I'm fighting carpal tunnel AND arthritis and usually swollen hands aren't an issue, but work is making them swell lately (probably that Alabama humidity) and Aleve ain't doing it for me much. Anyone with similar issues have any tips for taking down some of the swole?

I'm not a doctor so I assume no responsibility for this advice. You could try... apply alternating heat and cold at night before sleep and use aspirin to reduce swelling. REST! Talk to your doctor when you get a chance. Your condition may be controllable.

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+1 take asprin, i've been on it for 4 years now for some stupid reason but it does reduce swelling

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riley

I feel your pain. I started playing around Christmas time and was just starting to get a handle on playing when I pulled the tendon on my thumb which has left me a swollen wrist and pain in my thumb and index figure. I use icy hot and motrin to help with the pain.

I wouldn't mix Aleve with anything else. Anti-inflammatory stuff like ice, aspirin, etc., elevate your hands. I found ibuprofen the best pain killer. Resting them is probably best.

I have the exact opposite problem. I have smaller hands and it makes getting my fingers on the correct strings and moving around the frets very difficult.
Any ideas on how I can overcome that problem?

Hello, I used to to "ju jitsu" sport and we had a training to make our fingers stronger.
During 2 or 3 minutes, just open and close your hands (as to make a fist) very quickly : open, close, open, close.

At 30 seconds, it's gonna hurt, but you have to keep on.

During 1 month, 1 session of 3 minutes and your hands are going to be like rocks.

Hope I helped

The guitar is very hard on the hands and fingers. Maybe switching to the keyboard for a while might help. You don't have to give up the guitar and it will make you a better guitar player in the long run. I would imagine the keyboard is not as hard on the fingers and will keep your hands moving instead of just waiting around for them to be good enough to press down strings again.

I'm sorry for what you are going through. We all have to think that somewhere down the line we might be there too.

Pain is my constant companion, and has been for many years.

My advice - see a GOOD doctor now, before you take too many pain relievers of any kind.

I found that some pain relievers can damage your kidneys, and some can damage your liver. (that's what the doctors tell me). I had to stop taking Aleve (Naproxen) completely because of kidney damage. And it was my best pain reliever. (I guess I took too much)

try this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTX3CaTWbkM

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Well I know what you are going through as it has been 26 months since I have played a whole song due to needing surgery. I listened to the first idiot doctor who just wanted to drain my coverage instead of just operating which is what I wanted done right off the bat. After 13 months I had 10 months of personal problems that put playing guitar not on the top priority list and now I just got a surgeon through my lawyer that takes my coverage and is a known surgeon as I was not having no shoe maker cut me.

My best advice would be run your hands through warm water for a good minute as this gets the blood flowing. Then there are a bunch of hand exercises like extending your arm and bending all four fingers back for 30 seconds and then bending down. Also make a fist and rotate your fist 15 times clock wise then counter clock wise. Most important take a 10 minute break for every hour you play. These are all things I used to do as I got older except remembering to take a break which really helps a lot.