General Music Chat

The finger-curling issue sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome - a very simple surgery (these days) to correct.
For the peeling skin issue, seek out a dermatologist.

You DO regularly stretch your fingers before you play, don't you?

Dealing with left hand trigger finger issues myself.
Anti inflammatory medication, stretching, and hot soaks helps.

Best wishers.

Many nights I don't sleep well.
I'm not doing anything else, anyway, so while waiting for sleep, I stretch all 10 fingers.
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Jookeyman, you are right that it will take a while.
Tendons are TOUGH. They don't like to stretch so much, that's for sure.
But, a little bit every day, day after day, and you will notice a gradual improvement.
Keep stretching, but back off when you feel a lot of pain.
When I stretched with a lot of pain, I sometimes gave myself a set-back, for 2 weeks.
I'm talking through about 20 years of experience with stretching.
It's much better to feel a little pain twice a day than a lot of pain once a day.
Even better yet (for results) is stretching even gentler, FOUR times a day, with a tiny bit of pain.
The more often you stretch, the better, but only if it's gentle stretching.
Also - if it hurts your wrist to play, cut back on bar chords, or play them with just 4 strings.

BTW, in regards to the problem with not being able to make a fist . . .
I also get this problem, usually after playing a lot of fast chord changes for over 30 - 60 minutes or so.
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To fix this - first - see if you feel a 'clicking' within the finger joints, when you make a fist.
If you ever feel this: stop!
It's the joints slipping (and eventually eroding).
Immediately relax your fist open.
What causes this is a combinations of tight finger muscles and a swelling of the tissues around the joint.
You have abused your fingers, but you can easily fix this in about 10 minutes.
Start to make a fist, until just BEFORE the 'click' happens.
Your joints will feel as if they're under a lot of pressure, but it won't really hurt.
Okay, now HOLD your hand in that position: what you are doing is to squish the edema out of the joint area.
The swelling acts like a fulcrum of a lever, increasing the pressure on the joint. You don't want that joint to ever slip sideways. ( . . . click . . .)
Squeeze out the edema (swelling) and the pressure on your joints relaxes.
You may have to open and close your hand several times, but when you close it, always stop short of the spots where your joints click.
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This will restore your hand back to healthy/normal condition with 10 minutes.
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A good time to do this is when you go to bed at night; before you fall asleep.

never force your hand into a fist.