Arthritis, middle finger, left hand...

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Something went wrong over the winter. At age 63 I now have what I believe to be arthritis in the middle joint of my middle finger. The finger often feels still and swollen but it only takes a couple of rounds of golf to really inflame it. Then I can not get the tip of the finger to reach even 1/2 the way to touching the palm. I know I will have to go to Dr. soon but does anyone have a experience with the same symptoms? I normally play well over 100 rounds a year in our short NorthEast season so this is a disaster for me. Are there meds, exercises, treatments, or grips that will actually help? The generic Aleve meds are not helping. I try icing after a rounds but so far I see very minimal effect. I'm considering the 'fat' grips but hate to waste $75 or so to re-grip only to find out it does not help or makes my game worse. What about changing my hand grip... less finger wrap, more in the palm?  the snow is almost gone here so I'll soon have to make a decision... or play once a week golf

thanks.

[retexan599]

I have arthritis in several fingers of both hands and went to oversized grips about 4 years ago.  Mine are Winn Master Wrap Excel RF Oversize +1/8” Weather Black.  These are very soft and feel good. I also use a reverse overlap grip to accommodate the fingers, and gloves on both hands.  Once you get calibrated to all that, they work very well for me.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Does your reverse overlap resemble the putting grip?

All of the right hand fingers on the club...

Two fingers from left hand overlapped...?

Or do you overlap 3 fingers...

the 3 finger overlap would get my sore middle finger off the handle?

If I go to the simulator tomorrow I will experiment...

Do you think it will work without going to the thicker, softer grips ??

I might try ten finger grip as well...

Thanks for the suggestion...

I am really concerned this is going to greatly limit my play this year...

After a couple of rounds I can barely tie my shoes...

[retexan599]

Originally Posted by cape cod beachfront golfer

Does your reverse overlap resemble the putting grip?

All of the right hand fingers on the club...

Two fingers from left hand overlapped...?

Or do you overlap 3 fingers...

the 3 finger overlap would get my sore middle finger off the handle?

If I go to the simulator tomorrow I will experiment...

Do you think it will work without going to the thicker, softer grips ??

I might try ten finger grip as well...

Thanks for the suggestion...

I am really concerned this is going to greatly limit my play this year...

After a couple of rounds I can barely tie my shoes...

Sorry you (and I) have this problem. I use the same reverse overlap for all clubs including my putter. All the right hand fingers are on the club.  The forefinger of my left hand sits snugly between the third and fourth finger of my right hand.  No interlocking, as knuckles are way too enlarged to fit together.  I found the oversized grips to be essential as I too cannot make a closed fist with either hand and the regular grips required too much closure/pressue.  Couple of other things: I switched to graphite shafts some years back to lessen the shock to my hands when striking the ball.  I do not try to take a divot as that would also cause shock.  The only clubs with steel shafts are my sand wedge and putter.  At about hole #5, I take one tylenol for discomfort plus one ibuprofen to reduce swelling.  I allow at least one day, usually two days between rounds to let my hands calm down.

Some years back (15+) I had some treatments where the doctor deliberately minipulated my fingers (under anesthesia) to move the joints beyond their normal range of motion, in order to try to provide more range.  This was followed by hot wax treatments (which really felt good).  This definitely helped for a few years.  I have thought about repeating the treatment, but decided to just live with it.  I have x-rays taken at the time in which the knuckles are a white splash, indicating no cartilage left, just bone.  Rather ugly looking x-ray.  A doctor once told me that I was probably lucky, because osteoarthritis usually only attacks one part of the body and I 'drew the hand card', meaning that I was unlikely to get osteo elsewhere.

Hope any of this helps.  I do get to play golf probably twice a week, usually feeling like I have found a reasonable solution to that issue.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I already made the switch to graphite shafts 8 or so years ago. I did try one of the soft non-tapered grips last year (before my hand problem) but at the time did not like it because I found myself squeezing and unsqueezing the grip... kind of like a cat kneading. Did you find a glove helped or hurt? I ask because I am breaking in a Bionic glove and the added padding in the palm is one of the things I think could be switching my grip pressure to my knuckle. The arthritis in the knuckle seems to have come on so suddenly... is this common? Right now 2 rounds of back to back golf usually needs 4 or more days off to get some of the flexibilty back in the joint. When I rub the joint it feels like someone wound a couple of extra rolls of tape around it... same shape just enlarged. Strangely no one particular spot that is painful. More of a constant ache and stiff/swollen feeling when it is inflamed.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I tried what I believe to be the reverse overlap grip...

The jury is still out on whether or not it helped my arthritic knuckle.

I would say it did help some...

However it must take some time to get use to the grip...

Instead of the knuckle pain I was now 'pinching' my little finger on R hand.

And not a small pinch but a real hurtful pinch but not all the time...

I played 18 holes on the simulator but by the backnine I had gone back to reg grip.

I will try it again however. It actually started feeling normal after only 4 or 5 shots.

But not knowing when I was going to get a painful  'pinch' made me overly cautious.

Full swings with driver and 3 woods were most likely to pinch...

Inside so there was no way to try a full sand shot swing...

but I did like the less wristy feel for chipping and pitching upclose...

Still cold here so no outside golf for another week... maybe 2 weeks.

[Busmangolfer]

The arthritis in my fingers on my left hand make it almost impossible to play. I am struggling keeping the club face from turning as I make contact with the ball or ground.  Because of the lack of trust in my left hand part of the grip I find I am gripping even harder with my right hand that causes a jerk to the left.  Any thoughts?  I know the topic is older but as people get older and live to play longer this topic will continue to be pertinent.  Thanks

[dennyjones]

50 minutes ago, Busmangolfer said:

The arthritis in my fingers on my left hand make it almost impossible to play. I am struggling keeping the club face from turning as I make contact with the ball or ground.  Because of the lack of trust in my left hand part of the grip I find I am gripping even harder with my right hand that causes a jerk to the left.  Any thoughts?  I know the topic is older but as people get older and live to play longer this topic will continue to be pertinent.  Thanks

Welcome to TST.   We're glad you've joined.   Ya, this topic is old but still relevant.    Occasionally, I have arthritis in my fingers and wonder if I'll have an issue later in life. 

What type of grip do you use?  Overlapping, Interlocking or baseball grip?   I started with an interlocking grip, but my fingers cramped and it was painful to grip the club tight enough.   I switch to an overlapping grip and it feels much better.   If the time comes that this grip hurts, I'll have no issue using a baseball grip.

Have you tried a larger grip?   It is reported that people with arthritis find some relief using a larger grip.