swelling in side of thumb

[mike1127]

I took a number of years of piano lessons in my childhood, and I'm starting to practice piano again 30 years later. I have run into a problem with my left thumb. I use the side of my thumb to press the key. (With my fingers, I use more the pad of the finger.) For some reason, the side of my left thumb became swollen, red, and painful after maybe 30 minutes of practice on the first day I tried to practice again. I became aware that I position it in a way that often collides or drags against the edges of the keys, so I tried modifying the position of my thumb to distribute the pressure better. This was an improvement and I've practiced in little bits over the past three days, but eventually the same place on my thumb became very painful again, so I've stopped practicing for now until I figure out how to solve this.

My right thumb doesn't have this problem. This might be because I hold it differently, or it might be because I was practicing pieces that had a lot of scales in the left hand, not sure.

Mike

[birba]

I can't figure out what part of the thumb you are using.  You definitely shouldn't use the side of the first knuckle.  It should be above the knuckle on the right part of the pad next to the nail.  I'd say the line of the thumb should be raised maybe 20°?.  See how you're holding the right hand and imitate it.

[mike1127]

That's the part I'm using, the right side of the pad next to the nail. There's not very much padding there. I think that would be true of everyone. There's not as much padding on the side near the nail as compared to, say, playing on the pad of one of the fingers. I hold my right thumb (which has no problem) a little higher (I mean my hand is higher so the thumb angles downward more), so is that what you mean by raising the line of the thumb?

For me, some of these differences between hands are so unconscious and automatic that it would take a period of dedicated retraining to change things. And dedicated retraining is good. The only problem---the reason I'm undertaking piano practice now is that I'm applying to a music school in the field of composition, and for some reason this school requires a piano audition. I only have about a month to prepare for the audition, so I don't have time to fully retrain my technique. I'll do what I can to be aware of my habitual hand position and change it.

As an aside, is there some kind of cream that kills swelling? It would be a stopgap measure, but maybe could get me through this month.

[stevebob]

You could try Preparation H or something similar for the swelling.  (Don't laugh.  )

Also, you might benefit from wrapping the affected part of your left thumb with surgical paper tape (like 3M Micropore).  It adheres nicely, it's comfortable, and it's thin enough that it barely impairs the sense of touch.

[mike1127]

Thanks stevebob. I'll try those things.