Can guitar playing cause arthritis?

Thoughts_Arrive

My index finger and ring finger are a bit sore in the joints, I play guitar every second day for an hour.
Sometimes I play daily.

zenith

any repetitive motion can cause arthritis, or osteoarthritis if you are predisposed to get it

if they are swollen perhaps its gout .... go to your doc & get some anti inflammatories

gimmesometruth27

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

My index finger and ring finger are a bit sore in the joints, I play guitar every second day for an hour.
Sometimes I play daily.

how old are you? osteo arthritis is most common in the thumb and its rarely seen in anyone younger than 40 or so. it is degenerative changes at the articular cartilage and it takes years and years and years to develop. rheumatoid arthritis is seen in elderly people and is most common in women and is rarely seen before age 65. it is characterized by the deformity of angulated joints in the fingers so without that deformity i can assure it is not RA. if it was gout you would know it, they would be very red and swollen and extremely painful to move or touch. this is because the uric acid crystals attack the joints causing severe pain. gout is seen mostly in major weightbearing joints like the big toe or the knee and is unlikely to be caused by guitar playing.

it depends on where your symptoms are. in our office we see things like tendinopathy from overuse which can resulf in things like trigger finger. if it is a true trigger finger there will be a painful catch in the palm side of the fingers when they are flexed beyond 80 degrees or so so if you are getting a painful pop you should see your MD. it is most likely a tendinopathy issue that can be treated with consistent stretching of the intrinisc muscles of the hand and fingers both before and most importantly after playing. you can also treat it with icing about 20 minutes a few times a day as needed, you can also try some over the counter anti-inflammatories such as 600 mg advil or ibuporfen 3 times a day or 500 mg of aleve or naproxen twice a day. most importantly, you should probably rest the hand for a week or two and avoid pain causing activities and repetitive activity like guitar playing. you will not lose your chops by resting from the guitar for 10 days or so.

if you are not having any numbness or tingling and painful popping or lost range of motion you are probably ok. guitar playing can cause some serious problems and ergonomics is a big reason why. i know that i developed a large ganglion cyst in my wrist (olive sized) that had to be surgically removed so now i am much more careful about how i play.

kigcat

i had ganglion cysts develop on the knuckles of my left hand from 20 years of playing. girlfriends father suggested hitting them with "the good book" hahaha

Thoughts_Arrive

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

My index finger and ring finger are a bit sore in the joints, I play guitar every second day for an hour.
Sometimes I play daily.

how old are you? osteo arthritis is most common in the thumb and its rarely seen in anyone younger than 40 or so. it is degenerative changes at the articular cartilage and it takes years and years and years to develop. rheumatoid arthritis is seen in elderly people and is most common in women and is rarely seen before age 65. it is characterized by the deformity of angulated joints in the fingers so without that deformity i can assure it is not RA. if it was gout you would know it, they would be very red and swollen and extremely painful to move or touch. this is because the uric acid crystals attack the joints causing severe pain. gout is seen mostly in major weightbearing joints like the big toe or the knee and is unlikely to be caused by guitar playing.

it depends on where your symptoms are. in our office we see things like tendinopathy from overuse which can resulf in things like trigger finger. if it is a true trigger finger there will be a painful catch in the palm side of the fingers when they are flexed beyond 80 degrees or so so if you are getting a painful pop you should see your MD. it is most likely a tendinopathy issue that can be treated with consistent stretching of the intrinisc muscles of the hand and fingers both before and most importantly after playing. you can also treat it with icing about 20 minutes a few times a day as needed, you can also try some over the counter anti-inflammatories such as 600 mg advil or ibuporfen 3 times a day or 500 mg of aleve or naproxen twice a day. most importantly, you should probably rest the hand for a week or two and avoid pain causing activities and repetitive activity like guitar playing. you will not lose your chops by resting from the guitar for 10 days or so.

if you are not having any numbness or tingling and painful popping or lost range of motion you are probably ok. guitar playing can cause some serious problems and ergonomics is a big reason why. i know that i developed a large ganglion cyst in my wrist (olive sized) that had to be surgically removed so now i am much more careful about how i play.

Didn't know we have a doctor here
I am 25 dude.
It is not too bad, if I bend the joints in the finger (the same joints that apply pressure to the strings) I feel a bit sore but not 'ouch it hurts' sore.
I just want to make sure I am cool as my mum has arthritis all over, don't want to be like her.
She got it post 50 yrs.
Thanks for the info!

gimmesometruth27

kigcat wrote:

i had ganglion cysts develop on the knuckles of my left hand from 20 years of playing. girlfriends father suggested hitting them with "the good book" hahaha

yes you are correct. the laymen's term for ganglion cysts is "bible cysts" because the way to treat them was to find the biggest fattest book you could find (in nearly all cases in the 1800s it was the bible) and smack the afflicted body part with it, thus breaking up that synovial tissue allowing the body to re-absorb it. this worked temporarily but because ganglion cysts were caused by tears in the synovial sheath of the tendon that does not heal without cauterization they always came back very quickly and most times larger than before...

gimmesometruth27

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

Didn't know we have a doctor here
I am 25 dude.
It is not too bad, if I bend the joints in the finger (the same joints that apply pressure to the strings) I feel a bit sore but not 'ouch it hurts' sore.
I just want to make sure I am cool as my mum has arthritis all over, don't want to be like her.
She got it post 50 yrs.
Thanks for the info!

i'm not a physican, but i am an athletic trainer functioning as the assistant of an orthopedic physician, so i see a lot of different issues every day. if the pain is on the palm side of the fingers it sounds as if you can use a little strengthening of those muscles. i recommend any grip strengthening tool and maybe a week of rest from the guitar. either that or try a lighter guage of strings.. it sounds as if it is the fingers that allow you to play bar chords, which is the most common guitar related injury we see. a little rest from painful activity followed by some finger strengthening is the way to go, and if that does not help follow up with your physician for a proper physical examination...

by the way, if your mom has rheumatoid arthritis, you have a 75% chance of getting it in your 50s or 60s whether you play guitar or not. it is genetic and is not related to playing guitar or any other overuse symdrome.