Arthritis In Hands (Playing With Pain In Hands) - Are There Recommended Approaches?

Question

I have been playing guitar for 12 years now and I'm 28.
I am under treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis (R.A.) and was wondering if anyone who has R.A., or other pain in their hands, has any approaches they have used to reduced their pain when playing?
Do you recommend a particular brand/gauge of strings, warm-ups or anything else that has helped you?

Answer 1

Other than alcohol?

I would suggest you pick up a slide. On an electric guitar, the stress to your fingers shouldn't be too bad and you can still play some pretty cool sounding stuff.

Here's an example.

Answer 2

have a look at Jamie Andreas's Guitar Principles. This is a way of fundamentally changing the way you approach the guitar which results in reduced stress and tension when you play. Also don't be scared to use lighter gauges - Richard Thompson uses 8's on his strat and I haven't heard anyone complain about his tone. Finally, take heart from people like django reinhardt who have made world changing music despite their disability.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear that your playing is impacted. I don't have R.A., but I have a number of wrist, shoulder, and arm problems. Here are some things that I have found useful for my situation - I hope they can help you with yours:

• Electric guitars. Electrics in general have lower string tension than acoustics.
• Light strings. The lighter the string, the less effort it takes to play. I personally like Ernie Ball Super Slinkys ^MF, but those are .009s. There are .008s available, too.
• Relaxed posture. Tension in other parts of your body will create pain in your wrists, arms, shoulders, and hands.
• Respect your pain. Pain is a message from your body telling you to change something, not a challenge to be conquered through might. I will never forget the time I decided to "play through" an aching little finger joint and ended up not being able to play for a week afterwards.