coldcoffeeandcocacola said:

Judith I believe said he was on pain meds for his hands. I assume perhaps arthritis or RPI from years of dexterity on his instruments. If he didn't take his pills he'd have to to give up playing. So the pills became both a pain relief and a way to hold on to his life and career. I try not to read about his maladies and end of life as it makes me sad but it certainly made the departure of sanity in getting any old pills in so much more understandable. I suppose my question is how long had he been struggling and at what point does career really win out over pain? None of us will ever know but it's made me really reflect on the pressure we are put under to perform in any arena when we aren't feeling good in ourselves. I feel sad for prince today. [Edited 4/7/21 2:04am]

I understand your sentiments and feel the same way. He was on that treadmill of 'the show must go on' and not able to get off. I think of the music college he wanted to duild next to PP, with visiting musicians to lecture and himself to teach. He loved teaching and helping others to achieve. What a terrible loss we have experienced.

If that's true, which could very well be, sometimes watching him play guitar in some videos, particularly a solo or a phrase, he let's go of the fret board and does a very quick shake or stretch of his left hand and gets back on the fret board. I've seen him do it often and wondered if that was an issue he had with his hands.

margi said:

I understand your sentiments and feel the same way. He was on that treadmill of 'the show must go on' and not able to get off. I think of the music college he wanted to duild next to PP, with visiting musicians to lecture and himself to teach. He loved teaching and helping others to achieve. What a terrible loss we have experienced.

Good spot, easily forgotten. This maybe was a sign he had exhausted the musical well - creatively - being so prolific and covering as much ground as he did. If the music college was meant to be part of his legacy then why not still build it, if such a project could fund itself, not just through money from the PP tours?

It's debatable how much pain he was in or how long he had been taking things. I think P was quite like Michael jackson in one respect, in that he hated the idea of not being at his best. (MJ didn't want to die old, allegedly). But whether becoming a teacher, or hosting other musicians to do likewise would have sustained him fulfilment-wise long term is another unknown quantity.

His hands were being over-used due to the concentrated rehearsals he did for the P&M tour, where he could sit down as much as possible. He had worn that body out over 38 years of performances, mostly energetic. Splits will ruin the hips, high heels ruin the ankles. We know he had surgical scars (left hip, lower right leg).
He was slight with a very small bone structure; no matter what photo you see of him, remember the adage that the camera adds ten pounds. Now watch "The Same December" video.

He told Dan Piepenbring that he wanted to write and not play the guitar, but couldn't resist jumping onstage at Chanhassen Dinner Theaters before he died. And handwriting, more than typing, puts as much strain on your hands.

I know what my hands and legs feel like and I'm no performer.

Thank you, Prince. You loved to perform for us and we loved you for doing so..

[Edited 4/7/21 8:30am]

LMAO ...who gets prescriptions filled for Dr. Scholl's? ...the man was at Walgreens getting prescriptions filled... not because his feet stank

I think the idea the splts and stage shows did him in is overblown. Arthiritic pain hits us all, and genetics have a lot to do with it. He played basketball, he rehearsed all day and all night long, he traveled a lot, he wore heels, any of those things alone would have been enough to contribute. He had weird eating habits, he kept an abnormal sleep schedule... all of that contributes.

Like the commercial says "a body in motion, stays in motion", which is likely one reason why he was riding the bicycle around.

It can hit you at any age.

and if you cant see into his soul, how can you say he felt great??...and he did not look great...he looked gaunt, sickly and emaciated...and VERY tired

RJOrion said:

LMAO ...who gets prescriptions filled for Dr. Scholl's? ...the man was at Walgreens getting prescriptions filled... not because his feet stank

They do make perscription foot pads, but I've never heard Walgreens filling those.

Dr. Scholl's and other orthopedic pads and insoles shouldn't be dismissed as odor eaters.

lavendardrummachine said:

RJOrion said:

LMAO ...who gets prescriptions filled for Dr. Scholl's? ...the man was at Walgreens getting prescriptions filled... not because his feet stank

They do make perscription foot pads, but I've never heard Walgreens filling those.

Dr. Scholl's and other orthopedic pads and insoles shouldn't be dismissed as odor eaters.

youre right...they do not fill orthopedic pad presccriptions.. you have to fill those at medical supply stores... i know because my father has to use them

My hands would hurt too if I banged the piano for 4 hours a night (2 shows)

Don't need opiates for that, just some ice, elevation and Advil.

RJOrion said:

youre right...they do not fill orthopedic pad presccriptions.. you have to fill those at medical supply stores... i know because my father has to use them

It's not just an old folks thing though. Poor quality shoes, or anyone with an athletic stress injury ned them. Countless athletes are using them. They can help with knee, hip and back pain. People usually buy the Walgreens ones if they're desperate as a temporary substitute or don't normally wear them but want to try.

Margot said:

My hands would hurt too if I banged the piano for 4 hours a night (2 shows)

Don't need opiates for that, just some ice, elevation and Advil.

Well I can tell you that without proper technique (of which I did have and was taught), it can lead to a lot of harm. I'm a piano player who went to Berklee and I learned the hard way that if you don't learn how to sit at a piano and move your fingers and hands properly, it will lead to problems down the road. It's the smae with any instrument.

