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Tension in the back of the hand

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Home Forums How To Play Tension in the back of the hand

Viewing 13 posts - 16 through 28 (of 28 total)
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  • #60494
    minnie-bannister
    Participant

    Dear Unknown,
    I suffered from an injury years ago, in my first year of college. Tendinitis. Obviously not quite the same problem as yours, but my experience might help you. Tension was my problem also, and I tried Alexander and also Feldenkrais and did seem to mostly eliminate the tension. but the problem kept flaring up, whenever I started playing again.
    Finally, a GP I went to (that saw many musicians) suggested that I change technique. He said that if there is a technique out there that uses different muscles, or uses muscles differently, than what I’ve been doing, to do it. To make the change. He said that the problem with injuries, is that if you go back to doing the same thing, using the same muscles the same way, the injury usually recurs. Even if you think you have got it “right” now and eliminated most the tension, its a bit too late. Because the muscles and tendons are injured and over sensitized.
    That is not to say that there was anything “wrong” with the technique you were using, but now that you have an injury, making a change might be the only way to avoid it recurring. If that makes any sense.
    Now, I don’t want to start an argument about which technique is best, as I really do NOT believe that any one is better than the other. So I will not say what technique I began as, but I will say that once I had an injury it kept recurring until i changed and retrained using a different technique. So, the point was not what technique I was specifically, but once I had an injury I needed to do something very different for it not to recur. It worked for me, it was a way to come back to playing.
    I also feel it helped going right back to the basics, to square one, to start from the beginning again.
    Of course, it’s a big decision to change techniques, and I was really resistant to it at first, but it was the only way I was able to come back to playing in the end.
    This may, or may not, apply to you and your situation. but I do hope it helps a bit. and you will get past it. Injuries do heal. And you will play again.
    All the best,
    Modern Minn.

    #60495
    unknown-user–2
    Participant

    Hi Minnie,
    Thanks for your reply. I think you’ve misunderstood the place that I’m at right now.

    First of all, the injury I have (had – I’m no longer in physical therapy) is tendinitis. Its just on the top of the forearm rather than the bottom.

    Secondly, I’m far past the point of “deciding to change techniques.” I’ve been trying to make a major overhaul of my technique for over a year. In fact I successfully changed my technique completely a year and a half ago (before I was injured) with great success. I fell back into old habits and injured myself. Also, I’d disagree that there is no wrong technique. A technique that injures is a wrong technique. This is no debate on that.

    I’d love to hear about the changes you’ve made. Unfortunately my issue seems to be beyond changes to position, which what it sounds like you’re eluding to.

    #60496
    minnie-bannister
    Participant

    Hello Unknown,
    Yes, I probably have misunderstood. But also have not been very clear in my post to you! Sorry.
    When I said that no technique is better than the other, I meant like French or Salzedo. Of course, if you are misapplying either technique, or riddled with tension, they are both as prone to injuries at the other!
    I changed from French method to Salzedo, and do not believe that either is better than the other. But, they are physically quite different and different enough that I didn’t find that my injury recurred through the change.
    Hope that clarifies.

    #60497
    minnie-bannister
    Participant

    and a PS…you mentioned that your hands seize up? I had a pal that had this problem (a pianist) and he swore by Magnesium supplements. Other than that, next time you see your doctor, mention it to him, and maybe ask about a blood test to see if you are a little low in certain vitamins and minerals. (hope that doesn’t sound whacky!)

    #60498
    unknown-user–2
    Participant

    Hi Minnie,
    Thanks for getting back so soon.

    I’ll make sure to ask about vitamin or mineral deficiency – doesn’t sound wacky to me. But my right hand will relatively quickly become practically immobile because all of the tension. Probably more than a vitamin/mineral problem, but that could definitely be a contributing factor.

    Thanks again!

    #183316
    Alison
    Participant

    When I use a forearm in the pronated position a lot with the hand turned over lookup pronation (palm down) and supination(palm up)….. then I find the wear on the forearm and tendons at the elbow is greatly aggravated and also on the harp the right elbow is always bent more than the left with a tendency to droop, so is vulnerable to overuse resulting in soreness of golf+tennis elbow plus weakness in the hand. I also think that a lot of stretching and lifting of the back of the hand aggravates the top of the forearm. Once you drop the hand ever so slightly the relaxation becomes possible because you can play without cocking the wrist. If you have a L&H and large hands you might find too much control is needed with the narrow spacing and that causes extra tension – so perhaps return to a harp with wider spacing – on which the spacing is similar to your knuckles, otherwise you have to fine tune your placing extremely carefully – I noticed this when I tried out a new L&H. As Saul remarks, swiping a tablet really does tire my hands – this is about computers but relevant to RSI: http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/9/4448592/my-keyboard-tried-to-kill-me-overly-complicated-ergonomics-war

    #183319

    I believe it is possible to let your body tell you how to move in the way that will be better for it, if you listen to it, rather than forging ahead in the usual way. My teacher, Lucile Lawrence, always said that to change a habit, you had to do it in the new way at least 100 times, and going back to old music learned the old way will undo the change. So to change effectively, you must learn new music until you are very secure, and then re-learn very consciously your old music in the new way.
    I think one can develop “overuse” injuries in any method, just by the sheer number of hours we play. Stretching is helpful, but most of all, strength building, I suspect. Lifting weights gives us an over-capacity that should protect us.
    And etudes, yes Carl, etudes, can provide the time in which to develop better habits, provided you can find one that will give the right focus. I don’t know if I can do it, but we really do need a modern book of etudes that will cover all patterns and technical difficulties with equality in both hands. That will be quite a feat, especially to make them concert-worthy. I have a few, but certainly not all needed. If I ever got an assistant, we could revise a lot of the Bochsa etudes to work both hands. If someone wants to volunteer to do the copying, I will be happy to work with them.

