Conference napalm::guitar

    This just isn't your lucky day--I've no personal experience UND
    "meine Deutsch ist ganz schlect!"  However, Seek other opinions-
    you may not be in ganglion trouble, but rather tendon "sheath" trouble.
    In either case the surgical remedy may not be considered of high
    risk-only that if it doesn't go well--you get either some nerves
    or tendons screwed up (e.g. What the hell, they aren't the doctors
    nerves/tendons/or hand!).  The tendon sheath problem has been reported
    frequently in Sports Medicine publications (Tennis Players/Handball,
    etc.)  Do matter what-be very careful as to from whom you accept
    any suggested remedies (especially surgery).  Although most people
    worry about the surgeon and a possible screw up by him on the
    remedy/procedure--Remember this:  THE SURGEON RARELY EVER KILLS
    A PATIENT IF HE GOOFS--IF THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST GOOFS, YOU PROBABLY
    WON'T BE AROUND TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT!
    

If it really is a ganglion, I know what you're going through. I had
one on the back of my left hand - just at the point where the
tendons for the index, middle, and ring fingers are closest and
directly underneath. It made moving any of those fingers painful
and, obviously, made playing impossible.

A friend suggested that I use an old-folk remedy - smashing the
bugger with a Bible (or any other heavy book). This idea didn't
appeal to me.

I consulted a doctor whose approach I liked much better. After
numbing the hand with a local anesthetic, he used an empty syringe
to extract the gel that made up most of the mass of the ganglion.
Within a couple of days, my hand was as good as ever and the problem
hasn't returned in seven years.

Good luck.

Mike

    I had a ganglion removed from my left wrist 6 years or so ago. My
    reach has never recovered, however, I can play now and it was
    impossible prior to the surgery. The used a local to kill the pain
    an it took less than 40 mins.
    
    if you do have this surgery, do not attempt to play before the Doctor
    tells you it's ok, you can delay your recovery and possibly stimulate
    the growth of another cyst by being impatient. I began playing as
    soon as I felt ok and within a week was out of commision again.
    
    dbii

    Note 1020 is a similar problem, you may consider reviewing it.
    

    I had one of these a few years back on my left hand ; the doctor gave
    me the options of bashing it or sucking the fluid out a la reply .?
    Neither of these really appealed to me and luckily the b*****d burst of
    it's own accord when I was climbing over a wall ( Angus Young
    impressions anyone ? ). 
    
    I was told that the chances of it clearing itself up would be greatly
    improved if I used the wrist and ignored the occasional pain. That
    appears to be what happened, in my case at least.
    
    Good luck, Dave. 

    Hey - thanks for all the replies, didn't expect to get such good
    response over night.  I've also been given the old smash it with
    a big book suggestion, as well as the ganglo-suction suggestion
    from a doctor.  My sister, whose a nurse asked some of her doctor
    friends about this and they said that it couldn't hurt, but also
    that it wasn't that effective, ie, the thing quite often came back,
    - but it seems like some of you had good results with this.
                                                             
    The thing I don't understand is that I can go for weeks sometimes
    where its not bothering me that much, that is its never at 100%
    useability, but other weeks I can't use it at all - and its at 
    these times where I get so pissed off that I vow to do something
    about it.   I don't know, I think I'll either try this suction
    thing, or maybe just wait until I get back to the US to do it.
    
    Any more information on this tendon sheath problem would also be
    interesting----
    
    thanks for the replies--
    Roy

    Roy, I have had problems with my tendons that started just as you
    described.  I have played classical guitar for many years and had
    gotten to the point where my left hand was useless.  The doctor
    at first thought that it was a ganglion, but when he went in to remove
    it he saw that the sheathe covering my tendon was very inflammed
    and my tendon was really shot.  This condition was described as
    "Sinovitis"(sp?)The sheathe is called the sinovia.  He reattached
    the tendon somehow by drilling some holes in my wrist.  Anyway,
    it was at least 6 months before I could do much playing.  Then my
    right hand went- same thing.  It seems that my wrists were not made
    for the kind of abuse that they got from all the guitar playing.
     I should add that I was a pretty avid tennis player as well.  Now,
    I play but after about an hour I have to stop.  Obviously, I don't
    play anything too challenging anymore.  Some days my wrists really
    kill me and I take a lot of Ibuprofin- it helps.  Anyway, hope that
    I haven't ruined your day.  I have learned what I can and cannot
    do if I want to play.  Good luck.
    Joan 

