Dear Alma, I’m all aches and pains
OrchestrasOur agony aunt knows the meaning of agony:
Dear Alma,
I have been experiencing pain in my arms. First it was my left, with dull and then more shooting pains coming from wrist to elbow. Then my right began to feel similar several weeks later. This was after a strenuous day, and then a period of high-stress work. I made an appointment with a hand specialist and he said that I have a cyst in both wrists and need surgery. This sounds very serious. My friends think it is just tendinitis from overuse.
What should I do? I can still play, the pain is on and off. I am afraid of surgery, and not sure if I believe this doctor.
Please help!
Dear Please Help!,
Your instincts are correct. I would be suspicious of twin cysts, and very wary if going under the knife.
Get thee to your primary doctor, who will most likely recommend you to try several different directions. Physical therapist, sports doctor (or if you are lucky enough to have a doctor who specializes in musicians). And if these people all point towards mysterious twin cysts, certainly get a second opinion from a hand specialist (or upper body specialist?) and do very thorough research before going under the knife. That should be your very last choice.
I always like to go to the pool and flop around a couple of times a week if I am feeling pain. Not strenuous laps, mind you, just a good old casual splash around, with a soak in the hot tub after. Yoga and stretching as well.
Please Help!, give yourself 6 months to get back to square one. Getting surgery is bound to put you back an entire year, if it even works!
Take your time, don’t stress, and I am certain, with good professional advice, your arms will be back up and giving “high fives” before autumn.
Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com
Sounds like ganglion cysts *and* tendinitis. In my case, I’ve tried every therapy, mainstream and alternative, until Rolfing in combination with psychotherapy (important!) made the ultimate and decisive difference.
Before going to the doctor, investigate the well-crafted therapies for learning to work with the body while playing instruments. My go-to is the Taubman Approach for piano, which can also be adapted for other uses. I “became” a pianist of another ilk after studying it in my 40s and have never had problems which were created by playing since. The doctor might want to cut you, which is the worst possible outcome.
In a better World the hand specialist may place your well being and final outcome over potential income, alas that World is elusive. What is the recourse to a surgery which brings on more problems than you presently have, none. I concur with your analyses.
Surgery is the last option. That’s a good motto.
Give yourself some time off to heal. Don’t push it. Better to take it easy now.
If you’re in the UK (?) try consulting the British Performing Arts Medicine Trust, which could connect you with music-literate doctors and therapists. When I had tendinitis, a cortisone shot fixed it. Til then, ice packs are your friend. (I’m not being an old cynic over this.)
I wonder about posture and technique causing this. Problems can stem from the neck and this kind of pain can often by referred. Any smart doctor should get to the bottom of it. Beware surgeons; they always have their scalpels being sharpened when you walk in the door!!
So many young pianists hunch over the piano that the sustainability of that is immediately called into question. Trifonov and Levit are the worst examples; they must immediately correct their postures to prevent shortened professional lives and health issues in perpetuity. Why this isn’t front and centre in music academies absolutely boggles my mind.
Sorry to state the bleedin’ obvious, but what instrument do you play? The text invites to imagine it’s the piano, but quite a few instruments require both hands…
Does your university/conservatory have physical therapy services for the music majors?
My university program did, and even though practice did not cause my RSI issues (I have a second job with computer work that did) I could still sign up for free therapy with the kinesiology graduate students specializing in athletic training and PT. It was very helpful. I would see the ballet majors in there all the time, can’t imagine the number of injuries they had to work through. And my therapist was just a lovely person it was nice to hang out with a little.
An occupational therapist is a better option than a physical therapist. Occupational therapists treat the pain in the context of the tasks that you are calling upon your muscles to perform.
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I also suffered from pains in my arms and hands and later-on also fingers and back, because of the typing and keeping my mouse straight and a much too hard seat. After deep psycho analysis, my therapist instructed me to temporarily change roles with my employer so for three weeks I could rest and dictate him instead of the other way around. But this greatly impaired the working relationship and now I nervous that I will be fired again. So, it’s better to seek help that allows you to continue what you were doing, would be my advice.
Sally
beware, musicians !
Pain is a poor indicator of injury, damage or pathology. On the contrary, pain is, always, a protective strategy, (sometimes also distractive !), that sets the brain in motion when it detects, correctly or not, that we, as human beings, are under some kind of danger or threat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_625GCv-oQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHM45IXkXeM
https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/mindbody-syndrome-in-musicians.7817/
https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-75-interview-dr-howard-schubiner-md-curing-chronic-pain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFvFHpLcIM
https://thereformingtrombonist.com/category/john-sarno/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAS7HdsM4DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=w6EWAj4pt
Read Dr. John Sarno. If it comes and goes then it isn’t serious. Doctors lie to make money.