Thumb/Palm Pain

Just looking to see if there's any drummers out there that have the same problem as me.

When counting cash (I work at a bank), or drumming I have a sharp burning pain in my right and left hands. This pain is located in the thenar eminence or the muscles between the bottom of my thumb and the bottom of my hand. I have been to my doctor and special hospital, have had testing for carpal tunnel but it was diagnosed as most likely a strain????

I do experience numbness not while playing but when resting my hand on a surface for a long period of time or while sleeping.

I've tried some stretching, using really loose technique, wearing gloves and wrist supports (carpal tunnel pain relievers), thicker sticks, anti-inflammatory medication (advil) and there really isn't anything wrong with my technique other than maybe previously gripping the stick too hard.

Does anybody out there have the same problems? Have any luck relieving the pain? Have had a doctor provide you with a diagnosis different from mine but you have the same problems??? Please let me know
 
Honestly, I think you should ask a doctor for a better diagnosis, because if you're feeling sharp burning pain and numbness, I'd want to make sure it wasn't more serious. How long have you had this problem, only a little while or has been longer?
 
Honestly, I think you should ask a doctor for a better diagnosis, because if you're feeling sharp burning pain and numbness, I'd want to make sure it wasn't more serious. How long have you had this problem, only a little while or has been longer?

I agree, go seek a medical diagnosis, you should never feel pain when drumming. I firmly believe that "no pain, no gain" is NOT a drumming motto.
 
A diagnosis of "most likely a strain" doesn't sound like much of a diagnosis to me. Don't they know? I'm no doctor, but I've always thought you can't really treat something if you don't know exactly what it is.

If it was thought to be a strain, did they advise you to rest it? When I've had strained muscles or inflamed tendons in the past (not from drumming) I've been advised rest then gentle exercise. It doesn't sound, from your post, like you're avoiding the two things you mention that cause the problem ie the cash counting and the drumming. Again - I'm no doctor - but it seems like common sense to me that if something you do causes pain, you can't expect it to get better if you just carry on as before.

So anyway - I agree - I would want a better diagnosis and some actual advice as to how to deal with it.
 
I've had this problem for maybe like a year and a half. I took a blood test and went for some type of nerve testing cause I did suggest to my doctor that it might be carpal tunnel. The hospital and my doctor both suggested that it wasn't that. Now a days I play drums ever so often, sometimes not even once a week and I really can't avoid counting money it's my job haha.
 
Back
Top