Well it has been awhile since I started this thread and I'm glad to see it is of use again. Very recently I had a bout with tendonitis
on my left hand. This is an odd form in that it attacks the back of the hand and the joint at the base of the thumb. The doctor who rebuilt both of my hands after my injuries looked this new problem over and offered this solution.

1. Rest the hand completely for 72 hours. Absolute minimum time.
longer if possible.

2. Ice the area as long as it takes to become numb to the cold and them let it warm slowly.

3. Deep almost painful massage at the base of the thumb and up the back of the hand towards each finger.

4. This was the single most useful thing he told me. "If you can take Asprin for the pain do so." I took three aspirin every 12 hours for three days and the tendonitis moderated to the point where I could treat it without the medication following the previous steps and it has mostly gone.

I visited an Occupational Therapist who is a guitarist and she said no instrument is very good for ergonomic use. Fiddles are pretty bad but she said the worse guitar any one can play regards to carpal tunnel and tendonitis issues are Ovation Round backs. Their very design forces the playe to hyper flex the wrist and at the same time extend the fingers.

When I play guitar now I try to keep the indtrument at just less than 45 degrees from the floor. This angle gives the fingers a kinder attack on the strings and reduce strain at the wrist and elbow.

Regards

Don