Tendonitis | A Workable Practical Guide to Piano Playing

Piano and the Risk of Tendonitis

admin Tendonitis May 28, 2011Ailments, Bouts, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Conventional Methods, Hamilton Ontario, Inflammation, Inflammatory Pain, Instrumentalists, Left Arm, Long Periods Of Time, Musician Injuries, Pain Medications, Paul Tobey, Physio Therapy, Pianist, Piano Players, Playing Piano, Playing The Piano, Repetitive Strain Injuries, Right Arm

Piano and the Risk of Tendonitis

Piano and the Risk of Tendonitis
By Paul Tobey

As someone who has lived through 3 incredibly painful bouts of tendinitis, both in my left arm and right arm, I thought it important to pass on some information that has helped me deal with this in the past.

It is important to understand that playing the piano can cause serious injuries such as tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. Both these ailments are known as repetitive strain injuries. The constant up and down, side to side movement of the arms and fingers when playing piano for long periods of time is what causes these injuries.

This is common among piano players. In fact, it is so common that there is a special clinic in Hamilton, Ontario called the Musician’s Clinics of Canada that deals with the prevention and rehabilitation of musician injuries. Naturally their patients include other instrumentalists like violin and guitar but, pianist injuries are certainly among the most common.

What can be done when a pianist gets tendinitis or carpel tunnel syndrome? Well, certainly there are conventional methods of dealing with the inflammation and pain. Unfortunately these types of treatments such as; anti-inflammatory, pain medications and physio therapy are designed to treat the symptoms. Therefore, once the pianist goes back to playing the piano without being completely healed the injuries can re-occur and in the end be quite difficult to get rid of.

It is not uncommon for tendinitis to stick around for very long periods of time. In my case, I once had a problem with my right arm that took almost 3 years to get better. The problem is of course that, as a professional I can’t possibly just stop playing the piano. I can take breaks in between concerts but usually I can only take up to a month’s rest at a time.

So, how can these injuries be cured while still continuing to play? It’s important to understand that not every case is the same but, for me, I actually had to re-learn how to play the piano the correct way. I realized, after visiting the musician’s clinic, that I had the completely wrong approach to playing piano. Specifically, I was too close to the keyboard, I had the wrong wrist position, the wrong finger position and I didn’t understand the concept of leverage.

Leverage means to use the entire body to create volume on the piano. I was trying to create volume by forcing the keys down with forearm strength instead of using the entire body. Therefore, my arm muscles and joints suffered from the strain of trying to play too loud. What I eventually realized, with the help of the musician’s clinic doctor was that, I needed to create velocity as opposed to force. Once the key reached the bottom of its natural movement it can go no further. Yet, I was trying to force the note passed its end without even realizing it.

The correct way is to drive the note down with extra velocity using the back, shoulders, biceps, arms, wrists and fingers and then release at the exact moment the key reaches its lowest point. Therefore, it’s the velocity of the hammer hitting the string that creates volume. Knowing when to let up is very important in the fight to prevent injury.

In terms of moving the piano bench back, I had to learn also to sit with better upright posture and to generate leverage using my entire body. It’s easier to do this with the right foot (pedal foot) forward and the left foot back under the bench. Then as you pivot forward and backward on the bench you have more balance and leverage.

Once last point I should mention; exercise is very important. I started weight training several years ago because, I find that the extra muscle helps a great deal in preventing injury. Be careful however, to consult a professional when starting weight training. You must do it the correct way in order for it to be beneficial.

Piano lessons are becoming more popular on the internet every day. Paul Tobey gives online piano lessons that not only focus on making better music but on the business end of the music business to help aspiring artists succeed. Take a free piano lesson today.

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Tendonitis and Piano Playing – How Can Tendonitis For Pianists Be Resolved or Dealt With Appropriately?

admin Injury Management, Keyboard Technique, Overcoming Adversity, Piano Method, Tendonitis May 8, 2010May 7, 2010Beethoven, Cessation, Fingers, Joints, Muscles Of The Arm, Nbsp, Period Of Time, Physiotherapy Clinics, Pianist, Piano Playing, Possibilities, Professional Pianists, Regimen, Repetitive Strain Injury, Scales And Arpeggios, Seven Hours, Sonata, Tendonitis, Tendons, Tique

It is no secret to just about any long term pianist that occasional pain and muscular discomfort may occur from time to time, during their playing careers. Effectively, this is the result of repetitive strain injury. Many serious or professional pianists will typically practice for around seven hours a day, and over a period of a number of years, will add up to a long term pressure on the joints and muscles of the arm, hand and wrist.

As with any sporting activity, it is encouraged to ensure that a thorough warm up session be undertaken first, and then too, a cool down session, to slowly relax the body prior to the cessation of exercise. The same can be applied for pianists, as this will contribute to less chance of injury. Now, I am not going to suggest that playing scales and arpeggios before you launch into the Beethoven Pathétique Sonata is going to cover you against all and sundry injuries. However, it certainly is an important part of your playing regimen.

However, let's consider the actual forces and strain that are going on with the arm, and hands, let alone the wrist and fingers. As far as the arm is concerned, many pianists extend the arm in such a way as to apply considerable force to the wrists ad tendons, as they play, and this can certainly be sustained for a period of time,. However, given the nature of the work in question, some pianists will start to notice pain if they are stretching their fingers considerably (when the hands are small, and the notes spread widely over the keyboard). The preceding example is by no means the only possible scenario, but certainly a common one, amongst others.

There are a number of possibilities to undertake to resolve the problem, and for some, that includes attending physiotherapy clinics. They certainly have their place, and some are undoubtedly very good. In fact, some have an excellent reputation. A question that I would ask however, is to perhaps see if we can find a way to eliminate the problem form developing in the first place. Is such an option available to pianists? The short answer is yes, although it is dependent on the teacher, and student adopting a different method of playing, which like any new endeavour, will take time to master, but ultimately, bring forth greater rewards to the pianist, as well as the pleasure of an improved sound. You might well ask, "How can dealing with tendonitis improve the sound?"

The sound itself, is the result of the quality of the playing. When a pianist is able to play with less fear due to a greater relaxation at the keyboard, and a technique that allows a greater freedom of movement in the hand and fingers, as well as positioning relative to the keyboard, the strain can be greatly minimised on the tendons. Whilst some people may try to convince you that you can cure the problem in a few days, I personally believe that to be irresponsible, and dangerous. If you play on through a damaged tendon, you will likely do more damage. You are better off resting the injury till it heals, and then applying a technique that has been proven, like the Bowman method.

Next, are you experiencing or dealing with overcoming piano injury, for the long term?

You will also gain an enhanced comfort and improvement in your playing, with less stress and injury. To learn more, see the therapeutic techniques that are possible for classical pianists.