Playing guitar with basal joint arthritis

I'm a 61 year old who started experiencing pain at the base of my left thumb when I played barre chords. When the pain didn't go away, I went to see a doctor who tells me I have arthritis of the basal joint. Sounds like its a degenerative condition which will worsen with time and may require surgery. If anyone out there has had any experience with this condition, I'd appreciate any feedback, expecially about ability to play guitar after surgery.
Thank you,
Mike

Hi Mike... I may have the same problem, I definitely ran into the issue of pain at the base of my thumb on my left hand, sometimes after just a few minutes of playing. I only get it with playing guitar. I took a long break, then returned, and play in short sessions. Its been pretty good lately, but will see how a more vigorous practice routine goes this summer.

Hey guys,
I have the same left thumb pain. It's intermittent. I tend to get relief by messaging the thumb joint right on the pain with as much pressure as I can stand. I'm no doctor, but it works for me.
I hope you all can find relief..
Gordon

Hi. I see that this discussion has been posted for a while, but I am hoping that someone who has had the surgery will weigh in about their experience of post-surgery playing. But I will add that if surgery is not something you are willing to do, I have another suggestion...

I am a clinical laboratory scientist, so I am pipetting and manipulating test tubes, etc all day. Then at the end of the day, I was hurting so much that I didn't want to play the guitar. So I asked my MD for a Rx of diclofenac epolamine (Flector) patches. Voltaren may also work well for you. I cut the patches into pieces that will fit around my CMC joint and secure them with Coban wrap (or tape) and it helps with the pain and inflammation a lot. I can even play guitar with the hand partially wrapped.