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I was referred to Dr. Lederman by Dr. Lubbers at the Hand Center in Columbus, Ohio, as I am an amateur musician of fingerstyle guitar and bluegrass banjo. I have played guitar for 50 years, and played bluegrass banjo for about 10 years, until I found that I could no longer play due to my index finger and thumb of my right hand curling in to my palm and “cramping” my hand. In the last ten years, I discovered focal hand dystonia and some professional musicians who I have listened to (Liona Boyd, classical guitarist; Tom Adams, bluegrass banjo; Billy McLaughlin, fingerstyle guitarist) who have this disease and had to stop playing their instrument due to dystonia.
I am interested in getting evaluated to see if there might be any treatment to eliminate or at least reduce the effect of the disease, so I could once again play the banjo. I have turned to bluegrass “flatpicking” on the guitar as something that I can still do, as the dystonia does not effect my left hand “fretting” and eliminates the problem on my right hand, as I am no longer fingerpicking. I will be calling to see if I can get an appointment with Dr. Lederman soon. Thanks.