Tendinitis, Dystonia, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

[lost_child]

Does anyone know about these type of injuries? Maybe how's its' hurt our hands? Or the solutions?

My forehands is hurt twice and have a long-term effect... My muscle is hurt when I try to playing piano.. Usually the fourth fingers.. The pain is from the palm hand..

Help me pls... Thanks.

[Karli]

Most pianistic injuries stem from tension in massively repeated motions and/or misalignment of the joints in repeated motions.  Tension can be extremely tricky to recognize because we become so used to it that it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between when we have it and when we don't -- helping a person to become aware of this is one area that a teacher can be invaluable to the student.

Injuries caused by tension and misalignment are often "solved" by correcting the tension and/or the alignment issues (also another area that a teacher can be invaluable to the student).

Big tensions often originate in areas of our apparatus that we aren't aware of as being used to play the piano, and stem out to our hands and arms (the things most people acknowledge as the playing apparatus (though some people think only of the fingers and maybe not even the hands  !)).  To begin with, addressing tension at the hand and arm level, and even the shoulder, neck and back level are just not enough.  The hips and abdomen must be taken into consideration as well.  Tension can be in big areas that support the rest of our inner-workings, and then it can be microcosmic, too (like between two fingers).  All of this kind of tension can be reversed and many of the problems that come with it can disappear as the proper use of our body is established !

Most of what I said won't necessarily mean that much to you and my actual recommendation is that you find a knowledgeable teacher to help you on these matters.  My main point in writing what I have is to help you realize that you can do some investigation on these matters within your own body while you sit at the piano (try just sitting without even playing). 

You may want to read Thomas Mark's book, What every pianist needs to know about the body.  Also, you may like to look into finding a teacher who is trained in techniques designed to help people recover from injuries caused by tension and misalignment.  The Alexander technique and Taubman institute are both designed around tension-free body use and can be very helpful.

Hope that helps !
Karli

[pianowolfi]

Does anyone know about these type of injuries? Maybe how's its' hurt our hands? Or the solutions?

My forehands is hurt twice and have a long-term effect... My muscle is hurt when I try to playing piano.. Usually the fourth fingers.. The pain is from the palm hand..

Help me pls... Thanks.

You are mentioning three completely different syndromes that can have totally different causes. First of all, what happened to your forehand? Was it an accident/injury or does it come from excessive/tense piano playing?

I am dealing with Dystonia since two years. This is a neurological syndrome, caused by repetitive motions and influenced by psychological factors. The fingers start to move of their own and acting weird, cramping or curling. As far as I know the representations of the fingers in the motoric center of the brain grow too much so they overlap each other. So the brain confuses the fingers and sends commands to the wrong places.

I have changed my concert life because of this. First I cancelled all concerts for a while, now I only play very rarely and focus on my main goals. I am learning to deal better with stress or avoid it. I can for sure say that in my case this syndrome had to do with the fact that I did too many different things, and not enough things that belong to my actual intentions as a performer. Our apparatus (including our brain and mind) is precious and needs to be treated with most possible care.

[slobone]

If you're experiencing actual pain, stop immediately. Don't touch the piano until you've seen a doctor. A sports medicine clinic, if you have one where you live, might be helpful. Otherwise consult an orthopedic specialist.

A good teacher will show you how to play in a way that minimizes the possibility of injury. But if you've already been injured, I would say only maybe one teacher in a thousand would know enough to help you fix the problem. A physical therapist is a better bet.

[dan101]

Most of my colleagues that have experienced these syndromes complain of severe sharp pains suddenly appear with a specific movement.

If this is an ongoing problem (months), I would see a doctor, who may or may or recommed a specialist. Tendinitis is often effectively relieved through therapy, involving electric impulses. As for carpal tunnel, some of my afflicted friends had it removed surgically.

Good luck.

[indutrial]

I'm a guitarist and I caught the early warning signs of carpal tunnel when I got a tingling sensation at work from typing too much. I'm pretty sure it wasn't even 100% music-related because, at the time, I was working as an office clerk and typing a balls-load of bullcrap each day. The doctor prescribed rest as the only "real" fixer-upper, but it didn't hurt to get one of those "natural" keyboards and a freezer-pack cast that wraps around the wrist to put on while you watch TV or otherwise not practice. A couple days off the instrument is actually a huge help also.

[slobone]

I was getting numbness in my right hand -- just last week actually. So I dropped my Hanon/scales/arpeggio regimen to every other day. In between I just work on pieces. So far so good.