I can trace my own degeneration over the last couple of years, reading through this thread. I brought my knobby old fingers back from the dead 8-10 years ago when I discovered glucosamine, and bought myself several years of regeneration. I fact, I had quit playing my guitar completely, and was able to pick it back up.

Now I've been playing pretty regularly, almost daily at home, and have even begun to play "out" after a 35+ year layoff. However, my fingers are giving out again, especially the left pinky. It won't band backwards anymore, which means that a basic favorite barre chord is now absolutely impossible for me: the Bb (114441) and inversions up the neck.

What really sucks is that many aspects of my playing are much better than ever, my musical understanding, and even mind-to-hand coordination. But there some things, an ever-increasing number of things , that the hands just can't do any more. I guess it's like what happens to athletes around age 35-40 -- the will and know-how are still there, probably better than ever, but the body just breaks down.

I went to a doctor not long ago; she had nothing to say except to keep on taking the glucosamine and to pop NSAIDS as necessary. (Nothing I wasn't already doing.) I had hoped that there would be some kind of steroid or something that might help. I'd take it, wihtout hesitation, assuming the cost would not be prohibitive. After all, we're not talking about cycling ~ no authority is going to drug-test me after a good performance. Well, not for steroids, anyway...