Pain in my hand...

[bitus]

I have a competition in a week and my hand has been hurting very bad... It's my left hand... almost in the center of my hand, a little to the left. It's only hurting me when i don't play, and its a continuos bitter pain... Anybody have advice? Would ice help? Hot water?
Thank you,
Bitus.

[xvimbi]

A detailed answer would require a physical examination, so here are some general thoughts.

DO NOT MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY BY SUPPRESSING IT - FIND OUT WHERE IT COMES FROM AND CORRECT IT!

Obviously, if your hand is hurting badly, there is something seriously wrong. My advice is to get to the bottom of it and that as quickly as possible. Any pain related to piano playing, be it as small as a slight tension in the muscles all the way to ripped tendons, comes from flawed technique, i.e. not using the human body the way it is built and intended to be used. If your pain comes from a single incident, such as a trauma, get it fixed and move on. However, if it is the consequence of something habitual, you will need to make fundamental changes.

In any case, have it checked by a hand specialist before the competition. Many pianists have played through such pain and had to dearly pay for it later, e.g by requiring several months to recover from an aggravated injury or even having had to give up piano playing altogether, because they didn't heed the warning signs. Err on the safe side and fight those things as early as possible. How many seasoned pianists do you know that don't have any problems? Having problems is not something that is inevitable in piano playing. It soleley comes from not using the body correctly and not taking the warning signs seriously.

I wish you good health and hope it's just a ripped muscle fiber.

[bitus]

i think my pain comes from playing chords wrong with the left hand... Maybe i'm putting too much pressure on the hand, and i'm not relaxing enough. Thank you for your reply.
Bitus

[xvimbi]

i think my pain comes from playing chords wrong with the left hand... Maybe i'm putting too much pressure on the hand, and i'm not relaxing enough. Thank you for your reply.
Bitus

Tension always comes from unnecessary contraction of muscles. In chord playing, this starts with (the bad habit) of pre-forming and fixing the hand already in mid air. Hand and wrist should be completely relaxed while upper arm and forearm are moving the hand towards the appropriate keys. The hand should open and the fingers should get fixed at the very last moment (ideally on the keys). After the chord has been played, the fingers and wrist should relax immediately (no dwelling in the keybed!), and the arm should move the hand to the next position. This technique also applies to reapeated playing of the same chord and to octave playing. Many pianists think that, because the relative location of the fingers does not change from one octave to the next, they can keep the fingers (and hand and wrist) fixed throughout octave runs. This is a sure recipe for tension and cramps in hand and forearm.

[janice]

(btw--are you left handed or right handed?)When you say it is near the center, but a little left--do you mean with the palm up or down?  In other words, is it under your index finger or your pinkie?  If it's under the index finger, is it near the base of your thumb?  It JUST MIGHT not have ANYTHING to do with piano playing. Have you been carrying around something heavy?  Is it a continual throbbing pain that is always the same in intensity, or is it a periodic jab?  REALLY think about your hand throughout the day, and take note of any patterns. I say this because you said that it doesn't hurt when you don't play.  So it's obviously (IMO) something that you are doing when you are AWAY from the piano.  If you can't get to a hand specialist between now and your competition, then to you happen to know someone who is an Occupational Therapist?  Do you know someone who is a student in Occupational Therapy?  Ask them.  That's their specialty--fine motor injury/rehabilitation of the hands. ( Don't let the name "Occupational Therapist" mislead you.)  Use ice, if in doubt.  Ice is good for inflammation, and any repetitive motion injury is bound to have inflammation.  Also, does it hurt when you extend your hand to do octaves?  Play a scale with that hand, and take note of  with which finger the pain occurs.  Good luck!  Try these things and post again, I will keep checking back today.

[bitus]

Thank you both for your replies, they helped me a lot.
The pain started in both hands now... until yesterday i practised extremly relaxed, and the pain dissapeard.(btw, the pain was next on my pinky's side). I am very carefull with my hands nowadays.
I think my pain comes from the Ocean Etude... i'm playing it too loud, therefore forcing my muscles in my hand. But playing it relaxed makes the music more beautifull.
Thank you again,
Bitus

[evangeline]

I have a competition in a week and my hand has been hurting very bad... It's my left hand... almost in the center of my hand, a little to the left. It's only hurting me when i don't play, and its a continuos bitter pain... Anybody have advice? Would ice help? Hot water?
Thank you,
Bitus.

Bitus, did your competition go well? Did your hand get better?