captainhook -- You haven't changed your lateral finger pitch, have you.  Lateral is primarily for comfort on the fingers, I usually use 1/4 left on the middle finger and 5/8 right on the ring finger, but variations in this same area should be OK.  If you have irritated your joints, you may have to lay off for a while to let them heal.  Do you bowl during the summer - if so, you might want to try golf this summer instead.  If you are going to bowl, try having a ball drilled with 3/4 reverse on each finger (overkill) and use it exclusively.  You will have to adjust your thumb pitch and/or your spans, it would be good to set the layout up on an adjustable measuring ball such as a Jayhawk so you can see how it feels before drilling it.  --  JohnP