Finger support(s)

[smaz]

Howdy folks, been a long time since I popped my head in here...

Was looking for any suggestions for finger supports (be it individual supports, gloves, whatever):

Just over 2 years ago I had a stroke (at the ripe old age of 31), and I'm still not there with bass playing - I've been having therapy recently to try to help, and one of the things they suggested was finger supports because when applying force, the top joints in my fingers (distal?) tend to collapse easily, causing problems with my fretting hand.

I've got these, which do seem to help massively, but they're quite thick which means they get in the way of playing (catching or muting strings): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compression-Breathable-Mountaineering-Basketball-Volleyball/dp/B07LCYZ45R

So looking for any suggestions on anything similar? I've tried the musicians glove, but that's not enough support.

Cheers

[Lloyd80]

Bloody hell! This is dedication !!!!  If it's only the distal joint of your fingers collapsing, have you tried tape over that joint alone? It wont stop all movement but should support it somewhat better than those neoprene supports that you linked to.

I used to do it for rugby. Plus also having treated many finger injuries sometimes the simplest method works.  You may have already tried this though! 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Lloyd80

[odysseus]

15 minutes ago, Lloyd80 said:

Bloody hell! This is dedication !!!!  If it's only the distal joint of your fingers collapsing, have you tried tape over that joint alone? It wont stop all movement but should support it somewhat better than those neoprene supports that you linked to.

I used to do it for rugby. Plus also having treated many finger injuries sometimes the simplest method works.  You may have already tried this though! 

Agreed. Electrical tape would be the first thing on my list to try.  Good luck, smaz!!

[thebrig]

Last April I severed two tendons in the back of my hand which left my hand weak and painful, particularly in the fingers, I also suffer from arthritis in both hands, so I bought a pair of Isotoner Therapeutic Compression Fingerless Gloves and I love them, they are so comfortable and slide up and down the neck beautifully, and they don't touch the strings, so no problem with unwanted muting.

I would still wear them out of choice, even if my hands improve over time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JUFG5K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Guest]

Good on you for doing what you can to keep playing smaz.

I couldn't play properly for a quite a few years due to medical reasons and I missed it a lot. 

The orthosis on the picture is made of thermoplastic tape. I really know nothing of it (and maybe it's dreadful idea and if it is I am sorry). I have only seen videos of how they are made: The tape is soft when moulded to the finger, cut to the desired shape around the finger with scissors, and hardens when it has cooled and keeps its shape. The unwanted parts looks to be easily cut off with a scissor after this.

The tape used on the picture is called Orficast, made by a company called Orfit. (I have no knowledge of this company and there may be better products of this kind). The thinnest tape I saw is 1,8 mm thick, but on the videos I've seen it looks like it is to be folded. Don't know if this is always necessary. There are videos to be found on YouTube showing how the orthosis are made (search for Orfit Industries)

The way it's been made on the picture below may be of interest to you I thought, if modified slightly to help support the distal joint better from the outside.