingers, is called Trigger Finger (or Stenosing Tenosynovitis). That is actually the condition I have (as diagnosed by a Consultant); and pretty much cured myself of (though the doctors said it couldn't be done) with the above methods. I was urged by the Consultant to have an operation on the finger; but research (and also seeing an acquaintance having the operation - twice) suggested that it was rarely a complete success, and in a significant percentage of cases it made the pain worse or caused loss of feeling in the finger. Also, even if the operation is a success, people frequently reported that other fingers or thumbs then started to develop trigger finger later as the basic cause of the condition had not been addressed. The conventional medical system doesn't have an answer for this in my experience; that is why I had to find my own answers.

 

[smdc66]

i get discomfort in my left wrist so some of the above may help me too

i hadnt thought of changing my diet much

the thing is with regards to left arm / hand / fingers I dont think there are many different ways you can alter the way you hold the accordion in terms of altering technique to improve our own 'perfect technique' unless you have the (unpractical?) option of experimenting with different size accordions

 

[donn]

Still, if you have a problem that affects one joint, like a wrist or finger joint, then the cause and remedy are likely to be specific to that joint as well. You may be able to alleviate symptoms, but if it's a chronic problem, you need to address the cause, lest repeated injury will eventually take you out.

Yes, my friend's condition was indeed trigger finger. I believe his doctor was fairly candid with him about his options, and he decided against the operation.

Hereabouts we have a somewhat credentialed alternative system known as Naturopathy, and from anecdotal reports of friends who have gone that route it seems legit. One might have to shop around a bit, but the same is true for conventional medical practice.

 

[Anyanka]

re lack of magnesium (or vitamins, other minerals etc) in our food due to depleted soil - this is a bogus claim invented by people who sell supplements. I'd recommend reading Ben Goldacre on the subject of the supplement industry: it's hilarious and educational. The only reason I started taking Gluc/Chond is because my vet recommended it... not for me, but for my 11-year-old arthritic greyhound; vet said it's been shown to be beneficial, and as dogs aren't so easily affected by the placebo effect, I now share a big box of tablets with my dear old Piper!

 

[Glenn]

Dogs don't live as long and may have a different metabolism. Still, at least your coat will be shiny, let alone the wet nose.

 

[Anyanka]

Still, at least your coat will be shiny, let alone the wet nose.

RESULT!

 

[losthobos]

Thanks everyone, especially Panya...good advice...you are what you eat...
Also this link featuring Cathie Travers has helped
Adjusted arm position as suggested and felt weird playing and sounded like ive developed a stammer and stutter on bass runs but no finger curling or pain after a couple of hours playing...
Will monitor diet etc and hopefully find out was just a simple injury that heals quickly....best be prepared than scared...thanks again for input

 

[Soulsaver]

Hmm that Cathie Travers - she is rightly proud of her accordion collection... seen her with that Titano, Sonola SS4, Settimio Soprani Artiste 6 . :mrgreen:


Artiste 6
SS4

 

[Meerkatdawg]

Not for one second suggesting it is this, but you might want to get your Uric acid levels checked. I had a relative with the very same pain and as it turned out, it was gout in their finger. Not a cool thing to have but easily sorted out and dealt with. Good luck!

 

[losthobos]

Sure thing Mr Meerkatdawg....the bottle ao Tequila and other bottles we consumed at the Eastbourne accordion festival may have been extremely detrimental...thank whoever for it's Lent and i'll tidy the act up for the next 6 weeks