how common is piano injury??

[etcetra]

Lately I realized that there are a lot of people who seems to have some sort of injury from playing the piano. I was shocked because almost everyone who talked to that were serious students (practiced 4hrs+) had some sort of injury before, and most teachers I met admits that they have had problems at one point in their lives. 

I read somewhere that about half of the proffesional musicians have some kind injury from playing their instrument.  Do you think that number is accurate?  I just can't understand why so many college students training to be proffesoinals are having so much problem considering the fact that they are being trained by proffesional musicians. 

[quantum]

Performance injury and pain is more common that people like to talk about.  At the 2007 MTNA conference I attended a lecture on the very subject. 

Musicians need to be more attentive to their body's messages rather than accepting that pain is a normal part of playing. 


I mean unless you were talking about something like this 

[etcetra]

its true that there is not much awareness when it comes to music related injuries.  I remember we had this musical forum every week.. it was required for all music majors and it was dreadful at times because we had to sit through some horrible performances.. I just wish they could dedicate some of that time talking about injuries, because that never happened.. it was something a lot of people talked about, but nobody really knew what to do with their problems.

i think its important for schools to have something available for those kind of things, because most of the time the students are left on their own to figure out their problem and it could be very frustrating if you don't know where to start.  It also makes me wonder why there are so many people who are having problems while they are studying with teachers.. is it because students fail to report them?..but  why are they having problems in the first place if they are just following the instructions their teachers gave them?

[tanman]

I've stubbed my toe against a piano once. That's all for me. lol

[db05]

I had a finger injury years before playing piano. Little finger. I cannot play repeated right hand octaves/chords for an extended period of time. I noticed I get myself injured everytime I had to learn a pop keyboard song. Some pieces, like in Clementi Sonatina in C (otherwise a very easy piece  ), I change the fingering.

I may also have a back problem. I sit differently. Most piano benches in school are too high, imo. My practice bench is lower, and at school I usually have to pick a chair instead. Also I sit a bit farther, such that I am almost on the edge of the seat but just far enough to play the keys and the pedals. I don't know if this is the right posture, but I've tried a lot of ways, different benches, chairs, positions and this is the only one that I can use without giving up in 15 minutes. My mom has scoliosis (sp?) so maybe I have it too? Would that be a problem?

I think injuries have more to do with personal/ non-music related activities but we see it affecting our playing. Same with problems with teachers, it may also be the student's problem or something more complex that extends beyond music. I know I have psychological problems that will appear no matter what I study or who I study with. It can also be the school environment.

[etcetra]

db05,

I know you can't place the responsibility soley on the teacher, but I've seen so many teachers who were unable to help their students once they started having problems.. Also  i would think that if you are doing what your teachers told you to do and if you are doing it right, I just don't see how that could lead to an injury.   Usually an injury means that there is something that you are doing wrong with your technique and you have to change your way of playing, so I can't help but think there was something wrong with one's training in some ways.

It does puzzle me that there are people out there practicing 10 hrs+ a day and they seem to do fine.. some people techinque looks.. downright painful but they never had any problems.. I think a lot of it might be how we are built... but nevertheless, i wish there was more awareness about injury in school.. because a lot of us do have to deal with that at one point in our lives.

[db05]

It boils down to avoiding the piano injuries that are "most common". I don't know any of this. We tend to gravitate to easier playing positions naturally.

Apart from mine, there are only a few problems I'm aware of. My classmate has this nerve problem that makes pain go through the fingers all the way to the head nerves!! I forget what it's called, it's a genetic condition. Otherwise she can play for hours just fine, with a weird technique I'd rather not have - playing with a relatively high and stiff wrist. It's the way she's taught by her teacher, and it's not causing any hurt, so I can't do anything about it.

[lost_child]

Piano injuries are VERY COMMON to me.. I hurt my hands for several times.. I think piano injuries are MOSTLY caused by wrong technique.. 

Now I have a serious hands injuries.. I feel a very tense strain in my arm, esp. when I move my fourth finger.. And for that, I must stop playing piano for a while and postpone my audition at the university for next year.. I went to the doctor but she can't find anything to my hands. D:

Anyone can help??