Hi all,I was diagnosed with a focal hand dystonia recently. I affects the I finger on my right hand - makes it want to claw in, loss of dexterity. My foreman hurts quite a lot and I also have pain the trapezius muscle on the same side of my body.
All my research on hand dystonias seems to call them "task-specific" and categorise them as writer's cramp, typist's cramp or musician's cramp.
However for me, while my guitar playing is affected, (I can't finger pick anymore, but I can use a pick) basically anything that I try to do with my index finger is affected. So I can't type like I used to, i can't grip a glass without my finger trying to crush it, I hold onto the steering wheel too tight until my entire arm hurts. Any light touch, like holding my partner's hand, is uncomfortable.
Also, while running, my finger feels uncomfortable dangling by my side, and sometimes jerks and moves of its own accord.
I'm just wondering if anyone here gets any of this... Sounds like you guys just have problems when trying to play your instrument. There doesn't seem to be a category for my symptoms, which are basically a total loss of use of one finger on my right hand, which affects my ability to do anything with that finger, and spreads to pain in the entire limb and connection shoulder through the tension caused by the problem.
All the best and thanks,
Gareth