    Tendonitis is an inflammation. Rest and anti-inflammatory medications or treatments are the first step. Then, correction of playing begins. When an injury occurs because of the way you move or don’t move, then you must change how you move. If you move too little, you must move more. If you move in a way that is not helpful or is harmful, then you must find the way that is helpful.

    It does not take much effort to play the harp when you move in a proper way and have enough strength. Younger players in particular like tension because they can feel it and know what they are doing. To play naturally and effortlessly can be confusing because it is less defined what you are doing. At least until you learn to distinguish that.

    So, there is much that can be done to reduce effort tension, and that will improve your tone quality. And that is a foundation of my teaching.

    #183320
    unknown-user–2
    Participant

    Thanks for the recent replies.
    Alison, can you explain what you mean by dropping the hand, reducing the need to stretch? Drop the hand how? What is being stretched? The article looks interesting and I will take a look at it later today. Unfortunately, I’m not in the UK.

    Saul – everything you’re saying sounds perfect. Unfortunately I’ve been to the best harp instructors – all names you would recognize – in both of the closest cities to me. No one can figure out what is wrong. They all say that my position etc. looks good, but that there is a lot of strain. Most had suggestions, but each was an incredibly subtle position change. The problem I am having is not subtle, and during the 2-3 months during which I had somehow found a solution (before losing it again) my position did not change.

    I have been “resting” for quite a while, now. I put that in quotes, since my physical therapists and doctors have insisted that I keep trying to play as part of rehabilitation. Of course, I don’t play much, and when I do it is nothing other than trying to figure out my technique. I haven’t worked on learning a piece of music in over a year and a half.

    I am currently once again on total rest and prescription anti-inflammatories. It’s been a year and a half since my initial diagnosis, and it really ought to have healed 100% by now.

    #183324

    It’s not just a matter of position, but how you move in it. How do your fingers move? Do they close with force or ease? In a full arc or partial? How much tension is in your mind? It is hard to be relaxed when anxious. I have always had trouble with my thumbs due to repeated injuries from volleyball playing. It has taken many steps to improve their condition, but the threnar tissues will apparently always be sensitive. I recommend seeing a radiologist for an investigational ultrasound to literally see the actual condition of all your soft tissues. It could be caused by something unseen. Tennis elbow can be felt in one place, but caused by a pocket of inflammation higher up. Problems in your lower arm can be caused by the shoulder. And you are limited in what you can do with tendons in a state of inflammation. It can also be the lining around the tendons. Ultrasound is amazing in what it reveals, and that will indicate the best treatment. I can’t say anymore without seeing you. If that were possible, I would love to try to help.
    The best teachers are still not always sensitive enough or experienced enough. The players who do not experience injuries may not know enough of them to help.
    I see quite a few harpists play with their hands flat on the strings, fingers up, but instead of being relaxed, and closing their fingers down, they only pluck at the strings with the tips, leaving the other fingers tensed and pinching the back of the hand. I can’t imagine playing in that position and not causing injuries. Playing has to follow the natural pathways of the body to be effective. Playing notes with 2 or 3, and having the other fingers tensed up or curled up also looks like a cause of problems. Glissing with one finger only, the others clenched up is again a source of tension. Tension in the back of the hand is the worst thing.

    #183325

    It can also have to do with what music you are playing. Some pieces are overly obsessive on certain patterns and likely to cause injuries from too much repetition. There is also a factor of how much pressure you are putting on yourself, how you push tempo forward. I recall seeing a young man play and exhibiting almost all of the issues I have been bringing up. Having too many teachers can be a problem sometimes. One wise thing Miss Lawrence told me, because she was not playing much at the time I was studying, and didn’t demonstrate whole pieces, was that I needed to formulate a vision of what a good technique is, to have a goal. I saw an awful lot of harpists without finding that. If I had seen Jim Pinkerton more than once, it would have helped. So my main inspiration became Heidi Lehwalder, whom I was fortunate enough to know, and see perform many times. From her I observed such freedom of movement, while maintaining excellent hand position and finger action. Not to mention dynamic and glamorous stage presence, and sheer excitement of playing.
    I know how important it is for students to see great harpists, and that is why it is so frustrating to see so few recitals given by great harpists, and to see so few students bothering to attend them!

    #183327

    The unnamed demon in the room is the computer, and now the cellphone. What you do away from the harp is as important as what you do at it. You can play perfectly, and wreck it by too much typing or texting or swiping or whatever you do on a technological device.

    #183588
    Alison
    Participant

    To UU2: my earlier entry has been updated… oh and I’ve made my elbow tendons very sore using my i-pad over the last week, but here’s an example of overstretching……..
    A pupil hadn’t been playing very long, a matter of months, when she complained of soreness on the forearm behind the wrist bone in line with the 5th finger – I looked at her playing just thirds with 1&2 and saw she was pointing her second finger down too much, so when I experimented myself, pressing my other index finger on the spot I felt the tension right there behind the wrist. So we corrected that, she stopped for a week and the injury hasn’t recurred…….. Sometimes we don’t realize how a learnt action is hurting us.

    #183604

    Too many teachers can produce a confused technique, more apt to run into problems. Not listening well enough can, also. To be a good student means to be able to empty of one’s ego, to truly absorb like a sponge the knowledge of the teacher. If one is arrogant, or too self-absorbed, you just won’t get it, and you can’t blame the teachers for that. Music requires everything of you, and if you can’t give it everything, you can’t expect to get everything.

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