Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have this problem with my baby finger on my left hand. It's double-jointed. That was really cool when I was in grade five. My bff Shauna (whose index fingers were double-jointed) and I would freak out our friends with this. The boys, of course, were busy cupping their hands in their armpits making funny sounds. Anyway, it's frustrating as all get out when my once-cool baby finger decides to act up in the middle of a song. I've even considered surgery but worried that would just make matters worse. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I don't have that problem, fortunately. My thumbs are weird in that I can bend them 3/4 the way back at the knuckle just behind the nail. This is neither an advantage or a disadvantage, but like you say was cool in fifth grade. Kids do get a kick out of it when I do it for them. Now all that said, wine will sometimes bloat my fingers and make them not very flexible. But I prefer beer anyway, so not a problem there, either. I don't think I'd go the surgery route. Any possibility of using a small wrap or something like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have 4 thumbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 And to non-Canadians, when she says 'grade five' that's the same as our fifth grade. I speak fluent Canadian from A to Zed. The biggest problem I have with my hands is losing strength if I play electric too much. If I go on a Fender Bender and play the Telecaster for a week I lose a lot of strength and control in my left hand. For that reason I like to bounce around and not spend too much time with any one guitar. And it's a good excuse to buy more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm always fighting the coordination thing. Especially with the banjo- So can't say that my fingers don't 'work', but they don't always work well together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bol316 Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have this problem with my baby finger on my left hand. It's double-jointed. That was really cool when I was in grade five. My bff Shauna (whose index fingers were double-jointed) and I would freak out our friends with this. The boys' date=' of course, were busy cupping their hands in their armpits making funny sounds. Anyway, it's frustrating as all get out when my once-cool baby finger decides to act up in the middle of a song. I've even considered surgery but worried that would just make matters worse. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem? [/quote'] You forgot a couple things from your sig: I got a little black box with my poems in I got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 My suggestion is try to keep the finger in an arch, don't have bends but a smooth curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I find, sometimes, my fingers don't work, when someone is watching me........lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Roy Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have the opposite problem. After a couple dislocations while playing basketball and baseball in high school, my little finger isn't very flexible at all. Fortunately, as I 've gotten older it's become slightly curved and falls into a nice playing position. Unfortunately, age and occupation have also given me a classic case of big ol' fat farmer fingers which, while handy for pulling wrenches and operating machinery, doesn't do much for speed and precision on the fretboard. Oh well, I've changed how I position my fingers for some chords and warm up by playing a few scales before I play for any length of time and it seems to work. Maybe a slight change in playing style will work for you also Gilliangirl. I hope that your finger doesn't require any surgery. Not to go too far off the subject, but I know that a couple of my friends are starting to experience arthritis in their hands and while they still play, they've had to adjust their playing style to accomodate for the stiffness and discomfort. Has anyone else experienced this as they've "matured"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 And to non-Canadians' date=' when she says 'grade five' that's the same as our fifth grade. I speak fluent Canadian from A to Zed. The biggest problem I have with my hands is losing strength if I play electric too much. If I go on a Fender Bender and play the Telecaster for a week I lose a lot of strength and control in my left hand. For that reason I like to bounce around and not spend too much time with any one guitar. And it's a good excuse to buy more.[/quote'] Funny, I took this online test on grammar and it determined that I'm 72% Dixie! LOL I know what you mean about the switching guitars. I've got 3 guitars, all with a different nut width and neck profile, and it makes more of a difference than I thought. It takes me a few minutes to 'aclimatize' to each one when I first pick them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 My suggestion is try to keep the finger in an arch' date=' don't have bends but a smooth curve. [/quote']Yes, that DOES help. What happens when I play a minor chord tho' (bar chord) is it forces the pinky to straighten out (to reach the 5th string) and the darn thing freezes in that shape, then I'm whooped for the next chord in the progression. Frustrating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 I find' date=' sometimes, my fingers don't work, when someone is watching me........lol[/quote']Yeah, I can totally relate to that, too. I have the same problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Not to go too far off the subject' date=' but I know that a couple of my friends are starting to experience arthritis in their hands and while they still play, they've had to adjust their playing style to accomodate for the stiffness and discomfort. Has anyone else experienced this as they've "matured"? [/quote'] Yes, I had a couple of days where my hand was really achy and stiff. I assume it was a touch of arthritis. It's cleared up now but I know as the years pass, it's just around the corner again. