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Earlier I posted about my sore thumb, which I thought was just a sprain. It was making it kind of painful to play fingerstyle, which is mostly what I do. Charjo responded and pointed out that it might be something called “De Quervain’s Syndrome”, which is where a tendon at the base of your thumb goes rogue and no longer stays in place properly. It turns out, he was totally correct. I can feel the tendon kind of popping in and out of place while I play.
Being an old guy, I started doing the research to see if this is something that commonly happens to guitarists. Google “De Quervain’s Syndrome and guitar players” and prepare to be amazed. It turns out that this is one of the most common injuries for fingerstyle guitarists. Worse yet, there is no decent cure other than avoiding doing what caused it. So the end of my fingerpicking career is in sight.
And what can I do now? Well, the only answer is to give up fingerstyle and start using only a pick. I can play blues and rock pretty well with a pick, but I’ve never become super skilled at bluegrass and flat-picking. So I’ve identified 9 of Brian’s bluegrass lessons, and I plan to learn to play them to perfection over the next few months. After that, I’ll do a deep dive into Norman Blake, Molly Tuttle, and other famous bluegrass pickers.
Sadly, Quist doesn’t have any bluegrass backing tracks, so I’m out for the next challenge. But I’ll definitely watch all your posts to see how it went.
Sunjamr Steve
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Got to love your determination. It reminds me of the time I was learning golf and sprained/pulled a key muscle group in my left lat area from practicing way too much. Probably bad technique on top of it all, but I wasn’t going to be stopped, so I went out and bought of left handed clubs and started using the un-damaged muscle group until it all healed up and then I switched back to righty. That game is incredibly hard to master all facets of it which I never did. I realized it was going to take way more time and money than I was willing to invest.
In your case this looks it might be a permanent change to the pick. I have wanted to get into finger picking, but keep putting it off as I enjoy using the pick. I’m sure you will won’t let this setback hold you back.
Go slow and practice correct technique, and your abilities will dramatically improve.
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Hey Steve,
It’s also known as DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis. The tendon isn’t really popping out of place so much as it is a painful inflammation of the tendon where it passes through a tendon sheath.
It can be treated by rest, immobilization with a special DeQuervain’s splint, ultrasound or steroid injection. I don’t think it’s the end of you finger style career but you may have to modify the frequency and duration.
It’s sad when we have to give up the things we love. I was an avid tennis player but walking and avoiding knee replacement trumped my passion. That’s actually what turned me toward guitar.
John-
Haha, I’m just too lazy to type “tenosynovitis”, and I saw lots of other people feel the same way. I know it’s said to be about inflammation, but the actual feeling is like a rubber band being dragged across the top of my thumb. Stretching doesn’t seem to help, so I’m looking for a stretchy band I can use to build up strength in my thumb. Kind of the opposite of squeezing a tennis ball. I’ll report back on my progress.
Sunjamr Steve
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Yes, we’re not getting any younger—I also have constant aches and pains (I’ll be 80 this year).
Fortunately, I don’t have your specific problem, but when I was a teenager, I cut my right middle finger down to the bone with a pocket knife. To this day, the finger is sensitive to pressure, and I have to leave it out when playing classical guitar (apoyando), for example, and I only play bass with a pick. You get used to it, but it looks a bit unusual.
Your decision to play bluegrass flatpicking is a good one. Have fun and good luck with it.
Dieter
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