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So I saw an orthopedic surgeon this week and finally have a definitive diagnosis for the problem in my right wrist. It turns out that it is not arthritis, but is a TFCC tear in a ligament in my wrist as well as a problem with the ulna bone in my arm. For some reason that ulna bone is a little too long and isn't sitting in my wrist properly. It is sitting long, and it is sitting up a bit. The surgeon thinks it is because I broke the radius bone in that arm when I was a teenager and that it didn't grow properly after that, thus making the ulna longer because it had grown properly. Anyway, the solution seems to come down to two options: 1) wearing a brace for a while and hoping that we can find ways to manage symptoms or 2) having surgery which involves cutting in, repairing the torn ligament, breaking my ulna bone, cutting a piece of it off, placing it properly back into the wrist, and then inserting a metal plate and screws to keep the two pieces of bone in place while the bone grows to cover the plate.
Needless to say, I would like to avoid that surgery so I went to a good sports medicine place today and bought a decent wrist brace!
But this obviously has an effect on playing guitar, and on what my next purchase will be.
For a while now I have been resting my hand on the bridge thinking that this was stabilizing my wrist but she told me that I was actually making things worse because this causes my hand to bend backwards a bit and that is really bad for this wrist condition. So now I will have to go to a fully floating hand, or to bracing with my fingers (she pointed out that classical players do this for a reason). Either way, my picking style is going to have to change.
All of that got me to thinking that an ES-335 sized guitar would work well because I always play sitting down and the size of the body would cause my arm to hang, thus making it easier to keep my wrist straight. I confirmed this by playing a 335 at L&M this evening and it felt quite comfortable.
I have been searching out a 2013 SG Standard or a '61 Reissue SG for a little while now but tonight I started to look into used ES-335s and it turns out that I can get one in the $2500 (before taxes) range. If I do that, it will be the only guitar that I buy.
But I could also grab one of the SGs and also pick up an Epiphone Sheraton. The two together would come in somewhere in the $1300-$1800 (before tax) range, depending on which SG I got and for what price.
So now I can't decide - do I go for an ES-335 or do I get the SG I have been after as well as a Sheraton?
I already have a Tele and an SG that is set up for slide. I only play at home so don't really need two new (well new to me) guitars. Based on that, the ES-335 would make more sense. But if I got the SG and Sheraton I could scratch the SG itch I've had for a bit while also having a 335 sized guitar to play when my wrist is bothering me and I need to keep it as straight as possible.
What to do, what to do...................
Needless to say, I would like to avoid that surgery so I went to a good sports medicine place today and bought a decent wrist brace!
But this obviously has an effect on playing guitar, and on what my next purchase will be.
For a while now I have been resting my hand on the bridge thinking that this was stabilizing my wrist but she told me that I was actually making things worse because this causes my hand to bend backwards a bit and that is really bad for this wrist condition. So now I will have to go to a fully floating hand, or to bracing with my fingers (she pointed out that classical players do this for a reason). Either way, my picking style is going to have to change.
All of that got me to thinking that an ES-335 sized guitar would work well because I always play sitting down and the size of the body would cause my arm to hang, thus making it easier to keep my wrist straight. I confirmed this by playing a 335 at L&M this evening and it felt quite comfortable.
I have been searching out a 2013 SG Standard or a '61 Reissue SG for a little while now but tonight I started to look into used ES-335s and it turns out that I can get one in the $2500 (before taxes) range. If I do that, it will be the only guitar that I buy.
But I could also grab one of the SGs and also pick up an Epiphone Sheraton. The two together would come in somewhere in the $1300-$1800 (before tax) range, depending on which SG I got and for what price.
So now I can't decide - do I go for an ES-335 or do I get the SG I have been after as well as a Sheraton?
I already have a Tele and an SG that is set up for slide. I only play at home so don't really need two new (well new to me) guitars. Based on that, the ES-335 would make more sense. But if I got the SG and Sheraton I could scratch the SG itch I've had for a bit while also having a 335 sized guitar to play when my wrist is bothering me and I need to keep it as straight as possible.
What to do, what to do...................