Problems with the 5th finger

[YuanHao]

Hi everyone.

Recently, my fifth finger (on both hands, though the right one is a bit worse) hurts whenever I practice for a long time or play the keys in fortissimo, since most of the songs I'm practicing now involve hard fifth finger in both hands.

My 5th is a bit shorter than the average and thus whenever I have to make an octave, the finger is probably forced. Is it a problem with my technique, or is there a way to excercise the finger? What should I do? Thanks in advance for helping me out.

[Hmoll]

It's difficult for any of us to tell what is causing the pain without watching you play - which we obviously cannot do.
Some possibilities are: 1) Tension. is your wrist, forearm, upper arm, shoulders and torso all relaxed, and are you breathing freely as you play? 2) What is your reach. Can you reach an octave or a ninth easily? 3) Are you rotating your hand the correct way? The fifth finger should be the axis and not the thumb.

Most of all, you should discuss this with your teacher. As a rule, any pain while playing is bad.

[allchopin]

Oh i dunno- sometimes when i play its painful to my ears...

I would guess (but with not much support) that the pain is simply caused by tension/strain.  Perhaps you have not used your 5th strenuously before and you are now "working it in", or using it a lot.  Also, combined with tension when you play, it becomes tight and causes soreness.  The reason that this might be true (as opposed to an irrelevant injury to the piano) is that you said it hurts in both fingers.  The chances that you injured both fingers extraneously seems less probable than just poor tecnique.  Just keep tabs on your pinkies when youre playing.