Muscle Soreness, Continue practicing or take a break?

[malcolmwiss]

I've been going through scales alot these past few days, But today i felt pretty Sore and slow in my wrist.
I pushed through it and kept going with scales. I wonder, Is it alright to keep practising with a sore wrist? Is it something i can practice with without hurting my hand?

Rather save then sorry!

[jogoeshome]

Don't push it or you have a strain of the muscle. Stop or play softer pieces. If its your body that sores, do some exercise. wrists and hands, there are special exercises too, but don't push it or you get disabled man.

[lelle]

Do NOT practise if you feel sore and stiff. Cancel practise until your wrist feels completely normal again. In the mean time you can think about why you got sore in the first place. It could be the nerves that innervate your wrists get squeezed if you have a habit of playing with tensed shoulders (the nerves pass through your shoulders first), which will appear as pain/soreness in your wrist. Or it could be the start of an inflammation of the tendons/muscles that connect to your wrist, for example because you play with tensed wrists.

[danhuyle]

If you're feeling any sort of pain, STOP playing.

When you practice, you shouldn't even be feeling any pain to the point where you can no longer play.

[malcolmwiss]

Okey guys, it isnt pain, but it is sore. But ill take ur advice and pause it until its normal again. Meanwhile i'll practice in my head, But is there anyway to speed up the healing process?

[lostinidlewonder]

"Sore wrist" could come from many things eg: Improper technique aggravating nerves/muscles in your body, over exertion causing lactic acid build up.

When the body hurts it is there for a reason to tell us to stop or slow down. If you push through pain for extended periods you will often do more damage than good. When I was young I often felt lactic acid burning in my hands because physically I was not as strong and depressing the keys required more effort but I would always practice slow enough to both encourage improvement and conserve energy. This was an invaluable tool that I still use when practicing difficult passages or for extended times.

[chopin2015]

If you feel soreness in the muscle, it could be inflammation. It could lead to permanent dammage and irreversible stiffness. Take a break and practice less for a while. Practice controlled. If you feel tenseness in the hand and muscles, find a way to relax or stop playing dont touch your hands and relax. Do not play on a sore hand.

[outin]

When the body hurts it is there for a reason to tell us to stop or slow down. If you push through pain for extended periods you will often do more damage than good.

Generally I would agree. But if I stopped practicing every time I am having pains I would only practice a couple of times  week or so 

I have had chronic pain ever since I was a child. In some people the pain system is messed up and pains and aches occur with no reason. The difficulty is to be able to separate the "real" pain from the irrelevant type. When the pain is caused by tissue damage rest is the answer to let it heal. But the type of pain I mostly have actually goes away if I just ignore it. The harder I work the better. This morning my wrists ache so it might be from playing quite a lot yeasterday. Then again my ankles ache also and I did not do much pedalling and certainly none with the left foot.

I have not experienced any tendonitis type problems even if I often push it. But I learned to take any tickling or pins and needles in my hand/fingers very seriously, because that tells me a nerve is not well and if I keep on it will take at least 1-2 weeks to recover and will force me to stop playing for days 

[malcolmwiss]

Generally I would agree. But if I stopped practicing every time I am having pains I would only practice a couple of times  week or so 

I know that i am sore from practicing hard. It doesnt hurt, it's weak and abit numb. Thats why im thinking i can go on. But all the other people  who answered scared me. But ill continue slowly and really carefully. Thanks peeeps

[lostinidlewonder]

Generally I would agree. But if I stopped practicing every time I am having pains I would only practice a couple of times  week or so 

Yep, the trick is not to be practicing for extended time while feeling pain. It is ok to feel that lactic acid burn and deal with it for a small amount of time, but practicing constantly like this will do you a lot of disservice.

[kujiraya]

You could use the time profitably to do hand/wrist/forearm stretches instead of playing actual notes on the piano.

[outin]

I know that i am sore from practicing hard. It doesnt hurt, it's weak and abit numb. Thats why im thinking i can go on. But all the other people  who answered scared me. But ill continue slowly and really carefully. Thanks peeeps

I would be much more worried about numbness than pain. That may be a sign of nerve issue and I would advice you to stop, rest and get advise from someone who can see how you play. Wrong technique can lead to nerves being irritated and swollen inside the small canals they go through (and they may be under pressure already from muscle tension in the neck/elbow). Unfortunately nerves take a long time to heal and the problem may get worse every time unless the harmful movements and positions are addressed.

I've had 2 episodes like this before, although on the second time the main cause was not playing but excess computer use.

[malcolmwiss]

You could use the time profitably to do hand/wrist/forearm stretches instead of playing actual notes on the piano.

Did some stretches it felt good and refreshing. That ill do constantly before and after practicing. I will pause practice for today, all of your comments are making me worried sick!

[outin]

Did some stretches it felt good and refreshing. That ill do constantly before and after practicing. I will pause practice for today, all of your comments are making me worried sick!

Don't worry too much. Just play moderately for a while and stop whenever you feel the sensation return. Practice something else if it feels more comfortable. After all, it's not the amount of practice it's the quality. You will still be able to progress...

Things you could look into yourself when you notice the symptoms return:
Did you keep your wrists constantly low when practicing? Did you use a lot of finger force when trying to play fast or lift your fingers a lot?  Did you overcurl your fingertips? Were your shoulders and neck tense? Were your arms cramped from sitting close so that your elbows cannot relax?

And also, did you do a lot of computer work? Because the piano playing may sometimes be the trigger although the main cause is excessive typing/mouse use.

