Hi -

Interesting thread, lots of perspectives and some sound advice. Here's mine - BTW I play guitar and some hand percussion (yeh, I know) and am also an occupational medicine physician.

Lawyer stuff: this isn't formal medical advice and I am not licensed in most of the states that you probably live in.

Diagnosis by an experienced physician usually isn't tough - should be easy to differentiate from a couple of other conditions described above. If you have the real deal (stenosing tenosynovitis) then it MIGHT respond to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, hand therapist (usually done by specialized Occupational Therapists), or rest (gawd, no guitar for 6 mos??? I dont think so). However this really is an anatomical problem most of the time and will probably need surgical relief if its painful and/or triggers frequently and/or really impairs your function. If it was me, I would give it a couple of months of aggressive conservative therapy then see the hand surgeon. If you are somebody who needs a lot of hand precision in your work, you might want to think about a true hand surgery specialist (check out their credentials); usually this is an orthopedic subspecialist but can be a plastic surgery subspecialist too.

This surgery is highly successful but would certainly require some recovery time. I cannot comment on the OTC joint pills. I would doubt acupuncture would work in a medium to severe case because of the condition's structural nature, but it would probably alleviate symptoms (I am receiving acupuncture for a nerve compression in my back right now -- whole other story).

Regards,
Rutger