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Topic: Cracking wrist.  (Read 9333 times)

Offline pseudopianist

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Cracking wrist.
on: February 08, 2005, 06:47:54 PM
I'm not sure if this is the right to post but meh.

I know we all get these crackingsounds in our wrist but I get them semi often in my right hand. I heard from a friend that you might wear them out because of all the cracking. Is this true? I'm sacred to death.  :'(
Whisky and Messiaen

Offline shasta

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #1 on: February 08, 2005, 07:17:33 PM
Only YOU can decide if your wrist cracking is serious enough to warrant seeing your doctor.  Below are several questions you need to identify for yourself and then bring to your physician's attention:

1.  Is your wrist painful (sore, dull ache), or does it manifest as a tingling in your hand?

2.  Is the cracking associated with a particular motion of your wrist?

3.  Does your wrist get "stuck"?

4.  Is the cracking associated with pain?

5.  Does cracking your wrist relieve the pain?

6.  As a pianist, do your wrist problems limit your playing?

Your physician will most likely put you on some sort of anti-inflammatory, order x-rays of your hand/wrist in various positions (i.e. clenched fist, relaxed, hand angled to the left...), then order an MRI to assess the tendons/ligaments in your wrist and check to see if there's fluid in the joint spaces.  In the meantime, you will probably get referred either to a plastic surgeon who specializes in hands/wrists, or an orthopedic surgeon (general or hand/wrist). 

As a fellow pianist with a wrist that cracks, I feel your pain (perhaps literally!).  You can PM me for more details on my injuries, diagnosis, and treatments if you'd like.
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Offline pseudopianist

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #2 on: February 08, 2005, 07:53:20 PM
Only YOU can decide if your wrist cracking is serious enough to warrant seeing your doctor.  Below are several questions you need to identify for yourself and then bring to your physician's attention:

1.  Is your wrist painful (sore, dull ache), or does it manifest as a tingling in your hand?

2.  Is the cracking associated with a particular motion of your wrist?

3.  Does your wrist get "stuck"?

4.  Is the cracking associated with pain?

5.  Does cracking your wrist relieve the pain?

6.  As a pianist, do your wrist problems limit your playing?

Your physician will most likely put you on some sort of anti-inflammatory, order x-rays of your hand/wrist in various positions (i.e. clenched fist, relaxed, hand angled to the left...), then order an MRI to assess the tendons/ligaments in your wrist and check to see if there's fluid in the joint spaces.  In the meantime, you will probably get referred either to a plastic surgeon who specializes in hands/wrists, or an orthopedic surgeon (general or hand/wrist). 

As a fellow pianist with a wrist that cracks, I feel your pain (perhaps literally!).  You can PM me for more details on my injuries, diagnosis, and treatments if you'd like.


1. It is sore right now but that is becaused I've strained it. It's having a broke from the piano for a week or so. :)
2. Doing a spin around the wrist (Not always but when I haven't moved my wrist for a while)
3. Nope
4. Nope
5. Nope
6. Nope, except that I can get a sore wrist when I've been playing for a long time. This is the 2nd time in a year. Mainly because I started playing 3 hours a day, instence training for a month and I think it took my wrist pretty hard going for 30 min to 3 hours without pauses and such.

I went to my school nurse and she recommended restes but that said teh cracking happends and varies from person to person. Should I visit more of an expert. I'm not sure how bad the crackings is. Not big cracks but small and happends a few times a day. NOT ALL the time.

:)
Whisky and Messiaen

Offline anda

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #3 on: February 09, 2005, 08:15:17 PM

6. Nope, except that I can get a sore wrist when I've been playing for a long time.

soreness is not caused by "cracking your wrist" - i crack both wrists (and, doing that circular move you talked about i can crack my right wrist hundreds of times in a row - of course, i only do it to get everyone present annoyed :) )

soreness (due to practicing) can only be caused by defficient technique. see a doctor (if it really hurts) or a piano teacher (for solutions).

Offline pseudopianist

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #4 on: February 09, 2005, 08:21:45 PM


soreness is not caused by "cracking your wrist" - i crack both wrists (and, doing that circular move you talked about i can crack my right wrist hundreds of times in a row - of course, i only do it to get everyone present annoyed :) )

soreness (due to practicing) can only be caused by defficient technique. see a doctor (if it really hurts) or a piano teacher (for solutions).


Done both (if the school nurse counts). My wrist has stopped aching but I will still let it rest. My teacher will check if my technique is correct and another teacher of mine wants me to play for her and she if she can find whats wrong. :)

Thanks for your help... both of you. :)
Whisky and Messiaen

Offline Siberian Husky

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #5 on: February 09, 2005, 10:53:29 PM
my wrists ache at times when i practice...im new to piano and just see it as my fingers/wrists havnt adjusted to the activity...i give em a rest then continue later..no biggie
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Offline xvimbi

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #6 on: February 09, 2005, 11:28:17 PM
my wrists ache at times when i practice...im new to piano and just see it as my fingers/wrists havnt adjusted to the activity...i give em a rest then continue later..no biggie

This is one way to look at it, but not necessarily the right way. It's not that your playing apparatus hasn't adjusted to your new activity. It's rather that you are using wrong movements. Piano playing does not involve any movements that we don't do a million times a day in other activities (holding arms up, pivoting hands around the wrist, moving fingers up and down, etc.). Also, piano playing does not require extra strength in addition to what practically everybody already has (at least not at the beginning). From that follows that it is in fact the quality of the movements that causes the problems. It is therefore not so much that the human playing apparatus has to adapt; our technique needs to be refined. Many pianists would say that their muscles and joints have adapted, but it really is their technique that has improved. Some would say that is semantics because the end-result is the same, but it is not. By realizing what the correct way of looking at this is, one can speed up the path to good technique, reduce the risks for injury and recover faster from injury.

Good health!

Offline Siberian Husky

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Re: Cracking wrist.
Reply #7 on: February 09, 2005, 11:49:59 PM
understandable..i suppose i should rephrase myself...what i meant to say was...my wrist ache because my fingers/wrists/hands arent adjusted to the CORRECT way of playing...everyone trips when learning to walk in order to run with grace and effortless sync...
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