Although I'm only a hobbyist guitar player I've had my share of hand and finger pain also. I'm a graphic designer for a living and sometimes spend a stupid amount of time on a keyboard and mouse and the same type of resulting injuries occur. Because of the time I spend at the keyboard I can only really play guitar for about an hour before I start to feel pain and need to have a break or even be done for the day. Repetition is a bitch. Pebber obviously has a lot of experience with this and I'll be looking into his advice for dealing with it also. I've known people with hand and finger injuries that have gotten so bad they can't even squeeze a toothpaste tube without intense pain. I feel for anyone dealing with it because it blows goats! I hope your hands get better soon.