I believe glucosamine can alleviate arthritic pain - but at the moment you need to address the problem not alleviate the pain because if you alleviate the pain and play on you are probably doing more damage. It may be good if you can resist the urge to play!

I have had ultrasound and electric pulse thingies both for back problems and for the tennis elbow. I don't think they did any good for those, although they may be useful for muscular problems.

Get your doctor to refer you to an appropriate and expert specialist ASAP. Do not let the GP give you the hydrocortisone (or other steroids, I think there are new ones now, too)injections. Go to the real expert straight away, you can only have so many steroid injections into a tendon without weakening the tendon - although the better experts can find ways to give more injections than the less expert. The man who came close to fixing my elbow (I still have to take care of it) was a Dr Goodwill just off Harley Street but luckily I was insured.

You need to get to that expert while your insurance can still cover you for at least a couple of years, it will probably not be a "one shot" cure.

If and when he says you can play, get the neck of the guitar up like a classical guitarist and reduce that left wrist angle (which is why I suggested the mandolin in that the neck is so narrow that you don't have to reach right round like on a guitar). Try the "Bert Weedon" plectrum grip and aim to play larger plectrum movements moving the right wrist side to side and the smaller ones by rotating it - avoiding many of the tendon movements for the right hand fingers - but don't sweep from the elbow or you will put the problem back into the elbow joint.


You could also try singing - it gets very satisfying sometimes - but again avoid overstressing the voice (and about the worst overstress for the voice is the "old-school" metal growl)