Not sure which hand is afflicted (both?) but have you thought about playing slide? You don't have to grip the neck as much, and once you're tuned to the open chord, your fingers on your chording hand are pretty much done. Plus, your other hand is picking, not plucking.

Just a thought.

TT

Had a ganglion cyst on the top of my right wrist "aspirated" with the largest bore needle I ever hope to see stickin' out of me. The fluid in the cyst was really more like a thick, clear gel. However, it was successfully dealt with, without the stress of surgery, no scar, and it never came back!

Cyst used to keep me from plucking and since I'm Brazilian and don't use a pick, I was afraid it would affect my playing for life. Now I play almost every day, no discomfort, no pain.

Don't know if this would work for you, but thought I would share the experience.

Good luck and good health to you!

Eliana

I don't know what ganglion cyst is however I'll offer this ( entirely ancedotal information) about tendonitis and carpal tunnel.

Years ago these things were non existant. Yer repetitive stress was the only way anything got done. This was true from cotton picking to vegatable harvesting to machine ship tool operation to typing - to well - you name it - it was all repetitive stress and the work was always much more physically difficult than it is today.

We haven't evolved into a creature that is more suseptable to these ailments instead we pre-dispose outselves to them because we are so physically weak. Even the super huge body builder of today wouldn't stand a prayer in a contest against the old fashioned farm hand so long as it wasn't simply lifting a bar bell. The farm hand would have had more thourough all over body development of deeper redder stronger muscle tissue that would out run, out work, and out last the body builder any day, all day.

I had carpal tunnel so bad that I couldn't move my wrists or make a fist. I did this to myself.
I got a squeezie ball and gently slowley over a period of months tweaked my muscles back into shape. The carpal tunnel went away and never came back.
One thing I did not do was squeeze the ball hard. I was very gentle but constant all day tweaking that squeezie ball. I went through two of 'em.

I suggest that possibly picking ut the guitar may be too much stress and merely serve to make things worse and that first you might try and build up your muscle tissue over a period of months and then see about that fretboard.

Have you thought about doing the bible thump on it?

I had one years ago, had cortazone shot in it, and they tried to lance it, but it kept coming back. One night I got good a drunk, and well decided I had enough of it, and just kept smacking my wrist aganist a wall until it was no more. i

t did hurt like hell for about an hour, but I have had no problem since then.

just a thought.