So I have been having problems with my left thumb lately - actually for 5 or 6 weeks. Swollen, painful, hard to bend - finally it gets to the point I can barely straighten the tip, and when I do, it pops quite loudly.

I finally decide to go to the orthopedic doc today. He diagnoses it as "trigger finger" or actually "trigger thumb". Apparently, the sheath of the tendon swells up and the tendon has difficulty passing under the pulleys (yes, they call them that) that keeps the tendon from bowstringing.
Rather like pulling a string with a knot in it through a tube.

Well, he sticks me with cortisone - I do not recommend a cortisone shot in the base of the thumb, it hurts very, very much. And to add insult to injury, he puts it in a splint that I am supposed to leave on for 2 to 3 weeks.

Now it was hard enough attempting to play my guitar with a stiff, sore thumb on my fretting hand. How in the world am I supposed to do it with a splint on??

Getting old stinks.

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Ignorance IS bliss - and I am the happiest person here!

Mannnnnnnn,........... that suxx big time.

Gettin old does stink, too.

On a brighter note, it's a good time to put in some
dedicated slide guitar practice, maybe, iffin it's not too painful.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

When I couldn't play due to medical issues, I used my lap steel and slide bar. You can find them at low cost and it keeps you makin' music.

Best wishes with the healing - - my wife ended up having surgery because
of "trigger finger" on her thumb. They go in and scrape off the burr. She was fine in about 3-4 weeks.

Good luck!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Rest it and you'll be back to scorchin those frets in no time. Ain't aging hell? Good luck with it.................. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

I have Trigger Finger in both of my middle fingers. I totally feel your pain. Rest up and get better.

Hi TC,I have basically the same problem but my fingers are involved as well,my doctor recommended this chiropractor that has had very much success with a treatment she does and it helps immensely,it's very painful but the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous and it will get me back playing takes my mind off it.Anyway one of the exercises she gave me was to wrap my right hand around my thumb and gently pull it back until I feel it stretching but not too much and eventually the muscle stretches enough that it's no longer bothersome.Best of luck and as others have said this is a prime time to practice up on slide.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I twanged (not a medical term) the ulnar nerve in my fingering hand back in 2002 playing my upright. Too many gigs without enough rest leading to poor fingering technique. I couldn't play for six months and my ring finger has a permanent slight curl to it now. I had to re-learn how to finger my upright.

Hang in there. Eight years later and I'm playing as much as ever.

TC, Whoa Bro, I winced when I read the "sticks me with cortisone - shot in the base of the thumb, it hurts very, very much." But then, "And to add insult to injury, he puts it in a splint that I am supposed to leave on for 2 to 3 weeks." Leave it on and heal up, absence makes the heart grow fonder. when you pick up your guitar you will blaze because you've missed it for awhile.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Time to practice slide guitar ^^

Hope you make a full recovery TC

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

I hope it turns ok for you.

ahhh, trouble, trouble, trouble... i'm feelin' for ya bro...
i've had 3 surgeries and a number of cortizone shots for the same issue. ran my left index finger and thumb through a table saw once... lucky for me it was a freud carbide blade so it was a clean cut and the doctor was nice enough to sew my fingers back together :)
the problem is not with the "sleeve", it's the tendon. it works like a bicycle cable with the tendon sliding through a series of loops. right now the tendon is swollen and the bump is getting caught on the loops. when a doctor does surgery, he or she cuts the loop the bump is getting caught on.
best thing to do is keep the splint on to keep the tendon from moving... give it time to heal so the bump goes down.
the more you move it, the more you aggravate it, the bigger the bump gets, and you'll wind up having to have surgery.

chill awhile. it'll get better, but you have to give it time.

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