Hand Strain Not Getting Better!

[Jodi Ann Tolman]

I’ve been playing the harp for about 6 weeks now and just recently developed soreness in my right hand. The exact location of the tenderness seems to change throughout the day, but comes and goes in my wrist, forearm, elbow, thumb, and knuckles in my palm.

At my last harp lesson a week ago I mentioned this to my teacher, and she said my hand positioning is all correct and my technique looks good. She thinks that I’m sore just from overuse. I had been practicing about 20-30 minutes at a time, usually 2-3 times a day. But I’ve been doing that for 6 weeks and haven’t had any pain until now. (I’m also very used to playing the piano for an hour a day–always pain free.)

My teacher said just to take a day or two off from playing and then start playing less. But I quit playing completely for 4 days last week to try to get the soreness to go away. Just recently I started playing literally just 5 minutes a day. But its been more than a week and my hand is still sore. And even with just minimal playing, now this morning my left wrist is becoming achy which makes me wonder if this soreness isn’t even related to playing the harp. I’m rather baffled. The thing is, it doesn’t actually hurt at all to play the harp.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal? I’m wondering if I’m going to have to give up the harp, but I really don’t want to, especially since I just ordered a harp of my own! Do I just need to take a few months off to fully recover? But then what do I do to prevent this in the future? Is it better to let my hands rest or to be doing stretches and continuing to play for very short periods? I did some stretching yesterday but now my left wrist is a little tender, so maybe I shouldn’t do those stretches.

I’d love to hear any similar experiences or insights. Oh, and just FYI, I’m 33 years old and already take Glucosamine every day because of knee problems–my joints just don’t like me, I guess.

[kay-lister]

Hi Jodi,

With the pain traveling to the other areas, I would guess that it’s nerve related more so than joint. You might be dealing with a pinched nerve and if there is any swelling INSIDE then it needs some time to let the swelling go down and release the pressure on the nerve. I would try ice several times a day and just back off the harp for a couple weeks maybe just to a few minutes every other day or so. If it doesn’t resolve, check with a hand/nerve doc.

I would still practice with the other hand so you can stay on the harp and not have to completely stop.

Hopefully you’ll be back in shape in no time.

Good luck!
Kay

[Gretchen Cover]

Jodi,

I had seven years of piano lessons. When I started playing harp in college, I found piano playing irritated my hands so I stopped playing piano. I took piano up again just to play for relaxation when I worked and didn’t have time to practice my harp. But now that I am seriously pursuing harp playing, I am not playing the piano because it bothers my hands for harp playing.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

It could be some form of R.S.I. (Repetitive Strain Injury – a general term which you can google for more info). But no, it doesn’t sound normal and I am afraid you’re just going to make it worse if you carry on playing through pain, because that is likely to only aggravate it. Playing should not hurt, and if it does, you need to stop until it heals. It’s probably being caused by some sort of wear – and the only cure for wear is to stop doing whatever’s causing it. That may mean figuring out a different method of playing.

Not a very positive answer, I know – but RSI can become seriously disabling if it’s ignored and allowed to go on getting worse. (That’s not to say that yours *will* – but I wouldn’t take the chance.)

If your hand position is correct, check your sitting position, and also the height of your stool: make sure the harp is balanced properly and not putting too much weight on you and throwing you out of alignment (asymmetrically-played instruments are notorious for that). See that you’re not sitting too high and having to bend over uncomfortably, etc. You might also investigate Alexander Technique for how to sit and bear loads properly. Sometimes tension in the shoulders or spine can take it out on other parts of you, in surprising ways.

But DO research this, and don’t play if it hurts. That’s your body telling you something and you do need to listen. Really wish I could help more –

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

It doesn’t sound normal. You were not playing enough to cause that kind of injury. It must be something in how you were practicing, or an unrelated cause. See a doctor.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

On the other hand, so to speak, listen to how it feels. If you have a correct position, but hold it with tension, play with tension or strain, it can hurt. Try playing so it doesn’t hurt and let your body tell you what to adjust. See what works as you perhaps know what doesn’t work.

