I was experiencing some tendon pain at the base of my chording hand thumb...something which I experienced from time to time before getting serious about playing a guitar again. It seemed to rear it's ugly head now that I started playing, I'm 64. I did a search on the problem and I found this excellent site with massage exercises that basically eliminated the pain overnight. It seems most problems are from tight muscles pulling on the tendons. The muscles can can be massaged to help them relax and release. Now every time I get a twinge of pain, I take a couple minutes and massage the muscle which is putting strain on my tendon...and viola...the pain disappears within seconds! I am sure this isn't a magic bullet for everyone, but it's worth a try. Here is the site and they have 4 short videos depending on the type of pain you are experiencing. http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/wrist-pain-relief.html#Intro