Tendonitis - any sufferers?

Keefy

I had tendonitis but - wait for it - in my arse.

To be specific, ischial tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendon that connects the pelvis to the big ol’ leg muscles. On the left side only. This happened in early 2021 as lockdown was being eased - couldn’t walk far or stand for long, found difficulty sitting comfortably. I thought it was sciatica at first but I had a session with an osteopath and he identified it. It got to the point where I couldn’t even sit at my desk to work and only got any respite by lying flat on my back. Then one night even that didn’t help, and I ended up calling the NHS at 4.30am and got prescribed anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, and had to take a week off work.

My advice to the OP:
(1) Seek professional medical advice;
(2) Do what they tell you;
(3) Expect it to take a while to resolve.

KevS

I had the problem for over 2 decades..I was genuinely near killing myself at first..I found my problem was caused by me tilting my wrist upwards to avoid hitting the volume pot on a Strat..This was made easier / worse by the forearm contour making this angle more easy..When I started playing Les Pauls again,plus Teles the problem slowly went away..I reduced the Strat Volume controls down to two leaving the original volume pot space blank..I can play Strats again and they don't cause Tendonitis..All that time ,,I never sussed it was the Strat Volume Control..All our bodies are different though..With me it was playing with my wrist tilted upwards..Now I don't live on ibuprofen..

Fez

carlos said:

Less strain the better. So better wrist angle, posture, lighter gauge strings. Glucosamine supplement might help. There's even a veggie version which I take regularly.

This is probably the least strain you can have while playing in terms of wrist angle (not my pic, not my guitar).

I had to stop taking glucosamine as it gave me headaches due to me being allergic to fish so I would be interested in a veggie option if you tell me the product and brand name I will try some.

Palf

Keefy said:

I had tendonitis but - wait for it - in my arse.

To be specific, ischial tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendon that connects the pelvis to the big ol’ leg muscles. On the left side only. This happened in early 2021 as lockdown was being eased - couldn’t walk far or stand for long, found difficulty sitting comfortably. I thought it was sciatica at first but I had a session with an osteopath and he identified it. It got to the point where I couldn’t even sit at my desk to work and only got any respite by lying flat on my back. Then one night even that didn’t help, and I ended up calling the NHS at 4.30am and got prescribed anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, and had to take a week off work.

My advice to the OP:
(1) Seek professional medical advice;
(2) Do what they tell you;
(3) Expect it to take a while to resolve.

Thank you for explaining this. 
I visited my GP with a similar issue but nothing was diagnosed. I had previously suffered a severe weight loss but that's another story. I have struggled along but find it increasingly difficult to walk any distance or carry anything heavy.
Over the same period (about 4 years) I experienced occasional pain when playing guitar that felt like cramp. I put it down to playing an unfamiliar instrument (neck profile) in a less than ideal position (lounging in an armchair)
This hand issue has become much worse in recent times and now I have these peculiar lumps in both palms. I visited my GP for a separate problem but showed her the lumps on my hands and she knew what it was.
It was only reading the above note from keefy that made me think the leg and hip issues are related and could also be tendonitis. There are no outward signs 
Another trip to the GP then. This time with something to tell them. 
Thanks again keefy.
(And thanks to everyone else for your input on this subject)

Keefy

Palf said:

Keefy said:

I had tendonitis but - wait for it - in my arse.

To be specific, ischial tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendon that connects the pelvis to the big ol’ leg muscles. On the left side only. This happened in early 2021 as lockdown was being eased - couldn’t walk far or stand for long, found difficulty sitting comfortably. I thought it was sciatica at first but I had a session with an osteopath and he identified it. It got to the point where I couldn’t even sit at my desk to work and only got any respite by lying flat on my back. Then one night even that didn’t help, and I ended up calling the NHS at 4.30am and got prescribed anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, and had to take a week off work.

My advice to the OP:
(1) Seek professional medical advice;
(2) Do what they tell you;
(3) Expect it to take a while to resolve.

Thank you for explaining this. 
I visited my GP with a similar issue but nothing was diagnosed. I had previously suffered a severe weight loss but that's another story. I have struggled along but find it increasingly difficult to walk any distance or carry anything heavy.
Over the same period (about 4 years) I experienced occasional pain when playing guitar that felt like cramp. I put it down to playing an unfamiliar instrument (neck profile) in a less than ideal position (lounging in an armchair)
This hand issue has become much worse in recent times and now I have these peculiar lumps in both palms. I visited my GP for a separate problem but showed her the lumps on my hands and she knew what it was.
It was only reading the above note from keefy that made me think the leg and hip issues are related and could also be tendonitis. There are no outward signs 
Another trip to the GP then. This time with something to tell them. 
Thanks again keefy.
(And thanks to everyone else for your input on this subject)

You may be able to locate the source of the pain yourself by probing the area. For me it was one of the lower points of the pelvis immediately below the buttock. Once you know the site you should be in a better place to describe your symptoms to your GP.

Disclaimer: I speak only from my own experience and have no medical training whatsoever!

grungebob

Good luck everyone with your recovery. 

I’ve surgery booked for early July to sort mine out (shoulder). Hopefully we can all get back to normal soon. 

motorhead

Have had inflammation/tendon type problems of various types over the years - shoulder, elbows, hands, maybe I'm prone to it. The best thing I find is to figure out what action is causing the problem, stop it completely for at least two weeks while taking a week or two of diclofenac, and if it's necessary to resume then do so slowly and with a different posture or whatever. My last bout was actually guitar-triggered, in my left hand after moving from years of big chunky necks to a pretty slim one. Worst was a borked shoulder from a lead-pulling dog, that one needed weeks of physio as well. Along the way, I've become fully left-handed with a computer mouse, but nothing else.

