I am a 55-year old with two serious addictions -- golf and classical/flamenco guitar. I'm the kind of guy who can play 18 holes of golf, hit balls for another 2 hours, and then play the guitar for two more hours. For my day job, I work at a computer most of the day. All of those activities put large amounts of stress on the hands (especially classical guitar, which gets played a lot more in the winter). Though I can't golf here in the winter, I hit lots of balls indoors off mats (more stress).
Our golf season is just starting here in NY and for the past month I've been struggling with tendonitis in my left thumb -- some of the pain is near the thumb joint and some on the fleshy pad in the palm close to the wrist (but not actually the wrist). Just woke up with it one morning. The orthopod x-rayed the hand and found nothing, so we're assuming it's tendonitis. I'm sure I have a classic case of repetitive overuse (knew it might happen sooner or later).
I've been icing it (almost everyday), and taking lots (too much in my mind) of ibuprofen. I've stopped playing the guitar and have not yet played golf this spring, although I'll admit to hitting a few wedges and 7-irons in the school yard next door.
Ironically, I have NO pain when I hit. In fact, only a few movements of the thumb hurt, but then it's a very sharp pain; every other motion is fine. The few times I've hit a few balls, the next day the thumb is a little sore.
I'm quite disappointed that the problem still lingers after 30 days. It's a little better, but not much. Can this kind of problem take a lot longer to heal? Maybe I should take a long break?
I'm supposed to go to S.C. in a week for 4 rounds of golf. I don't want to bail out on the trip, so in desperation, I have an appointment 2 days before my departure to get a cortisone shot if needed (ouch!).
Any advice you could provide would be appreciated, whether pertaining to rehab, or exercises to prevent this from happening in the future (if that's possible). Not being able to play the guitar or golf has proven to be quite a life adjustment, although my family members probably think it's for the better!
Bruce,
While we are waiting for more informed people to reply, I'll give you a "I feel your pain" kinda thing. I'm 59, in fair shape for my age and have been an exercise nut for about the last 20 yrs.
I think we all reach an age when our bodies require more rest to recuperate. Genetics may allow some people a bit more leeway, but I am now firmly in your camp... I've had tendonitis three times in the right elbow in the last 4 yrs., my back will occasionally flair up and I've already had one back operation in 1998 (which ended my squating), and I have a small tear in my right rotator cuff..... all this (and compared to many others I'm very healthy) is manageable with common sense. I've had the discussion with instructors and doctors...you need to balance your activity with what your body will allow. If you have tendonitis... you've done too much of something and you need to rest a bit, but more importantly you need to recognize what led to it and avoid doing that much. I try not to work out very heavily more than once a week... I still work out 4 times a week but the other three are more moderate... I hit balls or play 5 days a week...I'm tempted on the other two days... but I'll just do mirror work, or hit the impact bag or work with the dowels. If I don't get a good's night rest for some reason, I take it a bit easier the following day.
I don't recognize the added rest and recuperation as a concession to my age so much as just a necessary evil that allows me to do as much as I possibly can. Every workout (or activity), even brief abbreviated workouts, are good...injuries prevent you from being active... you have to avoid injuries especially as you reach your 50's.... just my opinion.
While it is entirely possible you are right that tendonitis is a sign you need to slow things down, Pete Egoscue, author of Pain Free believes most pain syndromes are a result of biomechanical dysfunction, not overuse. Whether this is true or not, I do not have near the knowledge to determine, however, Egoscue does make a compelling case. I think most people with pain type problems that have tried traditional physical therapy exercises should at the very least give his program of exercises a try. There is so much to potentially gain. I am not affiliated with him in any way. http://www.peteegoscue.com
. . . and in my opinion Pete Egosque is right. On some philophies on training Pete's ideas differ from mine but on on this we are in the same camp. Most repetitive motion injuries are not so much a function of achieving middle age as a function of having more 'play' time to allow deterioration of the origin of the problem. Truly your hands are designed perfectly to perform for your whole life. The alignment issues that create impingement on the nerves develop over time and the hands are eventually the symptom area. Check your alignment and refer to some of the earlier posts that talk about hand and shoulder and elbow injury. You will find many tools to measure your alignment to see if you are creating the problem in your posture and not by using your hands too much. I played classical for a few years in college and know the position your shoulders and neck are in to create your art. If you aren't doing some exercises that let your body look at a straighter, more appropriate posture for homosapiens, then you can expect a symptom to show up somewhere to remind you that your spine is supposed to stretch out. It is during your exercises (both strength and flexibility) that the body is reminded of it's true skeletal blueprint and allowed to recover from the frequency of activities that make your life rich. It's time to get to work so you can get back to having fun. Vik
I am a 55-year old with two serious addictions -- golf and classical/flamenco guitar. I'm the kind of guy who can play 18 holes of golf, hit balls for another 2 hours, and then play the guitar for two more hours. For my day job, I work at a computer most of the day. All of those activities put large amounts of stress on the hands (especially classical guitar, which gets played a lot more in the winter). Though I can't golf here in the winter, I hit lots of balls indoors off mats (more stress).
