If you struggle with arthritis, you might have considered quitting playing guitar.
If so, there’s evidence to say that may not be the best thing to do.
A while back, my friend Mike Barron and I discussed this.
Mike has been reading my emails and learning from me for a number of years now.
In that time, I’ve learnt a lot from Mike and his many valuable insights too.
So a while back, we put together a little guide on playing with arthritis.
Neither of us is medically qualified, but we are both vastly experienced.
…Me in terms of teaching many students who have suffered from arthritis…
…And Mike with him actually having arthritis.
In the guide, there is one other person mentioned who is medically qualified.
It’s a chap called Dr Chris Jenner, who is a pain management consultant at the Imperial College Healthcare for the NHS Trust.
He said this:
“Although it was once thought that using the affected joints would bring about further degeneration and lead to greater levels of pain, in fact exercise and physical activity are absolutely key to reducing pain levels and maintaining mobility. Although there are certain occasions when stepping down physical activity is advisable, such as where there is significant and active inflammation, in most cases arthritis symptoms respond extremely favourably to regular exercise.”
Now, I know everyone has unique experiences, so as always, I do not give “one-size-fits-all” advice – especially with something like this.
…But in the little guide, there are plenty of little nuggets of advice that you can use.
These include things such as:
- Why many guitar players with early-stage arthritis report some pain early on but after… the pain and swelling can subside and finger flexibility can improve (that was Mike’s experience too).
- What to practise on the guitar to improve arthritis and why it will likely make you a better all-around guitarist (doing this promotes one essential thing we should all do).
- Why you need to be especially careful with the fretting hand’s thumb.
- Exactly what you should do with your picking hand if you suffer from arthritis (and this will allow you to play music that is more beautiful, in my opinion)
- Four steps of advice you can use starting today to potentially help you to start seeing improvements if you struggle with this.
- The truth about specialist guitar brands such as ‘Zager’, the profound difference getting your guitar set up by an actual pro versus a guitar store assistant can make, and why you might want to avoid hand exercising machines.
There’s more, but if you want a big book with tonnes to read, this is NOT it.
It is very short, and it is simply a bonus guide.
We make zero promises about what this book will do and, of course, if you do struggle with arthritis, please do see a specialist if you haven’t already.
… But saying all that, I believe the information inside may possibly be very useful if you suffer from arthritis or you worry about it.
The advice in this guide ties in perfectly with the 7 eBooks in my book bundle.
Those 7 eBooks feature plenty of musical examples to apply the advice to.
There are 7 eBooks in total – all of which will help you fix the “7 stumbling blocks” of beginner guitar playing.
…And until midnight tonight, this bundle is on sale.
If you order by the time the sale ends, you will also get the Playing Guitar with Arthritis bonus. (After that time, this bonus will not be available).
Find out more below:
Guitar Domination Super eBook Bundle
Thanks and happy practising!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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