Sore Thumb

[Ron Nossaman]

>Dr. Ron and others,
>
>I've developed a sore thumb this past week. The pain is at the base of my 
>left thumb. Being a right-handed tuner it sure makes it difficult to check 
>my work with tenths as the stretch is a bit much.
>
>Has anyone in the 59 plus age group experienced this? Could it be arthritis?
>
>I had a rotater problem in my right shoulder a year ago, but it seems to 
>have mended on its own.
>
>Don't tell me it's time to retire just yet. I won't even be out of debt 
>until 65!!
>
>John Lillico, RPT,
>Oakville, Ontario

Pending such time as this mysterious 59+ Dr. Ron guy shows up, I get the
same thing periodically at a mere 52. Mine tends to come on some time in
mid December, and last through April. In my case it's overenthusiastic
octave striking. If I remember to come out of auto pilot once in a while
and pay attention to varying hand position every now and then throughout
the day, and not try to hit keys too hard at full hand extension, I can
keep ahead of it. So far. At the moment, it's not a problem, but I'm
spending a lot of time in the shop this time of year, abusing different
muscles and joints, and not doing an awful lot of tuning. It's when I'm
doing 20+ a week that it starts to be a nuisance. I don't think it's
arthritis, just chronic abuse. It's something that moves from the
inconsequential, through annoying to critical as your joints age and your
immortality fades. This is where it would be handy to be able to tune with
either hand, like I will run a drill, screwdriver, hammer, chisel, or air
conditioner with either hand. It halves the concentrated abuse, and should
theoretically double your mileage. 

Other folks have resorted to strap on hardware of various sorts,
anti-inflammatories, massage, and acupuncture. Whatever helps.


Ron N