J. Dan Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Bobby's injury first made me think back to an injury I had resulting in surgery. Scary but I recovered. Since then I first got a lump in my palm that I initially thought was maybe scar tissue from the surgery. An ex girlfriend years ago told me it was a different condition and I'd eventually get trigger finger (which my mom had). I now have lumps in both palms and noticed stiffness. It hasn't affected my playing but flattening my palms on a table feels like a stretch. I googled and found this: Can't Spell It Hmm. When recovering from my surgery, they didn't have me do rehab because I had already advanced faster just by playing piano. Doesn't seem this is curable, so I think I'll just stretch and play until I can't anymore. Quote Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
re Pete Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 About 2 years into what I thought was a ganglia cyst on palm. Hand doctor said it was just scar tissue hereditary in people around North Europe. Hasn't effected my playing or gotten larger. If in doubt get it checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Anything happening to your hands can be very scary. I've been dealing with osteoarthritis in both thumbs for a long time. The joint at the base of both thumbs has no cartilage left, and there are some little pieces floating around the left thumb. A hand doctor has suggested joint replacement. Not going to happen! I just have to deal with the pain in normal life. But, amazingly, playing actually lessens the pain. A few weeks ago, I had a truly bothersome occurrence. We had just starting "Roll The Dice" by Delbert Mclinton, when my right index finger cramped. The finger became immobile, with pain all along the side of my hand. It felt like a charlie horse in my hand. I had to not play through the first part of the song, trying to massage out the cramp. I finally got the finger working again, but the pain lingered for days. Oh, well, that's the beauty of getting older. Quote "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedKey Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I started noticing the same in my left hand about 5 years ago. Went to an Orthopedic hand specialist and it was immediately diagnosed as Dupuytren's Contracture. I can still reach an octave on my left hand most days, but not every day and it's getting a little worse with time. It's a very slow development. It's pulling my ring and pinky fingers towards my palm. There are invasive treatments such as needling (Exactly as it sounds) and full on surgery to remove the knots of scar tissue. I'll wait until absolutely necessary. A drummer I work with had the same and had surgery. 2 months of recovery and a few years later, it redeveloped. About a year ago, I got tendonitis on my left ring finger... the tendon that pulls through the knots in my palm. The inflammation of the tendon would get stuck on both sides of the knot which resulted in involuntary closing of the ring and pinky fingers. Scary as hell. I physically had to "pop" my fingers back into position. A cortisone shot relieved the tendon inflammation and this has not returned. I feel a slight lump in my right palm as well, although it in not having any effect on my fingers yet. The joy of a weird hereditarily aquired condition due to being a middle aged Male of Northern European decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 My wife noticed these palm lumps on her right hand, and wondered about them. No contracture(s) yet, though I will ask her to try flattening the palm on a surface. Her career of 30+ years has involved extensive hand use - often lifting and twisting equipment and system components, sometimes heavy. And she's definitely of northern European descent, mostly Dutch. Haven't noticed anything similar with my hands, yet... I do have moderate carpal tunnel issues in my LH, and a negligible amount for the RH, though; plus chronic muscle/tendon stiffness throughout. One of many things I learned from my former music director at the CSU dance department (both a jam band keyboardist and concert pianist) is the importance of keeping my forearms level to the keyboard - even when standing to play. He was aware of other players who had stood to play with the keyboard far below their forearms, and were therefor affected by wrist and hand issues. During the busy seasons of 2006-08 I played my S90ES in that position 2-3 nights a week; also did the same with an RD-700NX throughout 2011-12. I now mostly sit to play, especially piano parts. It became impractical to stand with my bottom 88 high enough, especially with a 2-keyboard rig. Hopefully that helps some of you avoid the bad stuff I created by playing incorrectly. Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Tonewheel Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Back at the end of September, I was out running with my dog. I had new shoes, and the tip caught a slightly raised part of the sidewalk, and I went down hard. Broke my left wrist (the day after my piano teacher told me she was having all her students do a recital in 2 months). Fortunately, it did not need surgery, but I was in a splint for 1 week, then a full arm cast for 6 weeks, followed by a brace for another 4 weeks. I managed to do the recital with the brace (Bach 2 Part Invention No 4 In D Minor and Chopin Prelude op. 28 no. 3 in G major, though at a much reduced speed). Toughest playing I ever did, but I am glad I did. My teacher told me that she felt my injury had a silver lining in that it actually forced me to re-learn my left and become more precise and fluid. I still have some numbness, but I am back to about 90-95%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Anything happening to your hands can be very scary. I've been dealing with osteoarthritis in both thumbs for a long time. The joint at the base of both thumbs has no cartilage left, and there are some little pieces floating around the left thumb. A hand doctor has suggested joint replacement. Not going to happen! I just have to deal with the pain in normal life. But, amazingly, playing actually lessens the pain. A few weeks ago, I had a truly bothersome occurrence. We had just starting "Roll The Dice" by Delbert Mclinton, when my right index finger cramped. The finger became immobile, with pain all along the side of my hand. It felt like a charlie horse in my hand. I had to not play through the first part of the song, trying to massage out the cramp. I finally got the finger working again, but the pain lingered for days. Oh, well, that's the beauty of getting older. Exactly what I"ve been experiencing for a few years now. Add cracked fingertips on either side of my brittle, chipped, ridged nails, and it"s like playing on razor blades some days. Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 This thread is a house of horrors Quote Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Actually, Bobby. I think this thread is therapeutic. It's good to hear that you're not the only one that is experiencing these hand issues, and be able to find out how others have dealt with the issue to continue doing what we all love. I got a chance last night to see just how my hands DO work. We were at a rehearsal, working in some background singers for a project. We had to play "Take Me Back To Memphis" by Tommy Castro. This is a up tempo straight 8 rocker. It takes a lot to get through it just once, and we went through it 5 times one right after another. I was playing on the rehearsal space's Kawai MP5 By the end my forearms were throbbing. My smart watch thought I'd taken 9000 steps. But my hands felt great from the workout Quote "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esfusion Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 I suffered severe arthritic pain in my thumb joints and had surgery on my right thumb several years ago. The pain is gone and the strength is mostly back, although I've lost some small motor control. Takes a long time to heal, so I'm postponing surgery on my left thumb, which has for some reason stabilized. Dupuytren's Contracture has cost me some agility and made it tough for me to reach tenths (never used to have any problems). Reach issue has also stymied my ability to play early wind instruments (shawm, cornetto, etc). Ain't age a bitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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