Hand Injuries

[Dina M]

Post your experiences and advice on hand, finger, wrist and arm injuries here!

[William Y]

I have Dupuytren’s disease,  sometimes called, Viking disease as it is common among people of Scandinavian decent.  I have had both hands operated on but my finger tendons are tight and  constrained. I signed up for the course, in part, as an incentive to really stretch my fingers.  That, and I love music, and would  love to learn to play piano.

[Bruce S]

I tore the tendons from my middle finger, left hand in a camping accident in mid June of this year.  I've been seeking physical therapy once I got the splint off (a 10 week stretch of time) - I was dumbfounded by how stiff my finger had gotten in that 10 weeks, almost like having to relearn how to make a fist, etc.  I still have a great deal of swelling in the finger, the PTs tell me it can take up to a year for the swelling to go down and to regain full flexibility in the finger.  It limits my playing ability but slowly sensations are returning and I am slowly increasing the amount of bend in the finger.  I can grip a steering wheel now, grip a cup of coffee so life isn't too bad.

I took for granted all that I could do without thinking.  Doctors tell me I'll get near total use again over time.  I do a lot of woodworking (furniture, building acoustic guitars, lathe turning) and the injury did help make up my mind as to what type of replacement table saw I'll buy  - without a doubt the SawStop.  What is the value of a finger to a guitar/piano player - priceless.

 

[martin v]

I am currently fighting off painful fingers and swelling in the palm and fingers of the hand which the doctors have diagnosed as some form of arthritis.  They would like to put me on a fortnightly injection to stave off further progress of the disease.

I have found reducing my sugar intake, going gluten free and avoiding white potato's have helped reduce the swelling and pain quite considerably, so now I have a lot of Christmas chocolate which may get trashed as the temporary sensual pleasure of chocolate is not worth the pain of not being able to play music for days at a time.

Lastly for anyone else out there the website versusarthritis.org has lots of advice on things to try or cut out, some may work for you some may not - but I have found several small changes and little improvements can add up to a significant overall larger improvement.  

[Brendan D]

@martin v I am so sorry to hear about your hands!

I too had developed arthritis in the base of both thumbs that caused me regular pain when I played. (And at other times as well! Even pulling on my socks!!) However, I can now say those days are (mostly) behind me! By adding in some hand exercises (I used this book: Treat Your Own Hand and Thumb Osteoarthritis) and playing piano (with attention to form and technique, learning to play rotationally, see this, that, and the other), I am now nearly always pain-free! So there is hope!

Rotational play teaches you to use the entire hand / wrist / arm as a flexible unit. You do not stretch or put strain on the hands, or any joints. In fact, my instructor used to flick at my fingers while I played. If my fingers did not immediately slide off the keys when she did so, it meant I was too much tension. I cannot recommend the technique highly enough!

I wish you all the best!

[martin v]

Thanks for the advice, I've ordered the book.

Looking at the videos, I can see I definitely need to be paying more attention to hand shape, moving in and out and using my forearms more.   Sometimes its good to learn how to do things properly, even if it takes a bit more time, as I do get tense after playing for a while.

  

[Brendan D]

5 hours ago, martin v said:

Thanks for the advice, I've ordered the book.

Looking at the videos, I can see I definitely need to be paying more attention to hand shape, moving in and out and using my forearms more.   Sometimes its good to learn how to do things properly, even if it takes a bit more time, as I do get tense after playing for a while.

  

@martin v You should stop playing for a few minutes the moment you get tense. You want to develop the habit of only playing when you are flowing with your body. It takes time to feel this, but once you do, it will help!

[Dina M]

On 1/4/2022 at 9:08 PM, Brendan D said:

@martin v I am so sorry to hear about your hands!

I too had developed arthritis in the base of both thumbs that caused me regular pain when I played. (And at other times as well! Even pulling on my socks!!) However, I can now say those days are (mostly) behind me! By adding in some hand exercises (I used this book: Treat Your Own Hand and Thumb Osteoarthritis) and playing piano (with attention to form and technique, learning to play rotationally, see this, that, and the other), I am now nearly always pain-free! So there is hope!

Rotational play teaches you to use the entire hand / wrist / arm as a flexible unit. You do not stretch or put strain on the hands, or any joints. In fact, my instructor used to flick at my fingers while I played. If my fingers did not immediately slide off the keys when she did so, it meant I was too much tension. I cannot recommend the technique highly enough!

I wish you all the best!

Thank you Brendan for all the into! 

[Dina M]

So I'm down to 7 fingers. I still have nerve pain/damage from the RH#4 getting cut off in Dec 2020. And now this past weeks I lacerated 2 knuckles. (my advice - don't go digging in cans with jagged edges). I've gotten used to playing without RH#4 but now I only have 2 fingers left on my RH! They should heal in a month, I hope. It's more of the bandage being in the way; the pain/injury is on the knuckles. Back to LH only stuff!

