Surviving a hand injury ....

[shniggens]

A couple years back I had a hard crash on my mountain bike that resulted in a concussion and dislocation of my right pinky finger. It didn't quit heal correctly and I was left with a somewhat deformed pinky finger (curls inward, can't fully extend), and chronic pain in my middle and ring fingers of my right hand.

 

I initially went into a deep depression, and considered stepping away from the piano altogether and picking up another instrument. I was already at a disadvantage because my hands are relatively small for a pianist.

 

Slowly I started delving back into my classical roots, particularly Mozart and Clementi, to start working out my right hand. It's helped in getting back my confidence and stretching out my hand, but I still feel limited, and somewhat intimidated and discouraged. I can still play octaves, but on the side of my pinky. Tenths are out of the question. I fatigue quicker on piano, and prefer a non-weighted keyboard when playing with my rock band buddies.

 

Anyone else experience this and have any suggestions on how to survive this both physically and mentally?

[rod76]

You can try using mini or smaller keys..

 

They are very nimble to play and you can cover alot more notes with a minimum of extention.

[ProfD]

I would consult with a hand specialist to see if anything can be done through surgery.

 

Otherwise, as Rod mentioned above, find the least fatiguing KB instrument and enjoy playing the h8ll out of it.

[rod76]

I had a a tendon injury last year which affects several fingers and can't curl properly as before

[David Emm]

I had this same issue due to statin-induced nerve damage, but I'm "lucky;" I'm a composer who was never going to be a regular live rocker anyway. I cringed a bit when you mentioned a classical repetoire, which naturally makes it more unhinging. I was able to adapt with a squishy Korg TR61 I loved anyway, a Samson Carbon 49 (a bit clacky, but perfectly creditable) and a couple of XKeys.

 

You're best equipped to know if Boulder or the surrounding areas have a decent keyboard showroom. Its a drum beat comment, but lay hands to all you can. It sounds as if you can't entirely avoid doing a Django Reinhardt thing to compensate. If you could do the Sweetwater room, I'd bet $20 you'd find that ideal This-is-the-ONE choice that provided your best footing. Its out there, no doubt.

 

Physically, you start to find your best form of the Sweet Spot through persistence. I honed mine by struggling with a couple of sh*t-sequencers until I took up Logic. I also learned where my hands' limits were in so doing, as a side benefit. I'm not happy to be hampered, but I'm happy to have been nudged towards my better skill set as a strong compensation. Medical evaluation should be a serious next step so you know where you are on that scale of things.

 

Mentally? That depends on how much playing you do and what kind. Churchill said "If you find yourself going through Hell, keep going." Rather than give up, I encourage you to find a new middle ground that still draws from all you were doing before. I had no idea that I could create a decent brass quintet until I stopped pretending that I was going to be the next Keyboard Wiz and wow NAMM shows. Small points to ponder.

[Mike Warren]

I know the feeling. Psoriatic arthritis is affecting most of my finger and wrist joints. Dexterity is gone, particularly in my left hand. I often get depressed about it, but I'm trying to force myself to play within my new skill set.

 

You can clearly see the second finger of my left hand in this video.

 

 

My strong suggestion is to work around the problem. Losing music completely is not an option for me.

[Redknife]

I"m sorry to hear about your hand problems. When I was in music school, I tore my TFCC ligament from overuse. I had it fixed by a renowned hand surgeon but it has never been the same. That was a while ago but I am still grappling with the concept of going backwards in playing ability.

My advice for you after considering this general issue for decades (Specific to structural hand pathology and keyboard playing):

 

Do what you can and work on being happy with that.

Pay attention to pain and back off if you experience pain while playing. Everything we are taught is designed for normal anatomy. Evaluate your mechanics, albeit altered, for sites of stress or strain. Be mindful of sudden increase in activity.

Finding an instrument, be it electronic or acoustic, will need to be a more discerning process. For me, if I find an issue with the instrument at first play, I don"t try to make it work. That knocks out a lot of keys right off. Of course, your specific alteration in anatomy will dictate different considerations.

 

As an aside, I just watched Victor Wooten talking about his neurological problem, focal dystonia in his left hand. There is a lot that is amazing about this guy, but watching him work his magic using a hand that wants to flex and not extend is incredible. In his case there were some medical approaches that helped but he has altered his unique mechanics a ton.

 

Best of luck working through this adjustment.

[FatFingers]

Every winter my aging skin allows new cracks to open near my fingernails, and particularly in the thumbs. Nightly applications of lanolin help but don't eliminate the problem. It's usually painful to use those fingers to play, although I'm sure it's not anywhere near as painful as what you are experiencing. But like Mike stated, giving up music is not an option for me and just hearing something resulting from my own efforts makes me happy.

[Strays Dave]

I had carpal tunnel symptoms maybe 5 years back. Had a steroid shot. I tried to get smarter. Take breaks if the hands are getting stiff or overworked. And I have tried to use weight and leverage more. If I'm mindful enough to keep my hands loose, and have my fingers hit the keys kind of like a rock skipping over the water - if that makes any sense. Using weight and momentum over brute muscle force. Of course the muscles are still being used.

 

Anyway that's me.

