Hi All,
I’m a lifelong guitarist, now 58 tears old, and have developed a case of lefthand/thumb arthritis that prevents me from playing guitar in a traditional sense. The pain comes from applying pressure to the thumb joint, like when playing barre chords or any technique where the thumb has to be used behind the neck. I’ve adapted to playing slide guitar and lapsteel but the writing is on the wall and cortical steroid shots only last so long before the pain and swelling returns - I’ll say in advance that I’m already on every med I can take for relief but the arthritis is genetic and not going to go away. But I feel I still have songs in me and rhythms to play.

I’ve tapped on guitar since the 80s, and always wanted a Stick, but now I’m wondering if anybody has had similar issues with arthritis and Stick playing. Exactly how much pressure is put on the left hand thumb joint - the bass string parts? Is it free floating or would it require a gripping pressure to play properly? In short, given my condition, would purchasing a Railboard be at all playable & useful to me or would it be a $3K paperweight?

This is a matter you’d never think about unless you faced this limitation and I hope none of you ever experience this. Thanks to you all for your thoughts and kindness in advance,
Keith

Conventional playing technique calls from some thumb pressure , but there are a few players Boris Basurov in particular that float their left hand . There are people who play the stick Jeff Healy style where they float both hands with the stick on their lap. Search for Boris bazurov on YouTube and you’ll find him playing there


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Boris should be easy to find, but just in case...

...here is his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/gusletarist