right hand pain

[ant2006]

Hi all,
Was just wondering how many other people have had problems with hand pains and how it affected you.

I have been playing for about 10 months and recently started to practice a lot more, but one day after i practiced my right arm/wrist became very sore.I left piano for a week and went back when my arm felt better but after a short while it began to ache again.

Its been 2 weeks now and my arm is feelin better but i can still feel a slight difference to my left arm.

It doesnt help that I work with my hands all day which is unavoidable but playing piano now hurts after a short while even just basic things.

Any comments would be appreciated thankyou.

[faulty_damper]

Please be more specific.

Where exactly is it the pain felt?  Wrist, fingers, in the hand...

What kind of pain?  Soreness, sharp, tingling...

What exactly must you do to feel pain?  Stretching hand, contracting fingers, extending fingers...

Pain is not normal.  It usually means you are doing something wrong with the way you are using your mechanism that causes it.

[valor]

Just 10 months after you started? your probably practicing something you aren't ready for or for too long. Heres a link on the same exact problem:

 https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,26018.0.html

I injuured my hand a month ago, its a lot better now (although my wrist/forearm still cracks   ) but im still a few more weeks away from recovery, and i can't play difficult peices even then. So, how long were you practicing and what were you practicing?

By the way, you'll have to stop playing, until your hand recovers.

[amelialw]

you have been playing the piano for 10 months...what is your current repertoire? if you are playing a piece that is not suitable for you, that is what the problem is.

[ramibarniv]

1) Stop playing the piano and rest the hand.
2) Take Ibuprofen.
3) After it doesn't hurt anymore (which can take between one day and for ever, depending on the harm done), start examining what you're doing wrong.
4) For more advice, like someone said here, you need to provide more specific details of what, where and when exactly it hurts.
Best,
Rami
https://www.youtube.com/user/barniv
https://ramisrhapsody.tripod.com/

[ant2006]

First of all thankyou for the responses...much appreciated!

I think i have found the problem, it seems i was stretching my 4th and 5th fingers too much playing a particular piece, those 2 fingers went a bit numb sometimes after playingand i got a pain around my elbow.

I have stopped playing piano but cannot stop work unfortunately, hopefullt it will get better soon... its not as bad as it was a week ago.

I have some ibuprofen cream which helps.

Thanks guys at least im not alone! Seems like forever being away from the piano for a day though!

[valor]

Fingers 4 and 5 are the most fragile ones so you've got to be carefull. If playing 4-5 bothers you try to find alternative fingering. I Remember making a thread on 4-5 finger issues, heres the link:


https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,25675.0.html

Basically, in persuit of trying to increase those two fingers speed (specifically the 4th finger) i began trying to lift the 4th finger, as a sort of work out. Some guys on here told me it was unnecessary and gave me a link to a post (a very long one), it basically said excersising those fingers is unnecessary and could lead to injury (Hannon) and i could use that finger just as well as any other if i tilt my hand, or found any other way to use it. I found my 4th finger delayed whenever i tried to play quickly so i tried pressing it down while pressing another and it worked. Hope this helps

[lazlo]

Be aware of any tension in your arms/hands/wrists anywhere. Tension is bad. If you're tense you get tired much more quickly, and aching is usually an indication of it.

[jinfiesto]

the third and fourth finger are almost always interchangeable as far as fingering is concerned. Although I don't know the piece you're playing, you could try that.

[ramibarniv]

...If playing 4-5 bothers you try to find alternative fingering...

That's how Gary Graffman lost the use of his right hand.

...i began trying to lift the 4th finger, as a sort of work out...

That's how the world lost Schumann the concert pianist and gained Schumann the composer.
Best,
Rami
https://www.youtube.com/user/barniv
https://ramisrhapsody.tripod.com/

[faulty_damper]

First of all thankyou for the responses...much appreciated!

I think i have found the problem, it seems i was stretching my 4th and 5th fingers too much playing a particular piece, those 2 fingers went a bit numb sometimes after playingand i got a pain around my elbow.

I have stopped playing piano but cannot stop work unfortunately, hopefullt it will get better soon... its not as bad as it was a week ago.

I have some ibuprofen cream which helps.

Thanks guys at least im not alone! Seems like forever being away from the piano for a day though!

... ? Curious as to why you'd have pain in your elbow.  You shouldn't.  It seems like a pinched nerve which is potentially permanently damaging.  If this is the case, I would strongly recomend getting a good piano teacher because the alternative is permanent loss of use of your hands.

As with pain, it's a good sign that you haven't yet developed a tolerance for it.  DO NOT TAKE PAIN REDUCERS AS IT CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE YOU TO CONTINUE THE INJURIOUS ACTIVITIES!

Please take anything you read on these forums with a grain of salt and don't follow everything you read without using your ability to reason with them.

[ramibarniv]

... ? Curious as to why you'd have pain in your elbow.  You shouldn't.  It seems like a pinched nerve which is potentially permanently damaging.  If this is the case, I would strongly recomend getting a good piano teacher because the alternative is permanent loss of use of your hands.

As with pain, it's a good sign that you haven't yet developed a tolerance for it.  DO NOT TAKE PAIN REDUCERS AS IT CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE YOU TO CONTINUE THE INJURIOUS ACTIVITIES!

Please take anything you read on these forums with a grain of salt and don't follow everything you read without using your ability to reason with them.

Yes, with a grain of salt, including this particular advice and anyone diagnosing your pain via email and not being a doctor...
Best,
Rami
https://www.youtube.com/user/barniv
https://ramisrhapsody.tripod.com/

[ant2006]

Thanks all,

Im just stopping playing piano until it gets better, its as simple as that. Nothinh else aggrevates it even slightly as much, i can type with out too much discomfort and as im pretty sure what caused the problem i can go back and sort that out after its a lot better.

