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I think I'm developing a stress-related injury in my right arm. I feel a sharp pain in my forearm and elbow when I try to lift anything a little bit heavy. I also feel some soreness in the muscles on the upper side of my forearm when I apply pressure.

A couple of months ago I felt some tingling and numbness in that arm, which I thought had gone away, but instead it seems to have turned into the pain.

I'm 51 years old, just started playing a little over a year ago, and practice 2 or 3 hours a day. Lately I've been working on fairly fast RH intensive pieces.

I don't feel any pain when playing, and the problem seems to subside a little if I take it easy.

Can anyone recommend ways to deal with this, and/or point me to information on dealing with piano injuries? Thanks!

You need to visit a doctor. You have a clear RSI injury.

I agree with redcard (soccer fan?).

Chances are it's not serious, but a doctor can tell you exactly what's going on and how to fix it.

Good luck buddy. Here's hoping it's something simple and easy to deal with.

EDIT - Well, that was wierd (and new)...

I got a "data flood" warning and told to wait 30 seconds and hit refresh, and it posted twice.

I double post enough without a new way to do it.

gnm1:

Fan and referee

I developed a bad case of tennis elbow over the summer practicing Chopin's Aeolian Harp Etude.

I found that a few days' break and a consistent regimen of more gentle and progressive warmups helped eliminate the inflammation (which is what pain IS so be careful).

Yep, most probably RSI. Talk to your doctor, though, just in case. I have perpetual RSI (playing Chopin's 10/12, 25/12, Liszt TE1 and Alkan's 76/3 etudes), confirmed by doctor.

No cure for RSI (other than various anti-inflammatory measures, I just take ibuprofen), just take it easy and vary the exercise routine.

Palm/wrist support helps a bit - I got elastic one from local pharmacy; it does not restrict movements, so I play in it.

Other than the obvious/correct answers given, I too suffer (and yes, suffer as opposed to "experience") chronic joint pain.

One thing that helps tremedously is sleeping at night with an electric blanket.

I turn it on about 1/2 hour before bedtime and the bed is very warm and toasty.

It keeps me and all my joints/muscles very warm all night and can reduce the amount of soreness in the morning. They will also reduce your heating bills as you can keep the temp a bit lower and still be comfy warm.

Mine is a Sunbeam brand I bought at wally-World..(Wal-mart) for $79.00. Worth every penny times 10!!

bluekeys, thanks for bringing up this topic. I am new to the Piano, and am experiencing a great deal of wrist pain, but only in my left wrist.

I am hopeful that it will ease up with time. Are there stretching excercises that one can do before playing?

I developed similar problems a year ago due to an increase in practice time. I agree with getting a medical opinion - however, if you are catching the problem early, you may not yet have done any tendon damage. In my case, poor posture and technique were the source of the pain. It was alleviated by three trips to a massage therapist (trigger point massage). Most of the work he did was on my shoulders and neck, as well as on the arms. That coupled with finding a teacher who worked very hard with me on positioning and technique has resulted in pain- free play, despite about 2 hrs a day of practice. When I do feel strain, I know to watch my positioning and how I'm using my body, from the neck down. I haven't had to seek treatment again. Locally, physiotherapists and chiropractors offer similar therapies.

I read much about RSI's when I was going through this and continue to read technique and injury prevention books and articles. I felt incredibly relieved that my problem was so easily solved - and my forearms were rock solid 'knots' along with considerable wrist and elbow pain. There are myriad causes of pain - so please deal with it before you do damage. If you search the forums there are threads dealing with RSI and forearm pain in particular.

I sincerely hope you too can find a solution. Do you have a teacher than can evaluate how you are using your body?

Thanks for all the suggestions, as well as the personal stories and the concern. I will discuss the matter with my doctor and my teacher, and continue to take it easy until I know how best to proceed.

The pain isn't too bad yet, so hopefully I can make changes before it becomes serious.

You guys are great!

never stress a joint or muscle.

as soon as it starts hurting quit doing what you are doing.

play something else.

Oh Bluekeys - so sorry you are hurting. I'm recovering from a similar problem Not fun.

There's *nothing* simple about RSI in my opinion - I went to several doctors, got lots of different opinions, and most thought I'd be "fine in a week or two if I lay off the piano" (not true for me!)

In the end - I really believe the trigger point massage therapy has been the most helpful... if you have spots in your arms that make you yelp when you press them you likely have trigger points. You really need a GOOD massage person though- I tried one first who didn't know what she was doing (despite saying she did). The one I use now was recommended by the chiropractor I'm also seeing to deal with this, and she's awesome and very knowledgeable about anatomy.

A good book for trigger points is:
http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point...mp;s=books&qid=1197429154&sr=8-1

There's also a book by Sharon Butler on overcoming RSIs by stretching (GENTLY!) fascia that is useful... should be able to find it on amazon...

computer actually seems worse for me right now than piano.. esp the mouse... but all the posture stuff mentioned above, yup, plays into it.

Good luck...