strange feeling on finger joint

[carlos_ivo]

Hi,

recently I've been having a strange sensation in the proximal interphalangeal joint of the middle finger of my left. One or two minutes after I start playing I feel this thightness that last for no longer than 10s on that joint and I have to stop and I instinctly try to pop it. But then when I go back to playing it just comes and goes. I feel no pain at all, and I can go on playing through if want, but it keeps coming and going and it's really uncomfortable. Actually I found someone who had the same problem somewhere else on the internet, who explains it better:


Recently I have started to notice a feeling of tightness in the 1st joint and also knuckle of my middle finger of my left hand. The feeling is very fleeting, lasting only a second or so, and there is no pain whatsoever. It isn't happening very often, and happens both when I'm playing and when I'm away from the piano.
I haven't been able to get an explanation of what this is; it has been suggested that it could be trigger finger but the symptoms don't appear to match. It doesn't feel like a spasm, it feels like somebody is grabbing the finger joint and letting go.
As I said there is no sensation of pain whatsoever.
I haven't read of anything that could explain the problem, and I was wondering if anybody has experience of something similar, or could point me in the right direction?
Obviously I am very concerned and do not want to make the problem worse, having suffered bad RSI in my wrist from guitar playing in my teens.

Thanks

Mark


Do you have any idea what this could be? I started doing hanon two months ago and about two weeks ago I went heavily on it playing fairly forte and quickly everyday for about an hour. I thought it was ok because I had no pain or discomfort at all, which I think is due to my fairly good technique. and it's really improving my playing more than anything since I've been playing. Maybe I'm overtraining? Also I jammed this joint twice when I was younger when playing volleyball, so i can feel by touching that the articulation on this hand is much thicker than on the other hand. I think it's also possible that this temporary tightness might be a cramp or a reflex caused by an injured ligament or tendon. Please help me!

[hardy_practice]

Lay off the Hanon and any Hanon-like stuff for a few weeks - see what happens (or doesn't).

[carlos_ivo]

Thank you @hardy_practice,

that's what I'm doing now. I think I might have sprained my finger. I have long fingers, so I noticed I'm playing with the middle finger (the longest) in a very curled position. So when  this finger hits the key, the PIP joint is almost at a 90º angle, which might be putting too much strain in that joint. The problem is, to stretch out the finger I'll have to get used to hitting this finger in between the black keys, which I want to avoid as its gonna be a long retraining work. Anyway I'm going to the doctor to get it checked and I'm gonna talk with my teacher and
and some other friends to see what I can do about stretching it out.

[dima_76557]

So when  this finger hits the key

If I understand correctly what you are saying, then there is your problem. Don't blame it on Hanon. You are not supposed to "hit" the keys. With a "raw physical force" approach towards piano technique, you will always get into trouble, whatever you play.
EDIT: The sensations you describe in your third finger may also be the result of trying to lift the fourth too high, which is something you should avoid. While Hanon may have its use, don't follow his "lift-as-high-as-possible-and-strike-as-hard-as-you-can" instructions!

[carlos_ivo]

I'm portuguese, so I have some trouble explaining myself!
I no longer truly "hit" the keys since I got a tendonitis some years ago, and instead I try to press them down, so actually I don't really make an effort to keep my fingers lifted. But reading what you said, I realize that after some time playing hanon my hands start to get tired and lose sensitivity, and I really start to "hit" the keys heavily. So perhaps I should take some breaks?