[Patrick H]

@Dina M, sorry to hear about your hands.  I got through finger problems associated with a wayward table saw.  When I cut my thumb my instructor made me play as soon as the thumb on my right hand began to heal.  I played with the bandages on and seemed to be okay. I was lucky when I had the accident that a surgeon was on call at the hospital and he repaired my thumb nicely with the only difference being that the thumb was a little shorter. My middle finger on my left hand was not as lucky after a separate table saw incident; the emergency doctor repaired my finger as best as possible at the time.  It works well but padding is thin at the finger tip, and it is slightly problematic at times when playing. I was lucky in that playing piano was the specific therapy I needed and it has worked for me over the years.  The problematic table saw is gone. My hands are okay now,  and I wear work gloves all the time when working around the house or when doing shores or in the yard. They won't stop a saw but they are a reminder to exercise caution all the time when using my hands, as accidents will happen when you least expect it.  I am hoping you get better soon. Pat  

[Dina M]

1 hour ago, Patrick H said:

@Dina M, sorry to hear about your hands.  I got through finger problems associated with a wayward table saw.  When I cut my thumb my instructor made me play as soon as the thumb on my right hand began to heal.  I played with the bandages on and seemed to be okay. I was lucky when I had the accident that a surgeon was on call at the hospital and he repaired my thumb nicely with the only difference being that the thumb was a little shorter. My middle finger on my left hand was not as lucky after a separate table saw incident; the emergency doctor repaired my finger as best as possible at the time.  It works well but padding is thin at the finger tip, and it is slightly problematic at times when playing. I was lucky in that playing piano was the specific therapy I needed and it has worked for me over the years.  The problematic table saw is gone. My hands are okay now,  and I wear work gloves all the time when working around the house or when doing shores or in the yard. They won't stop a saw but they are a reminder to exercise caution all the time when using my hands, as accidents will happen when you least expect it.  I am hoping you get better soon. Pat  

Omg Patrick, I'm so sorry. You definitely have your share of injuries. Yes, I need to start wearing gloves! Thanks for writing. Good luck to you. 

[Dina M]

So I'm down to 7 fingers. I still have nerve pain/damage from the RH#4 getting cut off in Dec 2020. And now this past weeks I lacerated 2 knuckles. (my advice - don't go digging in cans with jagged edges). Just today I ganged my RH#5 finger in a cabinet.  I've gotten used to playing without RH#4 but now I only have 1 finger left on my RH! They should heal in a month, I hope. It's more of the bandage being in the way; the pain/injury is on the knuckles. Back to LH only stuff!

[Sharon Kae D]

Thank you for this topic, Dina, and to all who contributed.  I have gleaned a lot from all of your comments.  I also struggle with the thumb base joint, and will check out the book, plus other suggestions you have all made.  I also gave up sugar, grains, and dairy about seven months ago, and have noticed a marked improvement in all joints. ( plus weight loss, and most of us really like that part, right!)  Happy recovery and continued playing for all of you!

[Dina M]

2 hours ago, Sharon Kae D said:

Thank you for this topic, Dina, and to all who contributed.  I have gleaned a lot from all of your comments.  I also struggle with the thumb base joint, and will check out the book, plus other suggestions you have all made.  I also gave up sugar, grains, and dairy about seven months ago, and have noticed a marked improvement in all joints. ( plus weight loss, and most of us really like that part, right!)  Happy recovery and continued playing for all of you!

Great, Sharon, healthy hands ate important! I just got the book, only got to the second chapter,  seems very promising! Good luck to you. 

[Sharon Kae D]

Hi Dina

Thanks for the encouragement! Just ordered my book.  As age progresses for all of us, I certainly want to do what I can to keep my hands as healthy and functioning.  We both know how important playing piano is for a multitude of reasons.  Take care!

[Marina B]

Hello, my name is Marina and I am new here. Joined in the end of October 2022 as a beginner although I spent two years in a music school in my teens. I started PWJ lessons for beginners but soon realized that I won't be able to play at the speed that expected from me. It is too much muscle tension even though I well remember the "thumb under" technique etc from my music school days. So I googled to find out what may be wrong with my fingers (including the "flying fifth" and the "weak fourth")  before I get any "pain in the neck" or tendonitis. And I have found some interesting information. I think my findings can be helpful for some of you, guys, so I am going to tell about them here. Maybe somebody already touched the theme but I haven't seen any posts about techniques on this forum. If they do exist I'll be grateful for the links.

First of all there is an interesting book (and a video) at archives.org : WHAT EVERY PIANIST NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BODY. I think the video is very revealing for any injured pianist.

And there are ten great lessons on youtube: TAUBMAN TECHNIQUES. VIRTUOSITY IN A BOX. I am grateful to @pp very soft@ channel that put them up on youtube six month ago. Mrs. Taubman was a real savior for many injured pianists. The "thumb over" and "forearm rotation" techniques look very promising for me now and I decided to spend some time on them before I go along with more PWJ lessons. 

Also there are some other channels on youtube that give useful info on the same safe piano techniques: cerdarvillemusic, Piano Lab etc.