Could I have a serious injury?

[david456103]

here's some background info:
im 16(almost 17), my piano is a baby grand(harder to play on than a grand, but easier than an upright), and I practice around 3 hours a day on average.

for the past few weeks, my hands have been hurting much more than before; I can usually deal with it, and it affects my playing minimally. The pain starts at the very beginning of my practice, and usually doesn't increase that much more as I keep practicing. Recently I've read up on some really frightening stuff about tendonitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. Is there a possibility that I might have one of these??

[pianosfun]

for the past few weeks, my hands have been hurting much more than before

I would think that when playing the piano there should never be any pain, so the fact that supposed pain has gotten worse doesn't sound much better.

The possibility of one of those two frightening conditions should not be too suprising if the pain you're describing never goes away for any reason. I'm sorry to say. So what I mean is to take prompt action on it and use common sense if it gets worse...

I also have something similar to what you have in my right hand. But know also that 2 of my right hand's fingers are slightly deformed (No joke. Caused by nonpiano related injuries).  I haven't been playing too long since about actually only 2 weeks ago (Not 3, srry).

But I had to start up very gradually, and I still only practice about 40 minutes per day, working very carefully on my technique (My "virtuoso" developing technique, haha). If pain comes about, then I just stop practicing (I'm not a music major).

-I know that mental tension is a big factor for any pain in my hands. Once I started enjoying the instrument for it's own sake, the pain went way.- But now it has come back.

I wore a carpal tunnel cast for about 9 weeks for part of a day. My carpal tunnel is nearly gone, and I'm going to work with it until I know it's gone completely (Either by its own or by those needles and such...).
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As everyone suggests, try to implement shorter practice times rather than long, dragged out ones.  15-30 minutes at one time as opposed to one hour at one time would not only help you learn more efficiently (Depending on goals), but it would at least help your hands out. Is there any way that you can break from the repertoire that you're currently working on? Or maybe just to practice shorter amounts total in a day?
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Also, make sure that you're not doing anything goofy like sitting way too high or way to low in relation to the keyboard. That probably wouldn't cause the hand pain, though. Do you practice calmly and with patience, enjoying the process (Though yes, it is repetitive and it does require discipline)? If you are trying to force music into your hands by ramming your fingers through a given section over and over and over again, please hear me out. That is not the best way to go about learning music. Hmm, this gets me in trouble, but check this out -   https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=53908.0

[david456103]

hi pianosfun,
thanks for the advice! the pain is not bad in my arms, but i can still detect it. maybe it's from my excessive computer keyboard use? I have no idea. I'll definitely see a doctor soon, just to check.

[pianosfun]

That's great. Hopefully you can get some help. If you want to find some "cause" or what-not, try at the beginning of a given day: Practice with hands seperately very slowly, maybe one finger at a time. Just to see what types of movements make the pain come back. (Octaves?Ect..)

[david456103]

I also began to use "hot packs" on my elbows.. my mom said it would be good for my arms.
hopefully it's nothing serious  

[lamadoo]

You overworked ur hands on the computer and piano too much, its very common and not many people know what to do and have even ruined their careers. Muscles tighten up from repetitive stress and form knots and shorten up from prolong use. These tight/knotted/short muscles that are formed will send pain down your forearm and hands as they are pulled on ur tendons. I would spend time releasing these muscles or it will just get worst and effect your daily activities. When you wake up and before bed spend an hour doing this on all the sore muscles (when you press in deeply it shouldn't feel tender, if it does you need to release it).

[pianosfun]

Thanks, lamadoo. That's a much more logical answer than my most recent one...

[hardy_practice]

There's a difference between fatigue and pain.  If it really is the latter you need a teacher who can tell you what you are doing wrong.  Post a vid here if you like - there are a number of knowledgeable posters.  (caveat - the more they type, the less they seem to know)

[lamadoo]

Thanks, lamadoo. That's a much more logical answer than my most recent one...

No problem, heres an image of the most common 'trigger points' (term for knotted/scar tissue(dead)/tight muscles) and its referred pain, massage the area deeply applying techniques of the video or finding your own (using your forearm, knees to massage etc). Look for the tender spots. It can take a few days to a couple of weeks for the muscles to release. If the area swells the next day, thats a good sign that its working very well;blood is rushing into the inactive muscles to heal it, breaking away micro tears, scar tissue, washing away the lactic acid and releasing it back to its normal healthy state. Go back to working on it the next day

https://imbuebody.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ForearmPain.png

You should feel improvements the next day, also note that pain can also be referred down ur hands & forearms from ur upperback, neck and upperarm in severe/unique cases.