[Konnector]

Sorry to hear about your injury. A nightmare for a musician to deal with for sure.

 

I broke my left pinky a few years ago. Snapped the bone below the knuckle. (Commonly referred to as a boxer"s break.) Drove to the hospital and got a cast put on. It was pretty tight and I noticed that if my broken finger stayed in that position for 4 weeks, it would be permanently crooked.

 

I cut the cast off myself after five days and started playing my piano very gingerly as it hurt like hell if I applied any pressure on that finger. I played a lot of ELP for a couple of months (lots of left hand workouts in many of their tunes.)

I did that for about 3 months every day. My left hand was actually better after all that. My finger turned out just fine â although slightly shorter now from the break, but I can still reach a tenth.

[shniggens]

I know the feeling. Psoriatic arthritis is affecting most of my finger and wrist joints. Dexterity is gone, particularly in my left hand. I often get depressed about it, but I'm trying to force myself to play within my new skill set.

 

You can clearly see the second finger of my left hand in this video.

 

 

 

My strong suggestion is to work around the problem. Losing music completely is not an option for me.

 

Love that song! Coincidentally, I enjoy playing that one myself. Good work!

[re Pete]

Sorry for your injury. Hard decisions for musicians with hand injuries. Long time ago, I messed up a finger and was seen by a hand surgeon who told me consider taking up bass. No thanks. It developed scar tissue and hurt occasionally, but healed to the point of not bothering my playing. I had other injuries that also healed. 100%? I think not. No guaranty with surguries. But they can help.

Personnally, I'm dealing with the problem of Dupuytren contracture with a lump on my hand that I'm considering surgery on. Was told it could grow back. Also the possibility a nerve could be cut. I'm not sure what to do.

This came after taking statins about a year. Not sure if related, but makes me wonder.

Hasn't progressed to the point of messing up playing keys. But down the road could. No easy answers dealing with hand problems.

The cracked skin around nails that hurt when I get that on occasions, I use crazy glue. Helps getting thru a gig.

One thing I would not recommend for budding keyboard players is playing basketball. Tough on hands.

[Biggles]

It sucks having hand problems.

 

I have arthritis in my fingers which hurt like heck and I have limited movement.

 

Consider changing your kit to those with a lighter hammer action or even semi weighted.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I haven't had that particular injury, but I was in a crash last year that screwed up finer control of my right hand. Essentially I have to retrain my brain to control my fingers all over again. Still struggling. Luckily it's only a few fingers, but I would definitely see a specialist if you haven't already. You're going to need to adapt repertoire and technique in any case. Hopefully someone can help minimize the affects though.

 

 

 

EDIT: Forgot - I shattered my left wrist some years ago and ended up needing a re-break and pins due to it healing incorrectly. Not sure if that's an option, but I wouldn't be able to do near as much with my left hand today if they hadn't gone that way.

[allan_evett]

Yes, hand limitations are sucky. Like shniggens, I had a bad, LH pinky dislocation; it almost went compound - pretty ugly, with bone chips scattered about inside. Though it happened 40 years ago, that finger can almost still predict the weather.

 

Back in Colorado my teacher/dance studio music director had a bicycle accident that resulted in a bad wrist sprain (with hairline fractures, IIRC). He was out of commission for most of a term; the other accompanist and I had to pick up most of his shifts. He did learn quite a bit from the experience regarding hand injury recovery and learned some new ways to further develop technique at the piano. He did work out some different approaches to wrist motion - encouraging a broader and much looser range of motion over and around the keys (somewhat like kneading dough or forming pottery). Also he'd begun to question an earlier focus on Hanon, suspecting that it wasn't the best choice for all players; possibly even injurious to some.

 

I've struggled with psoriasis since my teen years. It was much worse then, plus I've found some relief since by supplementing flax and fish oils, soy lethicin, zinc, etc. Still, there is an increasing degree of limitation to my hand flexibility (joint and muscle stiffness, at times); and due to contact psoriasis developing easily there I have to wonder if there's a mild form of psoriatic arthritis beginning to happen. I'm having a wellness workup at the end of the month (full-blood scan, and so forth), and will likely have further MD questions after that. Really noticing it on a church mass accompanying gig I picked up last year. It's semi-classical stuff and I'm on a grand piano. Enough weirdness there - as well as some at band rehearsals recently - that I've started considering using my Fantom 7 as my gigging piano action.

 

I'm wondering what alternatives we might explore together to benfit our hands and expression at the keyboard, working through injuries and related limitations. Also have begun to consider a different hand /finger exercise regimen, having been Hanon-focused for many years. Would be helpful for us to seek new and beneficial work-throughs to these issues.

[Mike Warren]

Love that song! Coincidentally, I enjoy playing that one myself. Good work!

 

Thanks. I'm in the minority of people who quite like that album. Probably because of the age I was when it was released. I remember walking an hour each way to the record store to buy it.

[shniggens]

Love that song! Coincidentally, I enjoy playing that one myself. Good work!

 

Thanks. I'm in the minority of people who quite like that album. Probably because of the age I was when it was released. I remember walking an hour each way to the record store to buy it.

 

It's one of my faves, too. Probably the best anti-war album ever. And, ironically, some of Gilmour's best work, IMO.