I just posted this in another forum recently, but here goes . . .
I've dealt with ligament pain in my left arm for years and until recently only found relief when I both utilized painkillers AND put the guitar away for a few days.
Now, and I'm still a little uncomfortable saying this, I'm using a magnetic bracelet and believe it or not it has completely eliminated the problem.
A few months ago I would have completely scoffed at such an assertion, but that's not so much the case now. My wife was ordering a magnetic necklace and asked if I wanted to have the free bracelet that came with it. I had thought the whole magnet therapy thing was total bunk, but in an attempt to be "open-minded" I said "sure I'll give it a shot."
Well . . . to my utter surpise the thing seems to really work. I haven't had any pain at all, nothing. And if anything, I've been more active (using my laptop at work and for a class I'm taking, and playing my guitar quite a bit).
So . . . while I'm still not 100% comfortable saying this: you should definitely try some kind of magnetic bracelet. I'll even recommend a company called Ace Magnetics (
http://www.acemagnetics.com) as their prices are the most reasonable I've seen and their customer service is top-notch.
-Chris