LH Finger Joint Fusion?
Curmudgeon
the LH 4th finger distal joint? My arthritis has advanced to a point
where I can hardly play any more, and the ortho is recommending a
fusion. I tried splinting the finger to see if I could still play, and
the results were inconclusive - taping/splinting is not the same as an
actual fusion.
Steve Hawkins
c9c70b...@x21g2000yqa.googlegroups.com:
Django only used two fingers. Have you thought about completely changing
how you play? Moving to an open tuning could minimize the need for your
pinkie to be fully effective. Find a good teacher and talk it over with
them.
Steve Hawkins
rpjazzguitar
Maybe this will be of some value:
I have one finger (my right thumb) where the rheumatologist suggested
fusion surgery. I went for a surgical consult. The surgeon told me,
"there's no condition that surgery can't make worse" and suggested I
be patient. I eventually had the joint injected and it is now my best
joint.
I've had four different people inject my fingers. Most, but not all,
of the injections helped. They did not all inject the same way. I am
now seeing a rheumatologist in Pinole California who seems to be
sharper than the others. He just injected two fingers and my hand is
in the best shape of the last couple of years.
When I saw the surgeon we did discuss the angle at which he would set
the joint. Same thing happened to Les Paul's right elbow. Some
combination of the right angle and the right fingerboard radius may
work.
Jonathan (not from Cleveland)
What do you mean by "inject?"
Cortisone injection?
rpjazzguitar
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yes, last time I got a mixture of kenalog (a cortisone product) and a
painkiller in the same syringe. I recall hearing that the painkiller
was needed for something more than just controlling the pain and that
it's used routinely.
The injection, by the way, is surprisingly painful. The private doc
used a solution to "freeze" the area first. The HMO docs didn't bother
with that (the private doc said it's a cost issue). The private doc's
shot was somewhat less painful, but my fingers were tender and stiff
for several days after. Then it bloomed into painlessness and full
motion. I can expect that to last between a few months and forever,
depending on some unknown factor.
Tony Done
"Steve Hawkins" <stephen....@frontier.comREMOVETHIS> wrote in message
news:Xns9DDB4E3B9CA1Ast...@69.16.185.250...
One reason for my still-evolving interest in slide guitar is as a hedge
against age-related disabilities.
Tony D
rpjazzguitar
> "Steve Hawkins" <stephen.hawki...@frontier.comREMOVETHIS> wrote in message
>
> news:Xns9DDB4E3B9CA1Ast...@69.16.185.250...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Curmudgeon <eht...@gmail.com> wrote in news:4bc17a16-eaab-420e-953e-
>
> >> Have any of you had, or do you know a guitarist who has had, fusion of
> >> the LH 4th finger distal joint? My arthritis has advanced to a point
> >> where I can hardly play any more, and the ortho is recommending a
> >> fusion. I tried splinting the finger to see if I could still play, and
> >> the results were inconclusive - taping/splinting is not the same as an
> >> actual fusion.
>
> > Django only used two fingers. Have you thought about completely changing
> > how you play? Moving to an open tuning could minimize the need for your
> > pinkie to be fully effective. Find a good teacher and talk it over with
> > them.
>
> > Steve Hawkins
>
> One reason for my still-evolving interest in slide guitar is as a hedge
> against age-related disabilities.
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
I took up chromatic harmonica for that reason. Nothing to see, almost
nothing to do with your fingers.
Turns out to be a very difficult instrument.
Steel guitar sounds easier.
I also thought about vibes.
Misifus
I've had cortisone injections (mixed with painkiller) in three of my
fingers. In each case, the results were similar to yours. The
painkiller numbed the finger for a couple of days and then the finger
worked well with no discomfort.
-Raf
--
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com
rpjazzguitar
fingers.
Three of them never bothered me again, and it's been several years.
One needed to be injected twice.
The other was just injected for the first time.
Right now, all fingers are in good working order.
My doc tells me that some forms of arthritis have a self limiting
course. Some joints will hurt for a couple of years and then stop
hurting. Apparently, I've never let it go that long. I've had the
injections. Doc says that the fingers which never hurt again were self
limiting, although I believe the injection made all the difference.
Other forms of arthritis are not self limiting and may require more
aggressive treatment. But, I've seen three rheumatologists and got
three opinions on a yes-no question. One said it was psoriatic
athritis (which, eventually gets treated with immune system
suppression, if it's bad enough), one said it was not but had an
"inflammatory component", and one said there was no way to be sure.
Apparently, these guys handle diagnosis the way guitar players agree
about scale theory.