Piano Forum
Piano Board => Student's Corner => Topic started by: faa2010 on June 30, 2018, 04:00:20 PM
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Around May 19, my index finger started to involuntary twitch, but it was just that day.
However it became more chronical since June 13 when I got under pressure for a recital. The recital was Last Sunday, but since June 13 till now, my index is still twitching. This week it got lower, but today when I wake up, it increased again.
I don't Know what to do, I have already went to get ultrasound massage, to a general doctor who told me it wasn't related to the brain nerves or a syndrome, that it is just fatigue, muscle contraction and a nerve muscular issue, which I want to believe, and gave me some medicine.
In fact, this night I didn't sleep well, I woke up with some tensions on the right side of my back, which the massagist told me it could be the cause.
Who could give me a more accurate diagnosis?, I just hope it isn't something like the beginning of Parkinson, carpal tunnel or something more related to the main side of the nervous system.
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Your physician has already provided you the information that you need. If the finger twitching would have been a sign of Parkinson’s or carpal tunnel syndrome, you would have been referred to a neurologist. If the medication is not effective for you, make another appointment with your physician. Continuing with massage therapy for muscular tension would do no harm
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It seems to be related to your practicing a lot which usually is a sign of too much pressure. Maybe it's time to review your practice habits. I would not rely on doctors only, most have little understanding on musicians RSI issues.
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Valentina Lisitsa seems to have this on several videos I see from her.
Especially on this one :
In the comments, someone suggested that she was exhausted after several performances ...
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Anything involuntary is always a concern. I have had twitches occasionally, and they invariably coincided with lapses in my general health and fitness. Therefore, if I were you, I should examine closely my rest, exercise and diet. Excessive coffee or alcohol intake seems to provoke nervous reactions in some people.
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Thanks everyone, this is the first time it happens me.
However, I have played less, I have followed the doctor's orders, but I am starting to feel insecure about it because it hasn't dissappeared at all.
What I can tell is that the twitching appears when I am awake. I am thinking in going with a neurologist just to make sure it isn't something related to the brain.
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Have you discussed this with your piano teacher? And most importantly, has anyone reviewed your playing technique and if it's healthy? If the finger issue is caused by playing there's probably something that needs to be changed.
And it will keep coming back even after rest/treatment, if the cause is not addressed. And if it's related to nerves it will take longer and longer breaks to heal.
Also, do you use the computer mouse with your right hand? The combination of computer use/practicing may cause such problems as well.
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Also, do you use the computer mouse with your right hand? The combination of computer use/practicing may cause such problems as well.
Excellent suggestion. Try using your other hand for the mouse and see what happens, can't do any harm.
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Where are you and what is the weather where you are?
Prolonged heat can cause sweating which causes potassium deficiency, which causes painful involuntary twitching. Simple dehydration can do the same. I had it in my legs last week, as did my 78 year old friend who mows her yard. It was 94 F last weekend, with heat index well over 100. I ride a bike 75 miles a week, so a little casual walking around usually is not enough to do it. My bout was rather painful.
This condition is why "gatoraide" was invented, by U Florida coaches. Now the product has more sugar and less potassium however, to boost sales. Instead I use light salt (50% KCl) on my food when I get the symptom in hot conditions. Don't overdo the potassium, it is poisonous when taken to excess. I just use about two shakes of the dispenser one meal a day.
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I had this issue in 2013. I was under stress and my fingers started to twitch for days, I thought I had a neurological but obviously I came clear. You say it only twitches when you are awake, that is because you are constantly thinking about it and the brain triggers it. Stop thinking about it and it will go away.
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And, of course, depending upon how bad traffic is where you live during the fair weather months, it may be overused for other reasons...
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I went Last week with the neurologist, she told me it wasn't related to the brain physiologically. I went with my therapist, he told me That I am through chronic stress. After talking to him, my twitching got lower.
But today, my twitching increased after a practice. I am thinking about going again with the therapist if the twitching is not gone at all.
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I went Last week with the neurologist, she told me it wasn't related to the brain physiologically. I went with my therapist, he told me That I am through chronic stress. After talking to him, my twitching got lower.
But today, my twitching increased after a practice. I am thinking about going again with the therapist if the twitching is not gone at all.
I think you need help from an expert in piano playing more than medical help. Maybe a better teacher too, seems like you are not getting much help from the one you have now...
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I think you need help from an expert in piano playing more than medical help. Maybe a better teacher too, seems like you are not getting much help from the one you have now...
You know, maybe you are right, I need an expert in piano playing to check my playing technique. Of course, before that, I have to talk to my current teacher about the problem, I haven't talked to her about it. When school started, which was in August, the twitching increased, not sure if it was because of stress or anxiety issues or because I am doing something wrong while I play the piano.
I am also not sure if the pieces I am playing are related to the issue:
Czerny op 299 no 3 (In Auditions you can hear my progress, which as some point out, it wasn't too much progress)
Bach Sinfonia 2
Mozart Sonata kv 310 1st and second movement
Chopin Nocturne op 48 no 1
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If you try to practice those pieces to tempo repetitively and don't have efficient and (relatively) relaxed technique and have small hands also I am not surprised that you get physical issues. From your posts I get the impression that your teacher pushes you to practice pieces that are more advanced than the previous ones, but does not really give you much help or tools to work on the difficulties. You also have some mental stress because you are serious about being a better pianist and invested a lot into this. Am I wrong?
In a way it should also be the teacher's responsibility to keep the challenges manageable, look for dangerous tension and also help to provide practice tactics to tackle the technical problems encountered. I listened to the Czerny and the first thing I noticed is the irregular pulse. While the reason may be mental insecurity or lack of finger coordination, playing faster should not be something to worry at this point. The teacher should address something like this immediately. And if it's a new piece, you should go over it with the teacher in the early stages BEFORE starting to drill it through. To me it seems like you are studying at a level where basics should already be set and musical issues and specific new techniques can be at main focus. But you do have some problems with the basics and the teacher does not know what to do about it...or does not care.
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My twitching dissapeared a month ago.
Causes: anxiety, bad sitting posture not only when I am playing piano, and a nerve compressed.
Treatment: Meditation, fisiotherapy, apply of heat and exercises like swimming.