Lack of strength in my Thumb

[Rizo]

Hello everybody, in the last few days I've been having this condition where I lost strength in the thumb of my right (strong) hand while I'm drawing. I haven't got this in over 10 years (when it dissapeared the same way it appeared). But right now I'm a full time concept artist so I have to take care of my hand for real now.
Besides this there is no pain anywhere nearby the hand or wrist, is just that I cant press the pen against the wacom for really dark lines. I've been checking the carpal tunel posts in the forum but it doesn't seems the same since I don't have any pain....
Does anybody have any ideas?
Cesar

[Mock]

Almost any illness/injury can manifest in different ways, and thumb weakness is one of the signs of carpal tunnel. Even though there isn't pain, it's still a possibility. However, it could also be an effect of arthritis of the joint.

Go see a doctor. If it is something serious, not having it looked at and taken care of could result in irreversible muscle or nerve damage.

[stoph]

yeh i second carpal tunnel. i saw a medical show on tv a while back with an elderly lady who had very little gripping power and had a hard time with her digit flexibility/dexterity. the problem was the swelling of her tendons within their shafts, causing friction and discomfort (not sure that it was pain, just annoying more than anything), as well as the obvious lack of mobility. docs cut a keyhole, cut a few other things, and she was immediately able to do things she wasnt able for like 20 years. i'd imagine thats the most likely culprit. go see the docs ;)

[M.C.Barrett]

I was in a motorcycle accident last spring, ended up with both hands pretty badly bruised and a lot of joint pain and stiffness, especially in my left thumb. The lack of mobility caused my thumb's muscles to atrophy and weaken. While I still don't have 100% full range of motion back (probably scar tissue in the joints or tendons or somesuch), I did get the full strength back by exercising with one of those little tough latex balloons filled with sand. I fidgeted with it any chance I got, pressing my thumb in at various angles and from side to side, basically anything that would tire out all the muscles I could find. If your problem is simply weakness/lack of exercise, then that should do the trick.

[Rizo]

Hey guys, well I went to the doctor on monday, the guy made some test and it seems that my thumb is too tired, so I have to stop the drawing in my spare time, life drawing sessions, xbox etc until it gets back to normal.
In the meantime, I adjusted the preasure sencitivity of the tablet so I don't have to use a lot of strentgh while I draw.
Thanks to everybody that took their time to give me some advices :D