Playing With Arthritis In Hands?

[colchar]

I've got arthritis in my hands (knees and left hip as well ) and, although it doesn't affect my playing too much, playing can cause my left hand and its fingers to ache a bit. Chords seem to affect it the most. I've tried using lighter gauge strings (went from .10s down to .09s) but hated the lighter gauge as I am rather heavy-handed (ham-fisted is more accurate) when strumming. I even find the .10s to be a bit light because of this and would love to go to .11s but just do not think my left hand could deal with that.

So I was wondering what others here who have the same problem do to overcome this - are there exercises you do? Do you do some stretches before playing? If so, which ones? Do you do some stretches after playing (like a cool down after a workout)? Does a specific size or style of neck or frets help? Does holding the guitar/positioning your hand in a certain way help? Heck, anyone here recently found a good arthritis medication that helps relieve symptoms?

 

[Udonitron]

Warm up the hands in warm water and ibuprofen is my way (anti-inflammatory medication is your best friend)
My left hand is OK but my right index knuckle gets pretty sore due to years of using impact drills combined with high pressures etc underwater
It sucks and I hope I never get it in my left!

 

[BillB1960]

There is a member here who is/was? developing a supplement for arthritic hands specifically targeted towards guitar players. He goes by the handle Darktrader and as far as I can tell he's still active although he doesn't post much. Here's a link to the thread he started last year:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/85552-feedback-custom-product.html

 

[colchar]

There is a member here who is/was? developing a supplement for arthritic hands specifically targeted towards guitar players. He goes by the handle Darktrader and as far as I can tell he's still active although he doesn't post much. Here's a link to the thread he started last year:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/85552-feedback-custom-product.html

Interesting, thanks.