[valor]

I've, once again, injured my hand, this time my right one. Im think i know what caused it, but i wanted to make sure. It might have been from playing an F-Eb trill with my 2nd and 3rd fingers while my 5th and 4th finger were in the air and from possibly playing a run in a Haydn peice wrong, so my question is this:

Is having my fingers up in the air truly bad? and is twisting my wrist slightly when crossing my thumb over/under bad too? (i twist it so i can hit the Bb, but im sure i do it in C major too)

[jlh]

I've, once again, injured my hand, this time my right one. Im think i know what caused it, but i wanted to make sure. It might have been from playing an F-Eb trill with my 2nd and 3rd fingers while my 5th and 4th finger were in the air and from possibly playing a run in a Haydn peice wrong, so my question is this:

Is having my fingers up in the air truly bad? and is twisting my wrist slightly when crossing my thumb over/under bad too? (i twist it so i can hit the Bb, but im sure i do it in C major too)

I'm not sure what Haydn run you're talking about, but your wrist movement is probably unnecessary.

About the trill... having fingers up in the air is not bad in and of itself, although it might be symptomatic of a larger tension problem you are experiencing.  Because your 4-5 fingers are in the air, they are being held up by your tendons in your forearm, and my guess is that there is excessive tension there as a result of you trying to play the trill fast.  Since you are not as loose as you need to be (obviously) you require more tension to compensate for the lack of fluidity and sooner or later your tendons will get tired and start to ache.

Merely putting your 4-5 fingers down out of the air while you do the trill will not solve the problem, since if I'm right about it being a symptom, the tension will still be there.  You need to find the cause of the tension and a more fluid way to move your fingers.

[jlh]

First of all thankyou for the responses...much appreciated!

I think i have found the problem, it seems i was stretching my 4th and 5th fingers too much playing a particular piece, those 2 fingers went a bit numb sometimes after playingand i got a pain around my elbow.

I have stopped playing piano but cannot stop work unfortunately, hopefullt it will get better soon... its not as bad as it was a week ago.

I have some ibuprofen cream which helps.

Thanks guys at least im not alone! Seems like forever being away from the piano for a day though!

Have you been screened for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?  The numbness in those fingers is often associated with that. 

If you use your hands all day at work, you need to be ESPECIALLY careful about what you do at a piano, since by the time you start practicing, you're probably working with tired muscles and tired muscles are more prone to injury and overuse issues, especially if you're playing with added tension.

[gaest]

I hope no one minds if I jump in on this thread with my own problem...

I don't have hand pain exactly, but there is a noticeable stiffness in my joints, like they've swollen or something, and sometimes they have a very dull ache.

It began in my left hand, and I assumed was because my left hand is weak and my knuckles have a tendency to bend the wrong way if I don't pay attention.  So I stopped playing with my left hand to give it a rest, and practiced lightly with my right hand alone.

Now, though, my right hand is showing the same symptoms, and I've never had a problem with my right hand knuckles.  Now all my fingers feel tight.  I don't have any other pain, i.e. wrist or elbow, and my hands don't really hurt per se, they just feel stiff.

Should I try stretching them out, or icing them down... or should I just give them both a rest?  Are there any motions I can use to work out some of the tightness?  This is the first issue that I have ever had with my hands.  I haven't been practicing harder or longer than normal, or any differently than usual.  I've been resting my left hand for several days now, and if anything my fingers feel tighter.

And it's so hard to look at the piano and not be able to play. 

[ant2006]

Have you been screened for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?  The numbness in those fingers is often associated with that. 

If you use your hands all day at work, you need to be ESPECIALLY careful about what you do at a piano, since by the time you start practicing, you're probably working with tired muscles and tired muscles are more prone to injury and overuse issues, especially if you're playing with added tension.

No i havent been screened for carpal tunnel syndrome, i think the problem is what you said im using my hands all day at work and so have 2 be careful, so whilst im in my current job i am being, have to cut down the practice a lot.

[valor]

I hope no one minds if I jump in on this thread with my own problem...

I don't have hand pain exactly, but there is a noticeable stiffness in my joints, like they've swollen or something, and sometimes they have a very dull ache.

It began in my left hand, and I assumed was because my left hand is weak and my knuckles have a tendency to bend the wrong way if I don't pay attention.  So I stopped playing with my left hand to give it a rest, and practiced lightly with my right hand alone.

Now, though, my right hand is showing the same symptoms, and I've never had a problem with my right hand knuckles.  Now all my fingers feel tight.  I don't have any other pain, i.e. wrist or elbow, and my hands don't really hurt per se, they just feel stiff.

Should I try stretching them out, or icing them down... or should I just give them both a rest?  Are there any motions I can use to work out some of the tightness?  This is the first issue that I have ever had with my hands.  I haven't been practicing harder or longer than normal, or any differently than usual.  I've been resting my left hand for several days now, and if anything my fingers feel tighter.

And it's so hard to look at the piano and not be able to play. 

You should stop playing untill the stiffness goes away, otherwise it might get worse.

[gaest]

You should stop playing untill the stiffness goes away, otherwise it might get worse.

Yeah, I have, and it's noticeably better today, after a day of rest.  They still feel tight, though.  I wonder if there's something wrong with my hand position or if I just inadvertantly overworked them.  I do a lot of typing at work, but I always have and still have never felt any discomfort or fatigue while practicing.  Argh.