Any doctors in the house?

ichadwick

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Looking for some medical advice re playing the uke. I've just been diagnosed with arthritis and I'm wondering what the current medical opinion is re that sort of activity: do I continue playing, do I play more to exercise the joints? Do I stop?

And what sort of remedial medication (prescription and over-the-counter)/physiotherapy/surgery is recommended?​
 
Looking for some medical advice re playing the uke. I've just been diagnosed with arthritis and I'm wondering what the current medical opinion is re that sort of activity: do I continue playing, do I play more to exercise the joints? Do I stop?

And what sort of remedial medication (prescription and over-the-counter)/physiotherapy/surgery is recommended?​

I'll ask my sister and get back to you.
 
Harsh. :( I hope it doesn't interfere with your playing, Ian.
 
Would you rather ask a ukulele forum than your doctor?

Ukantor.
 
Looking for some medical advice re playing the uke. I've just been diagnosed with arthritis and I'm wondering what the current medical opinion is re that sort of activity: do I continue playing, do I play more to exercise the joints? Do I stop?

And what sort of remedial medication (prescription and over-the-counter)/physiotherapy/surgery is recommended?​

Had it for years, I take medication works fine for me. When it dose flar up I just suffer through it. I won't let it win. As for med's Talk to your doctor, I use Celabrex 200mg once a day.

NO DON"T STOP PLAYING THE UKE.:shaka:
 
I suffer from chronic Psoriatic Arthritis, at the moment I am quite immobile I walk with a crutch and the past few weeks I havn't really left the house (I did today though to go get my ukulele from the parcel depot! lol) I have had it since I was 4 years old and started playing the ukulele this year because the guitar got too difficult to hold.

The ukulele is pretty much all I do now and it is my main hobby, my advice is keep playing 'till you can't play it anymore... Don't let it beat you!
 
My wife is a doctor and I talk to her about this from time to time as my knuckles tighten with age. She says that anti-inflams are about it other than direct cortisone shots, otherwise the best thing we can do is to NOT stop playing. Playing instruments are proven to help keep flexibility and strength. I usually warm up first with a rubbing of my tight knuckles, then some scales and chord progressions, once I feel it loosen up, then I really get into playing. I'm only 38 but it's coming on and runs in the family.

Unofficially, against my wife/doc's wishes, I believe a little snog of tequila or such libation really helps me as well! :)

P.S. my hot tub really helps as well!
 
NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications) like Ibuprofen or Aleve are the most common OTC treatment.

I would ask the doc for a referral to a physical therapist at least for a consult in order to learn some exercises that would be helpful for pain management, and to avoid exercises that may exacerbate the arthritis.
 
It's looking good for an informed consensus of "keep playing"! :)
 
Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. - Winston Churchill's address to Harrow School, 1941.

I am so sorry to hear of your struggle with arthritis, but I really commend your attitude. I have been reading your posts for quite awhile and I never had any idea that you were struggling with this debilitating disease. Hang in there and keep playing!
 
if its your wrist, i really suggest wearing a copper bracelet, they work very well and help alot. Sorry to hear about the diognosis, how someone here can give some real decent advice
 
My whole family seems to have arthritus of one kind or another. NSAIDs and keep moving are the best things you can do. If you ever give up it's got you. Keep playing.
 
Keep playing for as long as you can. I also buy into the keep playing to remain flexible theory. Check with your doctor about meds or shots. I like cortisone myself. It helps keep me pain-free.
 
Keep playing for as long as you can. I also buy into the keep playing to remain flexible theory. Check with your doctor about meds or shots. I like cortisone myself. It helps keep me pain-free.

I had the cortisone injections, I had to have one big shot as most of my joints are affected... It helped but boy did it make me eat!! LOL I told them I wouldn't have them again 'cause I couldn't stop eating!

I'm due to start injectable Methotrexate this month, any of you had any experience with this?
 
I'm a retired podiatrist, currently working as an OR nurse: close enough?

I'd say that as long as it doesn't make your arthritis worse, go for it. It's probably not a bad form of physical therapy-- in some forms of arthritis the less you use the joints, the stiffer and more painful they get.

A word of caution-- by all means get worked up by a rheumatologist and find out exactly what kind of arthritis you have and how it can best be treated. Arthritis can range from a very mild osteoarthritis to really severe and deforming rheumatoid. Any advice that any of us here give you should be taken with a grain of salt until you check with an expert.

One other music board that I follow actually specifically prohibits the requesting and giving of medical advice on the board which liability-wise may not be a bad policy.
 
Quite so, Brewer Paul, I agree completely.

Ukantor.

I certainly see your point and that of Brewer Paul. But I don't agree completely. If the post police get too prohibitive, there won't be anything left to talk about. I would certainly hope that nobody here takes any advice as the rules of God. I ask people about medical stuff in real life and I never take any of it as the rules of God. I leave that for the doctors. However, even then they are known to be wrong. I think it's ok to ask around here for OPINIONS.
Just my thoughts.....(not to be argumentative.):)
 
I'd say that as long as it doesn't make your arthritis worse, go for it. It's probably not a bad form of physical therapy-- in some forms of arthritis the less you use the joints, the stiffer and more painful they get.

Amen, brother! I've had arthritis in my hands (and other joints) for years. I take a twice-daily NSAID (Voltarin), which helps alot....but I have the most difficulty if I allow myself to become inactive. I walk a great deal as a mailman, and it can be a challenge. But that's nothing compared to when I'm on vacation and NOT doing the walking....

Certainly seek qualified medical advice, but in the meantime, keep those joints moving!
 
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