The Steel Guitar Forum

Has anyone dealt with this issue before ? Did you have a surgical proceedure ? Was it successful and are you glad that you did it ? After surgery , were you 100% ? And finally , what was your recovery time.....before you were 100% on your instrument ? Thanks for sharing.

Larry, I'm not a steeler, but I played lead in Loretta Lynn's band 27 years. I had surgery on my left hand about 5 years ago. Before the surgery my two middle fingers would go numb, and my wrist and thumb would ache all the time. The doctor told me that you would lose muscle tissue on your thumb,and never recover this muscle if I didn't have the surgery. I woke up two times during the surgery, which wasn't to pleasant. It took me about 3 months to start playing again without pain. Also it was about 1 year to get back to normal. This beats losing control of your hand. Take care Dave Thornhill

Dave.....three months is just about what I have available. I have a mobile home dealership that gives me a lot of "butt" time , (after all , I came back to work on the sixth day after open heart bypass surgery) so I'm hoping to be able to return to my job right away. What you answered for me was the return to playing time. Thank you

LARRY I had the surgery had all those symtoms plus it would go numb all night long couldn't sleep had the surgery got sleep soon as it was done went back to playing about 6 weeks and was full speed in about 10 to twelve weeks if i had it again i sure would have it done you bet no more pain only slight feelings in the thumbs they might be a little weeker but not noticable to speak of my 2 cents


tommy young
max-tone modifications

I had it; and in a big way.
Corrected by "Gonstead Chiropractic".
My Dad just had the surgery; and a month after, he still has trouble.
Ricky

I had it about 4 years ago

had surgery after about a year it was fine

now its back when I play tele

but its not bad yet steel ok for now

im going to give up tele it just ant worth

the surgery again mike

I had it done in 1985 and it only brought me back to the condition I was in just before the problem came on.
I got back to playing in less than 3 months because the band was booked to do a wedding.
It was a mistake because I did not give it time to completley heal and I never regained a full recovery of my left hand.
Now I'm pretty much back to the tingling again and have it in both hands.

I think I have the first cousin of Carpal Tunnel, which is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.

http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw007.htm

On my right hand, my little finger, and the half of the ring finger next to it, are both numb, and have been for a few months now. Any of you guys ever dealt with this particular ailment?

Larry,

I'd had symptoms for over 20 years - tried everything - B vitamins, chiropractor, bracing, Cortisone shots, etc. Had the max amount of cortisone allowed. I guess I was too far gone.

I was so tired of my hands "not working". Even washing my hair was a chore. The second my hands went above my head, they were GONE - Numb and throbbing.

I decided to go forward with the surgery on my right hand 5 years ago. I felt better immediately!!

I had the left one done last year, but they had to do "open hand" since the Ulnar nerve and a bone spur were also involved.

Same thing - I was so happy to wake up to feeling my hand again!!! Recovery was a little bit longer with this one.

I never played the steel guitar after that. Of course, I never played steel guitar before that, either! But, I was able to get back on the computer that same week.

So far, so good!!!

Good luck with whichever route you take, Larry.

Donna

I had it a fews years back on my right hand and I was playing 2 days after the surgery. That's when the doc took the half cast off. I had my surgery before my hand got too bad and that's why I think I was playing so soon. My left hand every once in a while will give me a little trouble but not enough to even think about surgery.

Tony

I've had it in both hands. It got so bad that I'd drop a pen or pencil out of my left hand when trying to write. The pain was radiating upwards from the hands into my arms. It got to the point where I had to use a pill to sleep. I had the surgery on both hands (one at a time - don't even think about having both done at the same time). I used an orthopedic surgeon who was a master at hand and micro-surgery. This was in the mid-80's, and the small incision procedure wasn't perfected yet. I had the open palm procedure, while I was totally awake, using a local anesthesia. It didn't take very long to recover completely. The problem was gone immediately, and I only took 1 pain pill between the two surgeries. I didn't even have to have physical therapy.

The problem won't go away by itself. The longer you wait, the more nerve damage you will have, and the less your chances of success will be. This type of surgery is very easy and quick. Be sure to find a hand surgery specialist.

After 20 years, I have it again. It's not too bad right now, but it's creaping up on me.

I appreciate each and every response thus far. Ricky Davis , enlighten us on your answer please. I'm very interested.To the rest of you , please continue to share your experiences. Thank you

I think I have the first cousin of Carpal Tunnel, which is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.

http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw007.htm

On my right hand, my little finger, and the half of the ring finger next to it, are both numb, and have been for a few months now. Any of you guys ever dealt with this particular ailment?

I had this a few years back and after trying everything else I did the day surgery where they make an incision in front of your elbow and clean the channel so the ulnar nerve is no longer trapped. It worked great for me but the key is to take it easy for at least three weeks on your arm. I wouldn't delay dealing with this as in other cases the nerve will start to die if trapped.

