YIKES! Medical stuff!
I have added some more detail to the "background" section below, based on more doctor's
information.
UPDATE 5/7/01:
I did a show at The Panama Bay Coffee Company in Livermore, California on
Saturday, May 5 (see the schedule page
for the next one). My left hand problems were their worst in quite a while.
This was partly due to having had to lug my equipment several blocks from my car
due to the streets being
closed for an event. Fortunately, the police allowed me access after the show
so I didn't have to lug it all BACK those same several blocks.
During the show my left hand "seized up" quite a number of times, and continued its
spasmic behavior during the drive home. The hot water soaking had little
effect this time. The condition worsened as the night went on.
As soon as I got home, I soaked it in hot parrafin wax, a "moist
heat" treatment that is more effective than the hot water. As I write this (2 days after),
my fingers are still tight and sore.
Almost more troubling was a similar, but brand new, problem with my
RIGHT hand! During one song ("Long Lashes"), my middle finger basically stopped working.
I pick with the thumb, index, and middle fingers. This happened at the very end of the show,
and I packed up following that song.
UPDATE 3/4/01:
My hand behaved well for my February Virtues of Coffee show
unlike January's (see below).
No seizing up, no monkey fist, all went rather smoothly; the only medical problem
turned out to be that I was getting the flu, and woke up the next day with a raging
fever! Oh well... :-)
The difference from January? I had been regularly doing my exercises and my
"tractioning". The January problems turned out to be a very real "reminder" that
the therapy DOES, in fact, help quite a lot.
Anyway, the last vestiges of the flu are leaving my body now. March's show should be a
delight... the first one this year in truly "good health"!
UPDATE 2/13/01:
My January show at the Virtues of Coffee
went very well... until my hand "seized up" about
halfway through it. When it cramps up, the fingers simply will not move,
and are "frozen" into something like a monkey fist. It hurts, and it happens suddenly.
I discussed it with my chiropractor and favorite deep tissue therapist Dr. Colleen Piva, who
suggested a very simple treatment: next time
it freezes up, I should hold it under hot water for a few minutes.
I have since had occasion to try this out, and am happy to report that,
in an emergency, it is remarkably effective.
I have now also renewed my formerly lagging efforts at home therapy as recommended by Dr. Piva.
These include daily "traction" sessions, where I stand upright with a series of pullies
and a hanging weight to counterbalance my chin and force my spine into an over-corrective
back-bend. Also on a daily basis I do simple "doorway stretches" for more immediate relief.
I will soon be posting photographs of these exercises. It's all a problem with my posture.
BACKGROUND:
Why would a healthy, happy 49 year old guitar hacker want to talk about
"Medical Stuff"?
I'm just now recovering from a strange nerve condition
that had prevented me from playing the guitar for about a year.
It all started with a pain in my shoulder...
No, excuse me - it was an EXCRUCIATING pain in my shoulder.
I was diagnosed by some very good doctors, including a neurologist
who described a tiny little nerve cluster in my shoulder that got all
twisted around as a result of my
Darwinian
transition from being a SEATED to a STANDING guitarist.
The hapless shoulder was the fulcrum of my new posture.
The pain lasted several months.
No medication is effective in treating the pain. Prednizone can help, but
only slightly, and the side effects can be extreme. The pain increases
when laying down; sleep is virtually impossible during the pain phase.
When the pain finally subsided, there were several more months
of total numbness of my left arm and hand, accompanied by tingly waves.
There was no sense of "feeling" in my fingers, and the "tingling" felt like
my whole arm was "asleep". Practicing the guitar continued to be quite impossible.
There are several terms to describe the condition:
Brachial Plexitis Neuritis
Neuralgic Amyotrophy or
Parsinage-Turner Syndrome
One of the tests administered to check on my progress was
very weird
indeed:
First, a nerve map was painted on my back and shoulders, for reference.
Then, electrical needles were inserted into specific nerve centers
and individually sparked.
We all watched to see if each respective finger
jumped
in response to its charge.
Fortunately, each digit leaped up like a trained dog; it was a major relief,
but a very creepy experience.
I would like to thank the following who have assisted in my treatment:
Dr. Carol Lamb, MD
Dr. Eric Collins, MD
Sharlynn Shikuma, MPT
Dr. Colleen Piva, Chiropractor
Dr. Karlotta Bartholomew, MFT