Our golf season is just starting here in NY and for the past month I've been struggling with tendonitis in my left thumb -- some of the pain is near the thumb joint and some on the fleshy pad in the palm close to the wrist (but not actually the wrist). Just woke up with it one morning. The orthopod x-rayed the hand and found nothing, so we're assuming it's tendonitis. I'm sure I have a classic case of repetitive overuse (knew it might happen sooner or later).
I've been icing it (almost everyday), and taking lots (too much in my mind) of ibuprofen. I've stopped playing the guitar and have not yet played golf this spring, although I'll admit to hitting a few wedges and 7-irons in the school yard next door.
Ironically, I have NO pain when I hit. In fact, only a few movements of the thumb hurt, but then it's a very sharp pain; every other motion is fine. The few times I've hit a few balls, the next day the thumb is a little sore.
I'm quite disappointed that the problem still lingers after 30 days. It's a little better, but not much. Can this kind of problem take a lot longer to heal? Maybe I should take a long break?
I'm supposed to go to S.C. in a week for 4 rounds of golf. I don't want to bail out on the trip, so in desperation, I have an appointment 2 days before my departure to get a cortisone shot if needed (ouch!).
Any advice you could provide would be appreciated, whether pertaining to rehab, or exercises to prevent this from happening in the future (if that's possible). Not being able to play the guitar or golf has proven to be quite a life adjustment, although my family members probably think it's for the better!
Bruce
Playing that much guitar, I would assume your technique is pretty solid - certainly a must for good flamenco - but I can attest that in my earlier days of playing guitar, the left thumb wrist position being even just a little 'off' of ideal can really stress the thumb.
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Vickie: Thanks for the advice. Based on Matt's earlier post, I've already ordered and received 3 of PE's books. Fascinating stuff. I'm looking forward to learning his E-cises!
EdZ and Vickie: You are right about the importance of correct technique. I've been playing the guitar daily for 37 years, but that doesn't mean my technique is flawless. In light of the recent difficulties which have caused me as much mental as physical distress, I also ordered a book called "The Healthy Guitarist" which goes into the biomechanics of playing, including proper posture, seating, and holding of the instrument. I probably should have learned that stuff long ago, but will be the first to recognize that I'm a "slouch".
Hopefully, we're on the right track. Thanks for everything.
I appreciate the biomechanical reference to guitar playing. I have people who will appreciate the work.
The fact is that our bodies have a very specifically designed organization (a blueprint, if you will) that allows for enormous variations. However, when you repeat any specific posture often enough without returning to this original blueprint then the bodies adaptive capability will look for the path of least resistance and begin to 'move' itself into a posture that makes the 'newly requested' position more prevalent. This is the state that causes, or allows, for all misalignment. It follows that unless you continually remind the body of the original blueprint, a new one will be established through patterning. [The same thing we hope will happen in our golf swings] So no matter how much you safetly perfect your 'enjoyably life enhancing postures' (ie: golf and guitar, and frankly sitting at a computer and reading and loving and eating) your body begins to see the patterns of those postures as preferrable and adapts accomadatingly. Ok, so it is to the long term detriment but in the short run it makes sense to your physical components.
And there inlies the case for training in proper form with respect to your energy and your true long term goal of a pain free existence. With a regular training program, appropriate to your needs, the body will learn to give you the ability to use healthy protocols for your activities and then recover back to it's origin so that it can allow you to replicate joyful postures again and again; injury and pain free.
It sounds complicated but that's as simple as I know how to put it. Your body, like your finances, will grow and perform positively for you if you keep investing in the principal.
Your post was excellent. I didn't mean to imply that merely by learning better techniques would I solve my problems; in fact, much of the "Healthy Guitarist" is devoted to exercises and stretches for guitar players, much like Egoscue's work.
I've exercised at the gym 3-4 times per week all my life, so I realize the importance of fitness, but I will try to harvest past posts on this site to learn some new routines because I know I don't vary them enough.
The fact is, you have certainly created the most optimal opportunity to minimize the negative effects of your activity and that's what we all need to do; since the behaviors mimick so many other life experiences. I love that you get the Egosque material. He is a complicated man with enormous talent for understanding the human condition. If you ever have a chance, go to his studio in California. I have never had the luxury but know people who have worked with him personally. He is fascinating and knowledgeable and quite the character, from what I hear. Keep up the good work! Much of the work people transfer to 'professionals' can truly be discerned within oneself if you 'trust your own being'. That's a Vickism.
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