The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I don't know where it went but there used to be a thread here entitled "Wrists, don't fail me" or the like, asking about how to deal with wrist pain and so on. I've been dealing with RSI in both wrists for well over 10 years now, and I finally decided to try out a NSD Powerball since I'd heard good things about them. It took me a while to get the hang of getting it to spin (the manual is worthless, but there are several good videos on YouTube which show you how it's done - personally I like this one) but now that I can get it to spin for a few minutes at a time, I can definitely feel it building up my forearm strength. It's like getting a multiple-hour workout in just a few minutes, and unlike a multiple-hour workout it's actually fun.

It seems to provide the same kind of "negative" strain (isotonic, resistive feedback) that's used to treat tendinosis, and many RSI treatment options start with "build up strength in the affected muscles," so hopefully this will finally help me eliminate (and not just manage) this chronic pain.

When I had pain in my forearms, massage cleared it up.

I used to do regular massage as a pain-management thing, but that doesn't actually cure the underlying problem, it just delays it. What I'm looking for is something preventative, and I've seen enough glowing reviews of the Powerball on the Web (I know, grain of salt, etc.) that I'm hoping that this will actually finally do the trick.

i have a lot of pain in my fretting hand, specifically in the base of my thumb, when trying to play a guitar. i'm hoping this is just a matter of exercise/training... has anybody else experienced this, and do you think this powerball would help that kind of problem?

-craig

I've had pain around my right elbow for about two weeks now. Not on my elbow, but kind of in the muscle between the elbow bone and the inner crease, for lack of a better word. I feel the pain if I do simple things, like squeezing a bottle of ketchup on my fries, lifting a gallon of milk, etc. It might be because I sleep on my hands and arms.

starfinger wrote:i have a lot of pain in my fretting hand, specifically in the base of my thumb, when trying to play a guitar. i'm hoping this is just a matter of exercise/training... has anybody else experienced this, and do you think this powerball would help that kind of problem?

-craig

One of the advertised uses is for guitar players, and "anyone who needs their hands." That sounds like a tendinitis to me so a Powerball could help. Of course I am not a doctor.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I've had pain around my right elbow for about two weeks now. Not on my elbow, but kind of in the muscle between the elbow bone and the inner crease, for lack of a better word. I feel the pain if I do simple things, like squeezing a bottle of ketchup on my fries, lifting a gallon of milk, etc. It might be because I sleep on my hands and arms.

Sounds like another tendinitis (not one that I'd expect the Powerball to help with, though, since it focuses on the wrong muscle group). It's probably not because of your sleeping position, and probably more because of the work you do. I have no idea what works for that but try aspirin and a heat pack, maybe.

Meanwhile, I used the Powerball a hell of a lot yesterday and my arms are sore (in a good way) and my wrists are less sore than I remember them being in a long time (although still definitely sore - obviously this isn't going to be an overnight cure). Still, this is promising.

One of the playing music related pains I get is where my thumb and index finger meet. I find this happens when I play a lot of barre chords or when I drum hard without warming up. It is kind of a painful cramp. I find that stretching out my arms ahead of time really helps.

Ken

NSD Powerball is a revolutionary new Gyroscope which literally explodes with mind numbing inertial forces once you activate its internal rotor!

Literally explodes? I don't know, it sounds kind of dangerous to me.

Yeah, some of their marketing copy is a bit over-the-top, and poorly-written. It does not literally explode.

fluffy wrote:

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I've had pain around my right elbow for about two weeks now. Not on my elbow, but kind of in the muscle between the elbow bone and the inner crease, for lack of a better word. I feel the pain if I do simple things, like squeezing a bottle of ketchup on my fries, lifting a gallon of milk, etc. It might be because I sleep on my hands and arms.

Sounds like another tendinitis (not one that I'd expect the Powerball to help with, though, since it focuses on the wrong muscle group). It's probably not because of your sleeping position, and probably more because of the work you do. I have no idea what works for that but try aspirin and a heat pack, maybe.

I don't really physically work too hard, but I do play hard. I'll look up tendinitis to see what I can do about it. Thanks Fluf.

edit: OK, I found this info. I need to give whatever it is I'm doing to my arm, a rest. I'll have to think about that one.
I have been surfing a lot lately.
Wakeboarding a few times lately.
Dirt bikein' about a month before I noticed it. And I did kind of hurt my shoulder of my other arm on that trip while loading the bikes.

Anyway, it said that vitamin E helps. Also, I think it says Nitric oxide helps.
Nitric oxide
Nitric oxide (NO) also appears to play a role in tendon healing[20] and inhibition of NO synthesis impairs tendon healing.[21] Supplementing with arginine, the amino acid that the body uses to form NO, may be useful in tendon healing.[22] The use of a NO delivery system (glyceryl trinitrate patches) applied over the area of maximal tenderness was tested in three clinical trials for the treatment of tendinopathies and was found to significantly reduce pain and increase range of motion and strength
Am I reading that right?

starfinger wrote:pain in my fretting hand, specifically in the base of my thumb, when trying to play a guitar. ... has anybody else experienced this, ?

from time to time i have noticed the same thing; actually it happens to me much more frequently when playing Guitar Hero than actually playing a bass, and since my thumb is supporting a lot less weight with that little plastic controller, it leads me to suspect i am holding my hand at an incorrect angle, rather than straining the muscles in my thumb. not sure what can be done about it, since unfortunately how you hold a guitar (or fake guitar) seems to be a hard habit to change.

please share whether you find any success addressing the problem...

yeah, guitar hero *kills* my hand

i have no idea what to do, but i may try one of these powerballs

-craig

So, after a few days of regularly exercising with the powerball, I have to report that my wrists actually feel a lot better! The pain in my right wrist is pretty much completely gone, and my left wrist is not entirely pain-free but it's feeling MUCH better than it has for as long as I can remember. I'm still taking it relatively easy with the typing and the guitar but I think there is definitely something to this Powerball thing.

It's good to get that from the horse's mouth, so to speak, since their website is the most hype-happy information-free thing I have seen in a long time. Keep us posted. I have finally been experiencing this RSI phenomenon myself. About time, eh?

SPUD

Yeah, if it were just the website I wouldn't have bothered (and in fact I knew about these for a long time but never cared to try one because their claims seemed so suspect), but I saw enough praise around the web from impartial sources that I figured it was worth a shot. The specific trigger for finally getting one was a thread at ars.technica (a geeky news site) about RSI, where a few people said that they had terrible RSI but the Powerball cured it.