    Here's another possibility - I had a recurrent problem similar to
    the ones being described.  It was diagnosed as "Traumatic Tendonitis",
    and the just wasn't nothin' they could do about it except tell me
    to wear a brace and even sleep with a fitted device which prevented
    my wrist from moving.  The problem would appear for a week or two,
    then disappear for a week or two, and so on.  Fortunately, I haven't
    had it for well over a year, so I guess it's not necessarily a
    permanent condition.
    
    Jon

    I'm just beginning to recover from nearly two years of tendonitis
    (A.K.A. tendinitis) and I'll share what I've learaned.  First, don't
    settle for just one medical opinion.  I've been through seven
    specialists with seven approaches to the problem.  I've also had
    advice from herbalists, healers, friends, relatives and fellow
    sufferers.  Here's what worked and didn't work for me:
    

    Worked:
    
    Ice treatments - the single best thing I did for myself.  It's painful,
    but really helps.
    
    Anti-inflammatory drugs - There are about two dozen and the
    effectiveness depends on the individual patient.  Most doctors have
    a short list of favorite drugs they like to prescribe, but the doctor's
    pet pill may not work for you.  If one doesn't help, insist on trying
    others.
    
    Rest and exercise - an afternoon nap can be a very good thing, and
    a brisk thirty-minute walk every other day helped me a lot.
    
    Maybe worked:
    
    Chiropractic - I think it helped, but I was already improving so
    I can't be sure.

    Didn't work:    
    
    Acupuncture - I didn't respond.  Others seem to.

    Various heat treatments - made me feel better temporarily, but not
    in the long run.  My chiropractor believes that heat is
    counterproductive in treating any inflammation.  Sorta makes sense.
    
    Some anti-inflammatory drugs - I tried six before finding one that
    helped. 
    
    Neuroprobe (electric current)
    
    Phonophoresis (ultrasound)
    

    I hope this is helpful to someone.  
    
    Bob

         

    I had a related problem, not wrist, but my index finger on my left
    hand. A while back (2 or 3 years ago) while I was re-assembling the
    front wheels of my car, I took a small piece of 2 by 4 and was going to
    use that between my hammer and the wheel bearing. Sure enough, I
    managed to hit my hand and fracture my index finger (I've done this
    sort of stuff before without damaging anything, but, as luck would have
    it, this was one of those exceptions). About a year after the incedent,
    I ended up with tendonitis, because a small calcium lump appeared on
    the side of the bone where it had healed (it's the bone above the
    knuckle joint), and it was quite painful to play any barre chords on
    my guitar. I went to a specialist and in general got no where. After
    studying the x-ray for a bit, and feeling where the lump was, I found
    that if I cocked my hand just a bit differently, it wouldn't  hit the
    calcuim lump. It took a few months (and lots of Advil after the first
    set - Advil is an anti-inflamitory drug) to get this right. Now I have
    no problems with the pain, but my reach is not what it used to be.

    According to the specialist that I went to, he could scrape the bone,
    but there was no guarentee that it would not return, and it wouldn't be
    a larger lump. It's not gotten any bigger, and it will never go away,
    but at least it doesn't cause me any problems.

						    Jens

    I also had a ganglion, it was on my left hand and on the joint of
    the middle finger.  It was very painful and restricted the movement
    of that finger and the two next to it. (Forget guitar playing like
    that)  
    
    I had it operated on and now wish I had gotten more opinions.  Scar
    tissue formed where the ganglion was and bothered me off and on
    for a couple of years, it was just as painful as the darn ganglion.
    Luckily it has not bothered me for two years now, but if you are
    considering surgery make sure you get a few opinions and understand
    the risks involved.  No matter how small it seems, any surgery has
    its risks.

    re: .11 I had semi-constant pain (when playing) for 3-4 years after the
    surgery for my ganglion, it finally went away. In my case I had
    no alternative if I wished to continue playing.
    
    but multiple opinions are always a good idea.
    
    dbii