Finally got a chance to look the book up -- you may be able to borrow it depending on your library's inter-library loan situation.  I got the title slightly wrong <Gasp!>  It should be Caring for the Painful Thumb by Jan Albrecht & if you go to Amazon it's 35.99!  You see why I recommend borrowing it if possible?

I have a few exercises I do when my thumbs get sore & so far haven't needed more.  My time in therapy is due to breaking my wrist 2 years in a row, so I try for every other day on that & my thumbs as needed.

 

This topic remains important & I recommend prowling for Care of the Painful Thumb.  Occupational Therapists recommend it.  Just having a few exercises to strengthen the muscles involved can really help.  I was also told women have naturally weaker thumbs.  I find exercise when mine hurt help.

Not sure if tart cherries & its juice truly help, but it's delicious & I know somebody who swears by it for arthritis.

Apologies for bringing up so late, but it is a problem that hits many.

Glad you are feeling better.............

If you find anyone doing those body transplants let me know. I've been looking for those for awhile now and having not much luck.

A neighbor had this done a number of years ago due to his hands becoming quite dysfunctional.  As I recall he once told me that the recovery was difficult and not much of a picnic.  Perhaps his surgery was more involved than most, however he did end up having a number of proceedures including one where a bone from his big toe was used in one or both his thumbs. 

I have a number of large Bansuri flutes that cause me great difficult for a similar reason.  When I looked at alternative issues a master player told me that he had similar problems and found that soaking his hands in a parafin bath helped a great deal to keep the inflammation down to a minimum.  Perhaps something like that would help.

 

I fully agree that surgery should be the last of the last possible considerations, and that you should try a variety of other healing modalities for quite some time before letting anyone cut you for any reason.  I've seen acupressure, acupuncture, salves, exercises, and other things work "wonders" on things of similar nature.

As a general principle, I would try whatever non-irreversible techniques you can before committing to surgery.. A few months ago I developed pain st the base if my left thumb (I am also a guitar player and this frightened me). Somewhat against all my scientific training I bought a heavy copper bracelet with magnets and have worn it 24/7 since. The pain and stiffness have disappeared. Could be coincidence but my GP said he‘d seen it work for others.
I have also had amazing results for back issues arising from an old injury from a McTimoney chiropractor (not a regular chiropractor) and this would be another consideration.
This is only my experience and I am not giving advice. But for $10 I am very glad I tried the bracelet. And it looks cool! I can send you the link if you like.

Hi. I can't answer any of your questions, but being a guitar player myself, you might want to pose this question over on the Acoustic Guitar Forum, if you don't get enough feedback here. They have a big following and are usually quite helpful with questions like this.