Quick fix for CPS?

[Igor Samurovic]

I put this here because I'd like to see how producers see it, and since many producers here are also guitar players as well: When you absolutely have to finish something, but your hand(s) is/are too occupied with CTS, what is the best way to cure it, if for a few hours? I've heard it's actually a staggering number of producers and guitar players who suffer from CTS, how true is this and what are your experiences, if any?

EDIT: I have no idea why I abbreviated it with "CPS", but yeah, I meant "CTS", obviously

 

[egan.]

If you are a producer just solve the ergonomic issues of your desk and learn to mouse with both hands. I'm sure there are guitarists who actually have CTS but I've only ever heard guys self-diagnosis when they were tired or couldn't play something. If you actually have numbness peppered with tingling and shooting pain from your wrist to your fingertips you just plain aren't going to be playing.
There is no such thing as a quick fix for repetitive motion injuries. You can take a bunch of anti-inflamatories but otherwise you just need to rest. Pain isn't just a symptom. It's a warning that further damage is imminent.

 

[Igor Samurovic]

I already use mouse with both hands, had to learn, haha. Yeah, figured a lot of the problem is how I am sitting at my desk, will have to get a chair that goes lower. I asked doctor about actually playing bass, he said that I definitely can play if I find a way to do it without fingers getting numb or painful, but should stop the second I feel that which feels like electrical impulse from my spine to my fingertips, so in reality, I can't last longer than 3 minutes. The problem is that I also wouldn't be able to play the whole gig this way, I can depend on guitars I have, but I can't depend on my own hands!

 

[abt]

I'm not a doctor so what I tell you here I give to you completely without prejudice. Use it as you will, I hope it helps you.

For many years I studied classical guitar. This coupled with using computer all day I suffered from RSI for a very long time. I tried everything under the sun to fix it. It's now been completely gone for several years. I've also passed this information on to two other people and it worked for them too.

The first thing you need to do is see a doctor. You have to know what you're dealing with. There are many things that can go wrong so you need to make sure you're treating the right thing.

Okay, assuming its some sort of RSI, CTS, tendonitis, etc...

If you're in a lot of pain then you need to rest. You need to be careful here as you can and up resting forever! More on this later.

Forget anti-inflammatory drugs, they're not that useful. Take a look around at any sport and look at what they are doing. Think of the money involved here, think of the time and energy they've put in to finding the best solution to the problem. The answer is ice. Every night stick your hand in a bucket of ice up past the wrist and hold it in there for as long as you can. Trust me it's not nice. Pull it out when you can't stand it anymore then repeat (don't give yourself frostbite!). Do this for about 20-30 min. When I started doing this after about a week it was the first time I'd had any relief in six months.

Now for the bit you don't want to here. It's easy for this type of thing to become psychological. Don't get me wrong, you are injured, but (and you may already know what I mean) it's one of those thing where the more you think about it, the more you nurse it, the more you feed it. It's a bit like when you have a bad headache it's worse when you obsess over it. Like I said before you could rest it for every. If you don't move at all then it will feel stiff and sore.

So, the following video was the biggest change form me. I found it completely by accident. After this point everything changed and I've never had a single problem since. Not one.



EDIT: Here's the rest of the vids
http://www.youtube.com/user/ottottojazz/videos

This guy has a few videos you should watch all of them. What he's talking about completely eradicated the problem for me in a very short time. I started just like her say with a few small hand weights and moved up slowly from there.

Good luck!

 

[Igor Samurovic]

Wow, this seems to be the most useful advice I've seen on this subject yet! I knew ice helps big time, but I apparently didn't hold my hand enough before! Thanks for all the advice, I will try all of this out

Okay, now I believe this will be sorted out somehow, but is the nerve damage really permanent? Both of my hands are incredibly numb, I've had this for at least two years (but has only become prominent in the last 5 months or so) and if it is due to damaged nerves does it mean they stay numb? Do you have any permanent nerve damage, or the numbness is temporary?

 

[abt]

Fortunately for me I have no permanent nerve damage though I did have some numbness for a while. You really need to get that checked out by a Doctor. I think the guy in the video has permanent nerve damage from the surgery he had. I didn't go down that path but I came close.

Another thing to keep in mind, and I'm no expert, is that a lot of the time with the nerve pain it's coming from further away like the neck, back, shoulders, so you might want to check that out too, and how you're using them. One things for sure if you add exercising the shoulders, neck, back, etc it won't do you any harm. It all helps.