Diclofenac is over the counter and cheap in Spain, Hungary and I assume other places so it's worth keeping a bit.

djspecialist

@grungebob ;, I hope your surgery went well.

I'm also struggling with tendonitis in my right shoulder. It's been bothering me on and off for a couple of years - mostly manifesting as a sharp pain in the joint when I reach up, for example to take something off a high shelf. Gradually the pain started to radiate down into my forearm, though not (yet) into the wrist.

Switching to sleeping on my back (I'm naturally a side sleeper) helped a bit, but eventually the pain started to wake me up even in that position. I also got an ergonomic keyboard (my job is pretty much 100% in front of a computer) and trackball. Again, a bit of relief, but didn't solve the problem.

So in February I saw a specialist, who referred me for an MRI. That showed calcified deposits (think little bits of chalk) in the joint - apparently a common result of tendonitis.

Based on that, I was referred for a "barbotage" in March - an outpatient surgical procedure which involves sticking a big needle into the joint to break up the calcium, then suck it out using saline.

That seemed to help a lot ... for two or three months. Then the pain gradually came back. In hindsight I suspect the relief was mainly due to the steroid injection they put in at the end of the barbotage.

So in August I went back to the specialist. He said a repeat barbotage was unlikely to have a different outcome, so I could either live with it, have another steroid shot, or surgery (basically a keyhole procedure which involves filing down the edge of the bone, to reduce inflammation in the joint.)

I went for the steroid shot, but this time it seems to have had little effect. In any case, it can only really give temporary relief. That's useful if the condition is expected to resolve itself with time, but given how long mine has persisted, the specialist thinks that's unlikely.

So I'm thinking about the surgery. Obviously any procedure has risks, but the pain is starting to get me down. It doesn't stop me from doing things (guitar, piano, work, exercise, household chores ...) but I worry that if might if it worsens.

Just a bit of a vent really, but if any of this sounds familiar (to @grungebob ;or others) it would be good to hear your experiences.

grungebob

@djspecialist ;
Hi. 

This sounds quite familiar yes. 

Mine started as a pain when reaching overhead, then when I got dressed and then all the time. 

I had a few guided  steroid injections into the joint that gave temporary relief. 1st time a few months relief the last one only around 6 weeks. 

I was told mine was the bursa being torn and inflamed and that I needed shoulder decompression surgery as well as the end of my collar bone needing to be “trimmed”. 

Essentially there wasn’t enough room in the shoulder joint to allow the tendons to move freely and the end of my collar bone had bone spurs (arthritis) that needed to be removed. 

That was 7 weeks ago. 

It hurt a few days after surgery (enough for me to need opiates) but around day 4 I could do without. 

I’m having regular physio and I think I’ll make a full recovery in time.  They also found a tare in my long headed bicep tendon that may need further surgery, I’ll find that out next week. 

Don’t be afraid of the surgery, if you can’t bear the pain day to day now as is then get it done. 

djspecialist

Thanks @grungebob for replying and sharing your experiences. It's great to hear that your surgery went well, and that you're expecting to make a full recovery. Best of luck with the physio, and the follow-up next week.

I think I'll end up going for the procedure. I just need to figure out how to schedule it (and the subsequent recovery period) around various other commitments - travel plans etc.

I appreciate everyone responds differently to surgery, but would you mind commenting on how long it was before you could get back to basic tasks like cooking / washing up / typing on a keyboard? What about more active exercise? (My daily commute involves cycling, which I guess may need to change temporarily.)

Shelders

Sad thread to read - shame to see some of you suffering. I'm a MSk physio so if anyone does want any advice etc please drop me a PM. Obviously without assessing you fully I cant give you specific advice as such but can help where I can. 

Alterlifeson

Shelders said:

Sad thread to read - shame to see some of you suffering. I'm a MSk physio so if anyone does want any advice etc please drop me a PM. Obviously without assessing you fully I cant give you specific advice as such but can help where I can. 

I hate to have to ask and the answer might be obvious, but do you see a correlation between heavy phones users (as in people who are on their phones a lot rather than those still using those phones built like bricks) and the suffering of guitar playing?

My job has me on my phone a hell of a lot and over the past year of so it seems my fingers are slower and see to lose reaction speed when playing. Plus I get some dull aches, especially at night after a day of heavy phone use. 

I can imagine there must be an endemic of hand/finger/wrist issues with how prevelant phone use is nowadays.

Shelders

Alterlifeson said:

Shelders said:

Sad thread to read - shame to see some of you suffering. I'm a MSk physio so if anyone does want any advice etc please drop me a PM. Obviously without assessing you fully I cant give you specific advice as such but can help where I can. 

I hate to have to ask and the answer might be obvious, but do you see a correlation between heavy phones users (as in people who are on their phones a lot rather than those still using those phones built like bricks) and the suffering of guitar playing?

My job has me on my phone a hell of a lot and over the past year of so it seems my fingers are slower and see to lose reaction speed when playing. Plus I get some dull aches, especially at night after a day of heavy phone use. 

I can imagine there must be an endemic of hand/finger/wrist issues with how prevelant phone use is nowadays.

In terms of an increase in hand and wrist issues not that I've seen to be honest. They banded around a lot of phone related pathologies for a while (text neck for example) but no evidence really supports it. Anecdotally people will claim they see a correlation in their lives, e.g how you've described your issue, but it's not the widespread issue you'd think it would be.