Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Do I have to give up the piano?

My hands are killing me. I have a very labor intensive job (I am a general contractor) and I use my hands all the time ... sometimes downright abuse them. Lately, my hands are just too sore to play. I wake up in the middle of the night with numbness and sharp shooting pains in my fingers. I have an appointment with a dr, but I feel I am just going to be told to take it easy. I love playing, but I am starting to feel my job is not condusive to one who wants to play.

I've done general contracting work too, when younger. It can indeed be quite brutal - wood, metal, "mud", lots of rough activity; scrapes and bruises are the norm. Actually, I loved the work, and was probably never in better shape than at that time.

Thinking through it, I'm wondering why you could not adapt - assuming you do enjoy playing music. While it's true you'll not be able to devote your hands entirely to music, it may also be true you can adapt your playing to your hands. Aside from concert pianists - a tiny number of people - folks from many walks of life, rich and poor, male and female, bankers, welders, truckers, computer programmers, play the piano.

It goes without saying that you ought to follow your doctor's advice. And use common sense in your work where feasible! If you can wear gloves for a given task, for example, by all means take the extra ten seconds to put them on!

My thoughts, for what they are worth...

Hi Corwin120, Sorry about your hands. I have problems with my hands as well. Shooting pains and slight numbness.

After an extensive evaluation exercise by my therapist, the conclusion was that after years of poor posture at the computer and workstation that wasn't setup correctly and low wrists while typing caused my tendons to be continually abused. So at age 37 when I took to learning the piano by following an online course again with bad posture and low wrists my body just wasn't having it anymore. I started off with spasms in my neck, and pain in my wrists. Now I also have pain at the inside of my elbows.

It's some form of RSI which is very common among keyboard users.

I don't have give up the piano but have to practice much less until i've healed. So I don't think you need to give up either.

My advice to you is that you should see a good doctor and ask for a referal to a physical therapist. There doesn't seem to be alot of therapists who are very knowledgeble about RSI but awareness is growing so try to find one.

Hi Corwin120, Sorry about your hands. I have problems with my hands as well. Shooting pains and slight numbness.

After an extensive evaluation exercise by my therapist, the conclusion was that after years of poor posture at the computer and workstation that wasn't setup correctly and low wrists while typing caused my tendons to be continually abused. So at age 37 when I took to learning the piano by following an online course again with bad posture and low wrists my body just wasn't having it anymore. I started off with spasms in my neck, and pain in my wrists. Now I also have pain at the inside of my elbows.

It's some form of RSI which is very common among keyboard users.

I don't have give up the piano but have to practice much less until i've healed. So I don't think you need to give up either. Also try to warm your arms and stretch before practicing.

My advice to you is that you should see a good doctor and ask for a referal to a physical therapist. There doesn't seem to be alot of therapists who are very knowledgeble about RSI but awareness is growing so try to find one.

Here is a link to a good site on RSI and hand problems.

Good luck.

My wife had similar symptoms and found out she had carpal tunnel. They tried cortisone injections a few times, but it came back. So she had surgery and it was like a miracle. The same day she had the surgery she felt better and in a week she was like new. I'd go to an orthopedist who specializes in hands, that's what my wife's doctor was.

obviously you have a tough job to do, but if you are going to continue playing piano, you have to be careful with your hands, no matter what you do. try not to over use them in your daily job, instead, protect them as much as you can.

hope your hands get better soon!

As I understood it, playing isn't what's causing the pain in your hands, your work is. You probably do have some form of RSI. Playing should be good for your hands. I had arthritis pain in my hands before I took the piano back up a few years ago and it totally disappeared once I began practicing regularly. Proper practice won't doesn't hurt your hands. To paraphrase what Chopin said about pain and playing, "if it hurts to play it stop immediately. Play something else."

Try to wear gloves as much as possible. I've just been to a conference on musicians hands - help is out there. Glen Estrin the founder of www.dystonia-foundation.org
was there. You don't have dystonia, but they should be able to direct you to an appropriate clinic. The surgical route should be the very last option.

When I started to learn to play, I limited myself to 15 minutes practice at the beginning, the next week I extend it to 20 minutes and so on....bottom line is to go at your own pace which you are most comfortable with. If I have to practice for two hours or more, I would practice 45 minutes in each hour, then rest for 15 minutes. The idea is to build stamina, and those short breaks can be beneficial.

-Mark
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...The ultimate joy in music is the joy of playing the piano...

My physical therapist just showed me some hand exercises today because I asked about my thumbs and if there was anything I could do to help them. I'm in therapy for right neck, shoulder and arm, for the second time in two years. The subject just came up today about wrist movement and thumbs, because I asked. Although it wasn't itemized in my therapy, she quickly took up the thread and gave me solutions to help.

I've been toughing my problems out - but they can be relieved I'm finding. I'm sure you can get some significant help in physical therapy.

What markl said. I take Motrin every night to treat my Carpal Tunnel symptoms and wear wrist splints. Go see a specialist before you develop nerve damage. That's irreversible.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Preliminary tests point to a possible pinched nerve (don't know the cause yet.) My choices are: 1.) see if a chiropractor can work it out if it is caused by muscle tension, 2.) medication if something is inflamed, or 3.) surgery to shave a bone

I am hoping for 1 or 2.

I can definitely relate. I developed an RSI called DeQuervain's syndrome, similar to carpal tunnel just a different tendon. After months of agony, my doc injected it with cortisone. I was very hesitant to have it done because I have lupus & have had many steroid injections in the past that didn't really help. But this one did! The injection wasn't pleasant, but I've been pretty much pain free for 3 months.
Candi

I hate to bang on but you MUST see someone who knows how musician's use their bodies. Even if it means some travelling. We have Carola Grindea and ISSTIP.org here in England. In Hanover, Germany there's Dr Hans Christian Jabusch, Hanover Institute of Music, Medicine and physiology. In Sydney Australia - Prof Earl Owen (hand transplanter though that would be his more extreme solution) in Sydney Conservatory, Australia. I've already mentioned Dystonia-foundation.org in the USA .

It is rare enough for a musician to understand how he/she uses their body how can you expect just any doctor to?