[malcolmwiss]

Things you could look into yourself when you notice the symptoms return:
Did you keep your wrists constantly low when practicing? Did you use a lot of finger force when trying to play fast or lift your fingers a lot?  Did you overcurl your fingertips? Were your shoulders and neck tense? Were your arms cramped from sitting close so that your elbows cannot relax?

Ok. Ill have those things in the back of head while playing. I ended up using alot of finger force while playing some hanon exercises fast.

[outin]

Ok. Ill have those things in the back of head while playing. I ended up using alot of finger force while playing some hanon exercises fast.

That might be it. Remember: Playing fast = playing light. Never use force. It is not easy to get it at first because you want to push through by force when the lack of skill leads to unevenness...

[malcolmwiss]

Ok. Thanks!

[hardy_practice]

Try wearing a support bandage that covers your elbow to half your forearm.  It'll keep away tennis elbow.  Also, don't worry unless there is pain.

[andy1973]

I have similar aches and pains and the only thing that has really helped in the long-term has been meditating in my recliner. I've had chronic pain for almost ten years and started meditation almost 5 years ago. There's been a dramatic, significant - albeit gradual - reduction in my overall pain. It's still with me, but I feel it getting better every day, provided I spend enough time meditating every day, and cutting back on things that aggravate it: particularly computer use. Playing my Yamaha YPT-230 keyboard can aggravate it, too, but not as much or as quickly.

I got extra impatient and frustrated that my pain wasn't getting better faster, so I tried acupuncture for the first time a few months ago. That helped too. Otherwise, stretching, exercising, walking, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, ben-gay; didn't notice a difference hardly at all with those things. Stretching sometimes helps, but doesn't give any long-term relief like mediation and acupuncture for me.

But at it's worst, I've had numbness, soreness, tightness, tingling, aching, weakness, stinging, and what feels like itching under my skin, and sometimes a bit of sharpness, like a knife in my back. And it's kind of scattered throughout my body, but primarily on my left side. My sister had something similar and was diagnosed with High Blood Calcium. She had some minor procedure done at the Mayo Clinic and she claimed last time I talked with her that her pain went away sometime after the surgery. I didn't catch if it was instant, or how long it took to go away after the surgery. But she too had the symptoms for several years. I might go in sometime to ask a doctor to check me for high blood calcium, but would rather wait a while longer and see if meditation and acupuncture can cure it. I described the meditation to a friend of mine, and he said what I do sounds like biofeedback to him. So anyone interested in trying I'd suggest researching both meditation and biofeedback. The book I primarily used to learn meditation is the Dummies book by Stephen Bodian. Many different forms of meditation outlined in there.

[lelle]

I have similar aches and pains and the only thing that has really helped in the long-term has been meditating in my recliner. I've had chronic pain for almost ten years and started meditation almost 5 years ago. There's been a dramatic, significant - albeit gradual - reduction in my overall pain. It's still with me, but I feel it getting better every day, provided I spend enough time meditating every day, and cutting back on things that aggravate it: particularly computer use. Playing my Yamaha YPT-230 keyboard can aggravate it, too, but not as much or as quickly.

I got extra impatient and frustrated that my pain wasn't getting better faster, so I tried acupuncture for the first time a few months ago. That helped too. Otherwise, stretching, exercising, walking, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, ben-gay; didn't notice a difference hardly at all with those things. Stretching sometimes helps, but doesn't give any long-term relief like mediation and acupuncture for me.

But at it's worst, I've had numbness, soreness, tightness, tingling, aching, weakness. And it's kind of scattered throughout my body, but primarily on my left side. My sister had something similar and was diagnosed with High Blood Calcium. She had some minor procedure done at the Mayo Clinic and she claimed last time I talked with her that her pain went away sometime after the surgery. I didn't catch if it was instant, or how long it took to go away after the surgery. But she too had the symptoms for several years. I might go in sometime to ask a doctor to check me for high blood calcium, but would rather wait a while longer and see if meditation and acupuncture can cure it. I described the meditation to a friend of mine, and he said what I do sounds like biofeedback to him. So anyone interested in trying I'd suggest researching both meditation and biofeedback. The book I primarily used to learn meditation is the Dummies book by Stephen Bodian. Many different forms of meditation outlined in there.

Do you sit with your head forward? All the nerves pass through the neck and if your head is forward a lot you could have contracted a slight spinal disc herniation. When I consulted doctors for my wrist troubles they concluded I had some nerves that were being squeezed. With that knowledge I could make the pain go away by watching my posture, stretching and meditating to loosen up the tense muscles that were pressing on the nerves. With the head (and/or shoulders) forward a lot of muscles in the torso become tense and also press on the nerves.

[johnmar78]

Malcomswiss, I f you find sore in your practice before/after for a week, there is something wrong with your mechanic of your playing, you need to reduce strains on your playing. This is not good. 

[andy1973]

Do you sit with your head forward?

Yes, I do. I have had a really hard time being mindful of my posture when at the computer; I almost always get hyper focused when working on the computer so catching myself has been an incredibly  hard habit to break. Thanks for pointing it out though -- it gives me added incentive to remember.

[malcolmwiss]

Malcomswiss, I f you find sore in your practice before/after for a week, there is something wrong with your mechanic of your playing, you need to reduce strains on your playing. This is not good. 

Writing "this is not good" with a smiley, makes me think ur happy about it haha I took a break for the day, and proceeded the next day with caution. When i did a certain exercise, i did it with to much force in my fingers, thats what caused me to feel this numbness/weakness.