I'm not saying that Prince had those problems but Aleve will not fix the problems - any pill only keeps the pain at bay and doesn't address the real problem. The Western world has been a pop-a-pill culture for way too long.

lavendardrummachine said:

RJOrion said:

youre right...they do not fill orthopedic pad presccriptions.. you have to fill those at medical supply stores... i know because my father has to use them

It's not just an old folks thing though. Poor quality shoes, or anyone with an athletic stress injury ned them. Countless athletes are using them. They can help with knee, hip and back pain. People usually buy the Walgreens ones if they're desperate as a temporary substitute or don't normally wear them but want to try.

oh, i know...its just that Prince was reported by several outlets, and even store witnesses, to be filling a prescriptions there, not just buying off the shelf Dr. Scholl's inserts...

Milty2 said:

Margot said:

My hands would hurt too if I banged the piano for 4 hours a night (2 shows)

Don't need opiates for that, just some ice, elevation and Advil.

Well I can tell you that without proper technique (of which I did have and was taught), it can lead to a lot of harm. I'm a piano player who went to Berklee and I learned the hard way that if you don't learn how to sit at a piano and move your fingers and hands properly, it will lead to problems down the road. It's the smae with any instrument.

I'm not saying that Prince had those problems but Aleve will not fix the problems - any pill only keeps the pain at bay and doesn't address the real problem. The Western world has been a pop-a-pill culture for way too long.

I agree. I'm a nurse and feel that Prince and others over-used opiates for conditions that can be treated w/less which is why I mentioned Aleve.

Personally, I think he was someone who was too impatient to learn proper technique and had a 'show-must-go-on' sensibility. I really don't think he wanted too many constraints and that included

sleep, easing on the opiates, etc.

laytonian said:

His hands were being over-used due to the concentrated rehearsals he did for the P&M tour, where he could sit down as much as possible. He had worn that body out over 38 years of performances, mostly energetic. Splits will ruin the hips, high heels ruin the ankles. We know he had surgical scars (left hip, lower right leg).
He was slight with a very small bone structure; no matter what photo you see of him, remember the adage that the camera adds ten pounds. Now watch "The Same December" video.

He told Dan Piepenbring that he wanted to write and not play the guitar, but couldn't resist jumping onstage at Chanhassen Dinner Theaters before he died. And handwriting, more than typing, puts as much strain on your hands.

I know what my hands and legs feel like and I'm no performer.

Thank you, Prince. You loved to perform for us and we loved you for doing so..

[Edited 4/7/21 8:30am]

During one of the P&M shows at Sydney he appears to be having problems with his left hand, and lowers it momentarily, as if to rest it.

Everyone gets old. By our mid fifties we will all start to feel the toll of a lifetime of activity or inactivity.

No one, no matter how rich or famous can avoid it.

Remember his "arm bands" sparkeled had fringe sometimes. These seem to me as remedies for injuries to his body. His hands had to be in pain after years of playing keyboards and guitars. In order to play at the level he was used to, Prince used the drugs to allow him to continue to work.

v10letblues said:

Everyone gets old. By our mid fifties we will all start to feel the toll of a lifetime of activity or inactivity.

No one, no matter how rich or famous can avoid it.

I don't agree with that statement . Many people in their mid-50's feel great; no aches or pains.

It depends on how you've lived.

Of course Prince and serious athletes can have traumatic arthritis.

I think there is a tendency among Prince fans to glamorize and mythologize Prince's need for drugs (opiates) in order to keep playing and performing.

There are a number of professions which induce wrist/hand pain (carpal tunnel syndrome) from

repetitive use; beauticians, typists, surgeons, seamstresses, etc. It does not mean these people need

opiates to continue with their work. Anti-inflammatories, rest, ice, elevation are the treatment.

There are many piano players who practice for 6-7 hours a day and do not use opiates, guitar players as well.

Yes, Prince jumped off risers and did a lot of splits but he likely needed hip surgery, not opiates.

As a nurse, this mythologizing drives me nuts.

I dread to think the level of pain he had even from a young age. Rumours strated from Purple Rain tour onwards I think?

I suspect the much hated sampler sets were a neat way for him to just rest up mid-gig.

When you look at the tour schedules he put upon himself in the 2000's until his passing it was simply relentless.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

I dread to think the level of pain he had even from a young age. Rumours strated from Purple Rain tour onwards I think?

I suspect the much hated sampler sets were a neat way for him to just rest up mid-gig.

When you look at the tour schedules he put upon himself in the 2000's until his passing it was simply relentless.

He toured for 3 months most of the time,

Level of pain @ a young age? If something causes pain, stop.

He was a rich man w/complete control.

Mythologizing.

We need to stop treating him as a martyr.

[Edited 4/7/21 18:12pm]

RJOrion said:

heartpeacesheart said:

I don't believe the splits and piano jumps did anything bad to him. It looks like it's done so fast the body doesn't have time to resist. Ya never heard anything about James Brown having hip issues. just saying.

Googling James Brown says otherwise (even though I agree it wasn't the splits alone with Prince).

lavendardrummachine said:

lavendardrummachine said:

heartpeacesheart said:

Has anyone ever worn Dr Scholl's brand shoes though? The padded sandals are heaven. The clogs were a death trap though even though the shape made sense. I'm not talking about odor eaters or in soles, I'm talking about real deal foot support products no prescription necessary.

I've tried Dr. Scholl's insoles, and they nearly crippled me. Not my brand of choice. If Prince wasn't in pain before them he would have been after.