[Tacye]

Some very good advice above – I had been going to mention tension as a possibility. Also look at how you use your hands elsewhere, especially computing. It could be that the harping is acting as the final straw, rather than the main or only cause.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

Good point! That happens to my kids all the time. One thing in particular that relates to both computers and harps: your wrists. Make sure you are not arching them into a “swan neck” which strains tendons and also reduces finger agility. You want your wrist to be very slightly dipped, but not to an extent that shows your arm as being at a markedly different angle from your hands. The two should form a more or less unbroken line, with the back of the hand generally a bit higher than the wrists. NOT the other way around!!! Do mind this, because it’s an easy habit to fall into, whether playing or typing.

[Jodi Ann Tolman]

Thank you for the excellent advice. I do believe it’s a nerve problem. My teacher has caught me with my wrist a little too high at times but only ever on my right hand and only rarely. Yet both hands, particularly both thumbs, are sore. I also have aches in both of my elbows, despite not playing for almost two weeks. I’m on a course of anti-inflammatories and if those don’t help I’ll take the next step.

What’s more depressing than the pain is that my new Thormahlen harp is being delivered next week and I’m devastated to think that I won’t ever be able to play it. 🙁 Any bit of hope is appreciated.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

I’m sure it doesn’t mean that you can’t *ever* play – just that you need to treat the pain with caution and respect, as you seem to be doing. It’s when people don’t do this, and just plough on regardless, that the permanence-factors start setting in. Irreversible damage takes time, and it doesn’t sound to me as though you have been at it long enough for that. Bodies have wonderful self-healing properties.

You may need to make various adjustments in your playing – I’ve had students with assorted physical handicaps, which has meant that they’ve needed to altar how they do certain things, or how they sit, until they find something that works for them. Which they do. The horror stories usually only occur after prolonged abuse.

Also note the points made about doing things correctly but with too much tension, or the harp aggravating something that was actually initially caused by another activity. I know this from personal experience – sometimes my computer is my worst enemy!!! I am always careful to sit correctly (and at the right height), keep my wrists level, etc – but if I’m under time-pressure or emotionally stressed, I inevitably feel it in my hands! Tensing up is bad, even when the physical position and movements are right. And you can so easily do it without meaning to.

Most importantly, stay in touch with your doctor so you have a detailed medical opinion – which means getting referred to a specialist. In the meantime, all the other suggestions above will certainly only be to the good. And don’t despair – you’re being careful and aware, and this should enable you to avoid any major consequences.

So get the best professional advice you can, follow it, and keep us posted. Good luck! Your lovely new Thormahlen will still be there waiting for you…

[susan-ash]

I have had horrible hand pain. But surprisingly it wasn’t a hand issue. I deal with pinched nerves in my spine. If the nerves in my neck are being affected I feel it in my hand, not in my neck. This was such a mystery when it first occurred because there was no neck pain and so I thought my hand was the problem, until I had diagnostic images done at the hospital.

So, I would look at how you are holding your head, or the tension the harp may be placing on your right shoulder, which in turn is compromising the nerves in that neck/shoulder area with the resulting pain radiating down into the right hand.

Look at a chart of how the nerves from the spine are connected to various areas of the body, and you may get an understanding of the point of origin.

[patricia-jaeger]

Jodi, the New England Therapeutic Association developed a fingerless glove for musicians who do a lot of repetitive work with their hand muscles. I have not tried these but on Amazon,com in the Health and Personal Care category you can take a look at Handeze Flex-Fit Gloves and see if that product might be right for you. Several people wrote reviews, mostly positive.

[Sylvia]

Jodi, what technique are you being taught? I didn’t see any mention of it, so I wondered. Hope your anti-inflammatories work.

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