Tendonitis

[kay-lister]

Well, I’ve got it . . . bummer!

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi Kay,

I’ve suffered with this several times over the years.

[joan-steinberg]

Moist

[kay-lister]

Thanks Jer,

Just don’t know why I get this NOW, unless it was so much intense work on “Song”.

[kay-lister]

Joan – guess we were typing at the same time.

[Evelyn Tournquist]

I developed tendonitis once about 15 years ago.

[Jerusha Amado]

<>

This same thought ran through my mind when I was posting.

[cc-chiu]

Wow, it must be pretty serious if they gave you a corticosteroid shot… Good luck and get well soon!

You should always take pain seriously, like the others have said. Also, the pain isn’t necessarily caused by ‘using your fingers too much’ but it could also be caused by bad posture, too much tension in your hands etc. etc. That’s why it’s important to tell your teacher when certain things hurt, they can adjust your technique and usually that helps a lot! You can solve the symptoms by going to the doctor but the root of the problem needs to be solved by a harp teacher…

As for myself, I’ve had ‘RSI’ complaints several times (NaNoWriMo was the cause, for those who know it…) so now I’m very careful with how I strain my hands/wrists. When I feel that something hurts, I make note of it and ask my teacher. So far, that was the best ‘cure’ 🙂

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Hopefully the cortisone will take care of the inflammation. When you resume playing, you must check your position, and make sure you are not pushing your wrist in enough to put pressure on the tendons. If you lay your arm out flat, and close your fingers, the back of your hand will go up a little, and your wrist will be in the right position. You should see any creases in your skin. Nor should it be bent the other way.

[Misty Harrison]

don’t play through pain

ever

that’s the first rule of healthy harping

[katerina]

Kay,

I’m a massage therapyst by my first proffession. I treat lots of such kind of things.
Some advises from practice:

*Don’t stop playing, but take it easier. When it starts to be painful, stop, shake your hand and press with your thimb and 1st finger a muscule on the end of your palm (down the little finger root, just above the wrist bones), pretty fiercely. That gives tendon a relaxation. Then continue pressing massage down to your elbow, alongside flexor carpi ulnaris muscle.

**Try to change your wrist position or the height of the chair, or your back position, or even how your legs move. Sometimes the pain in wrist is just a symptom of wrong position of something else.

***Go have a full massage, not only hand. It can be a spine problem, easily, reflecting in wrist tenden. In my practice, the problem was once in an ankle, several times in spine, couple times in shoulder. Acupuncture also helps A LOT.

[kay-lister]

Katerina,

Thanks for the tips!

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Have you been to a physical therapist yet? They seem to know how to treat this sort of thing.

[kay-lister]

Saul, no not yet.

[emma-graham]

Kay I’m so sorry to hear you have joined this dreadful club. I’ve been suffering for over a year and a half. Constant visits to every person you can think of, splints, cortisone, physio, massage, etc etc but nothing has helped…..yet. I am not giving up. One thing I have realised is that this type of thing can be self-perpetuating. We feel a tiny twinge and panic sets in… what if I am doing permanent damage, what if I never play again etc. It adds to the tension which adds to the problem.

If you are anything like me you will be looking for all sorts of reasons it has happened. Is it my new harp? have I suddenly changed the way I play/ sit/ drive/ drink my coffee? Try to be calm. Relax. When people suggest you should not play, it can set up a chain of mental stresses – guilt, fear of pain/doing damage etc. if you try to play. You end up micro analysing every tiny move you make. It’s really hard but just have faith in your body – it WILL heal itself. This is a tiny problem that could just as easily have started because you lifted a shopping bag akwardly! Of course we all leap to blame the harp but it’s not necessarily the culprit. Please try not to worry. I have turned this into a life encompassing mountain instead of the annoying little mole-hill that it started out as. I really hope you don’t have the same problem.

Listen to your body. If it feels OK to play, then play. You will be playing normally again in no time.

Good luck.

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