Take Care, Pete

I had problems with both hands going to sleep while driving and trying to sleep at night. When driving I would have to alternate hands, resting one while steering with the other . I had surgery on the right hand and planned to do the left after the right healed. While the right hand was healing I wore a blace on the left hand when I went to bed at night . My left hand improved and I never woke up with my left hand asleep again .I never did have surgery on the left hand and also do not ware the blace today. This all occurred three years ago .

By the way David , if you end up having surgery and it is to be done on both hands ? Only do one hand at a time, unless you have a wife who loves you a awful lot .

Ditto's what Ron said. You never know how much you need BOTH hands for until one of them is out of commission. Ever tried buttoning your pants with one hand? It would be out of the question to do two at one time. Any doctor with good sense would never let you do it either.

A lot of the time when you first go to a doctor about carpal tunnel, the first thing they try are those wrist splints or braces. They look like those gloves or braces that bowlers like to use. Sometimes they work, like in Ron's case, and sometimes they don't. The doctors usually have to go through the drill with the conservative methods so they can justify surgery to insurance companies.

I'll be going to a doctor with mine soon. This time, mine is directly work related. I'm not afraid of surgery again to cure it, if it comes to that.

I had the surgery about 3 years ago and have never regretted it. Both hands. Doc said I couldn't have slept good in 25 years, it was so bad. He was right. When I had the 1st hand done,the first nite I slept better than I had in 25 years. So go for the surgery. Miserable is miserable. Just my 2%.

Pete, thanks for that info. I'm glad to hear that your operation was successful. I'll try to schedule an appointment with a specialist and see how it goes from there.

Lem

i would find this book http://www.amazon.com/Body-Reflexology- ... 0132997363 and a trigger point book. I have this one http://www.triggerpointbook.com/
Massage is your BEST FRIEND

Massaging from the neck down all around your shoulder blades down to your wrist is what fixed me up. And i did some Chiropractic care, but good Chiropractic care is hard to find.
And you will want to have the best Posture you can.


this is how I fixed my Cubital Tunnel. I'm not a doctor, i'm not here to sell anything, it's just what i did.

Everyone if you suffer from Ulnar nerve trapment here is something you can do to aid it and provide relief.

If it is your right hand as in Lem's case stand up straight and put your right arm behind your back straight across, now tilt your head to the direction your hand is pointing at and hold for 10 seconds, relax your head for 10 seconds and repeat three times.

This actually helps pull the trapped ulnar nerve free in the channel. You will feel it.

My surgeon was all over me for not warming up before playing a gig and related it to a football player not strecthing before a game.

His advice to me which does work is to run your hands under warm water for 5 minutes and he insists it will provide the same results as warming up playing scales for 20 minutes.

Hope this helps you, Take care, Pete

I hesitate to jump in on this one as it is hard to prescribe solutions for a problem that can vary in complexity as seen by the posts. I am a retired Cranial Sacral Therapist and have treated many people with Carpal Tunnel with a fairly high rate of success again depending on the severity. As stated the ulnar nerve can come under pressure and is then referred to as Pisiform-Hamate Syndrome.

Carpal Tunnel can be treated by reattaching the golgi tendon of the pronator
quadratus muscle that crosses the underside of the wrist using origin-insertion technique. A chiropractor who specializes in Applied Kineseology has the training for this. Generally the Syndrome also usually involves the flexor muscles of the hand which are pressured by the colapse of the carpal tunnel. The simple treatment of these muscles can restore function and relieve numbness. I hope this is helpful to some and not just confusing, but one should always exhaust the simple solutions before submitting to the knife. A good chiropractor is invaluable in this situation. (And computer keyboards can really aggravate the problem.) If your having mild problems now get it treated before it becomes a major problem.

Best, Will

Larry;call me.524-4240

Hi Larry,

I had surgery on my right hand about 11 years ago. It done fairly well but when I started using a chainsaw about 2 years ago to cut wood for our fireplace it started acting up again.

Be sure you got the right doctor doing the op and do what they say, don't start doing stuff before it's healed up.

There are alternatives and some work to an extent but surgery can be successfull too.

The best and GOD bless!

Terry Wood

Bro Larry;have you contacted Don Dickson?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome operation? Within 6 weeks, arthritis set in. I'm not sure it was a direct result of the CT operation, but it happened right after the CT operation. Everyones doctors and lawyers are always the best. I think they should both be avoided as the typical result is they cost you money and you end up feeling like you got screwed in either case. Just to set the record straight, I have friends that are both doctors and lawyers. They too know how I feel. Eye Laser Surgery? ... be careful. They make money when they fire up the laser. Most doctors are salesman with plenty of legal disclaimers. I've changed my attitude after going blind in my right eye from a highly recommended laser treatment.