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yea, I have arthritis really bad. I started out playing drums professionally at 16 and played one stint 6 nights a week, 5 hours a night for 14 years in a row, all at two clubs. I finally wore out my shoulder joints, back and neck, and then switched to Bass Guitar. After practicing for two years I played professionally with a band for 4 years and developed trigger finger on my ring finger on both hands, LOL! I had to have surgery on both! So, now about a year ago I bought my SJ and have taken up guitar. Well, now I have developed arthritis in my fingers real bad. Can't seem to win! I now take some good pain medication and exercise a lot to strengthen my muscles around my joints so they are supported better. Lesson is, don't get old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least don't play so much that you wear everything out. At least I made a lot of money to compensate me for all this, I just hope I don't have to change to flute or maybe kazoo, I would probably get arthritis of the lips or something like that! OK, I've bored you all enough, so I will give you folks a break. Thanks for listening........Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 I now take some good pain medication and exercise a lot to strengthen my muscles around my joints so they are supported better. Sorry to hear you're suffering again with arthritis. Are you doing exercises to strengthen your fingers/hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eots Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have this problem with my baby finger on my left hand. It's double-jointed. That was really cool when I was in grade five. My bff Shauna (whose index fingers were double-jointed) and I would freak out our friends with this. The boys' date=' of course, were busy cupping their hands in their armpits making funny sounds. Anyway, it's frustrating as all get out when my once-cool baby finger decides to act up in the middle of a song. I've even considered surgery but worried that would just make matters worse. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem? [/quote'] My fingers don't work after hauling gear in from the cold so I do armpit farts til my hands warmup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 My fingers don't work after hauling gear in from the cold so I do armpit farts til my hands warmup. Eots, were you in my grade five class? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eots Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 That was 3 years ago, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have junior arthritis and rheumatism, and refuse to take aleve or tylenol because 20 year olds just don't take meds for arthritis, so if it's about to rain heavily/t-storm or any other conditions where there's low pressure in the air my fingers tend to cramp up and my playing suffers. But as for double-jointed fingers, I do not share that malady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Back in 1994 I had a horrible time playing at all. Seemed like my hands were in constant pain when I played. Fall came and it didn't seem quite so bad and by the time there was snow on the ground the pain had disappeared. From 1993 to 1995 I was an Supported Employment Specialist with an agency that kept many (MANY!) office cleaning contracts and also lawn mowing. In their typical fashion they bought me a 12 hp White lawn tractor to do mowing in a commercial setting and wondered why it was all shot to cat___t by the end of the summer. I mowed a lot of rough terrain and side hills and I typically used one hand on the wheel, constantly fighting it in fact. I can't explain it medically but my hands were clenched all the time and didn't want to move or function unless there was a steering wheel involved. Once I got away from that job I was fine. In more ways than one. Sometimes in the mental health field the administration has more issues than the patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modac Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 My ring finger is double jointed----and yes, before I learned to adjust for it, I had the same problems that you describe. It would just get stuck. So, I've learned to place my thumb more centrally on the neck, in most positions that have the potential for trouble. Where that is not possible, I've learned inversions of the troublesome chord/position. You can usually always find a way to compensate for your own mechanical limitations or structural deficiencies. Don't get discouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Eots' date=' were you in my grade five class? LOL[/quote'] Arm pit farts are universal GG. It's a guy thing. However, I never could seem to get the hang of it, so I just stuck to the natural ones. It's probably just a transient thing, but it could be a sign of aging. I am currently sitting with an aching ankle. Feels like I sprained it, but I'll be jiggered where or when or how it happened. It just started to ache one morning, got better on the second day, then got worse the third day as I was on it most of the day. Now getting better. Might be the weather, though, We had a major storm front blow through here via an Alberta Clipper (thanks GG), leaving about 3" of new snow. I was also reminded, not a week ago that I am not 40-ish... I'm 50-ish (49 next week).. >sigh<:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 <snipped> I was also reminded' date=' not a week ago that I am not 40-ish... I'm 50-ish (49 next week).. >sigh< [/quote'] Young, whipper-snapper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinNoName Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I can't blame age, double-jointedness or any other "ailment". Sometimes mine just don't work period, as I am a distinctly average player at best, and they don't do what i want them to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 GG, no I don't do hand excercises, the arthritis in the hands seems to be cyclical and comes and goes. I exercise daily for my shoulder and hip joints to strengthen the muscles around them. I don't think there are really any exercises for the hands and fingers you just have to put up with that. Buy the way, GG its good to have you back!......Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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