I switched to using the computer mouse to my left hand several years ago. The way most 102 keys PC keyboards are laid out, having the mouse to the right of it makes for very bad posture. Add piano that also generally work the right hand more, the right hand is just over worked compared to the left. Using the mouse with my left hand means my right hand gets a lot more rest time during the day.

If anyone has tennis elbow (either due to playing tennis or piano) that is affecting their piano playing (or tennis playing), I would recommend this device called the Theraband FlexBar and an exercise on it called the Tyler Twist. The FlexBar should be less than $20 and is very effective for tennis elbow when used with the Tyler Twist exercise. I've tried everything in the book and this is the only thing that works effectively for me. They did a scientific medical study on the exercise and it was very successful.

Don't keep the mouse on the right when using left hand, learn to use it on the left side!

Thanks for posting this. My physio had me do that exercise in one of my appointments while my arm was recovering - although the crack was up by the elbow, the trauma to all the tendons, ligaments, etc was huge. I'd forgotten what the flex bar was called, & it was very effective.

I am such AN IDIOT! My doc told me it would likely take 6 months for the hand to recover (the first time I saw him in march). The pain first occurred on the 26th of February, now it's June, it's been merely 3 full months! What am I thinking... I thought it's been 6 months already.

Ok, so my plan is to take this month off (I am typing a bit to keep the hand in good shape and I use my younger brother as a personal assistant in the office so I don't have to touch a mouse) and then the next month (july) I will do some physio therapy and resume piano lessons gradually. Even if I had tendonitis, I read physio is good for recovery.

That's good, there is still hope.

I had problems with tendonitis when I was around 34 years old. I was practicing many hours per day (plus many hours on the computer), went to a number of specialists, but I continued to have the problem.

For other reasons I switched back to trombone.

Four years ago (age 52), I took up piano again. I'm now practicing 4+ hours per day and I don't have any problems with tendonitis, except an occasional slight soreness.

What's different? I don't know. One guess is that it's because I now do weight lifting. I have the feeling that keeping everything in shape helps. Sometimes bigger muscles can mean more room for tendons. But who knows?

Still fighting this. I haven't played for 20 days, I dream about it every night! Really I do. Every night there is a piano in my dream and I play for a few seconds, some nights I find myself looking for a piano in my dreams. Weird eh?

Seems I might have been misdiagnosed, my hand did not get much better and the pills and gels and whatever the doc prescribed does not help my condition. I got referred to one of the top specialists in town and he agreed to see me tomorrow night. Hopefully he will tell me what's wrong. I hope to be able to play again in September at the very latest.

My left hand is failing too, I tried to use the mouse with it but it hurts...

I had a problem with chronic pain and stiffness of my hand a couple years ago, finally had x-rays, which revealed I had a hairline fracture of my scaphoid (base of thumb) bone. I was put into a soft cast for several months, couldn't play at all, but now it's fine. Have you had x-rays by an orthopedist yet?

No, no x-rays but only because the doc believes it is the tendons and muscles that are sore from overuse. He says I am an enigma for him, and that my hands just need rest.

So your entire hand got stiff and had pain because of a single finger problem?

Teodor, I remember that you changed teachers, and I think, that your teacher is aware of technique and maybe how you have been hurting yourself. Has this teacher given any input?

Can't give me anything right now since I stopped lessons until my hands are good again, I haven't played for 22 days but now it looks like I have to stop using the PC as well for a month. Will be a boring month indeed, all I got left is singing maybe and some reading, if I can manage to put a book comfortably enough so that I don't have to hold it in my hands.

Listening while following the score by eye (they go too fast for me sometimes, but it's still a revelation). Musicain bios, music history, theory... you can still do things that will help your progress once you can start playing again.

I hope you don't lose faith in your recovery potential--- you will get past this; your young body and vitality and the help you're getting are all on your side. Physio will definitely help.

My doc told me, a few years ago, "Getting old is not for wimps. You not only have to be tough--- you have to be very, very adaptable."

The nerve! But he was right, though. And it's advice that can help anyone.

Yes, I was surprised about that, but maybe it caused some surrounding inflammation. It was worse in the thumb where the bone was broken, though. That's still a little stiff, but no pain now. Hope you're feeling better soon.

This is all very interesting because I had hand pain when learning Solfigietto and now again that I am memorizing it....there is something about that piece that kills my hand and wrist. I'm sure it has something to do with tension.

I understand. But when this new teacher saw you, did she advise you on how you were playing and how it was affecting you physically?

Has anyone had good results with ice or moist heat?

"Has anyone had good results with ice or moist heat?"

If it is tendonitis, yes. Ice is quite effective at reducing the local inflammation, which reduces both the discomfort and the formation of scar tissue. I haven't tried heat treatment for the wrist and hand, but one doc said that it works. I have tried it for back pain, with pretty good results (within limits). Alternating ice with heat at different times of day was helpful.

These things are not likely to be harmful, so I don't mind suggesting them. But, there are other injuries with similar symptoms, for which ice or heat may be of no benefit... and even for cases where they do help, other treatments may be needed as well. A medical diagnosis is really important if the discomfort does not clear up within a reasonable time (a few weeks).

And, if you keep doing whatever caused the injury in the first place, don't expect results to follow. But sometimes a very subtle change in posture, seat height, movement, release of tension, etc., can make a huge difference to those tiny structures in the hand and wrist.

No change since the 22nd of June. Rest doesn't seem to be helping much, 2 courses of anti-inflamatories later, it is still the same as soon as I try to use my hands for typing or using the mouse or even sorting through mail...

Maybe I need to try physical therapy now at this point? I haven't been moving my hands much for the past 2 months because I was told to rest.

How discouraging for you!
You should certainly be talking to your dr about the lack of improvement.
I really hope you can find the right course of action and heal properly very soon.

I saw many doctors non can tell me why my hands are like that. All them say, "you are young and should recover fast", I just need rest according to them. But since I started serious rest, my left hand also hurts, there is a burning sensation below the forearm near the elbow *but not the elbow* when I try to type for 5 mins or if I lift things for more than a few seconds also there is some irritating pain on the side my index finger... really weird, never before have I felt like that. Only thing similar was when I sprained my index finger on the right hand years ago, but it took only 2-3 days to recover.

I feel it's getting worse since I started resting more than usual. When I was playing piano it felt the same as now, no difference, now the only difference is that I am depressed because I am told not to live my normal life till the hands heal...

Maybe you want to consider getting a clavichord. You can play light as a feather if you wish (though that's not the best technique). Failing that, a non-weighted keyboard. But it does sound like a technique problem to me. When you can post a video.

If it was caused by piano shouldn't it get better now? I haven't played for over a month now.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd7-dgO4wQI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IDjXpiyZh8

<<Maybe I need to try physical therapy now at this point? I haven't been moving my hands much for the past 2 months because I was told to rest.>>

It is likely that you will need physiotherapy. Particulary if you have been resting your hands and avoiding using them. I believe physio can be very helpful in carpal/cubital tunnel nerve entrapment problems.

I've been suffering from cubital tunnel (elbow) ulna nerve entrapment problems (4th & 5th fingers) that started at the beginning of the year. Stretching and now strengthening exercises are definately helping me with my problem.

You need to raise this issue with your medic in the first instance. However, my understanding is that you could in parallel seek an appointment for with a physiotherapist to be assessed (depending on how Health Care is organised in your part of the world).

Well there is no nerve damage or entrapment, I was tested for that. I think I get get an appointment for physio from our family doctor (GP) and see if that helps.

My daily activities have been boring lately: get ouf of bed and wash up, dress, eat, go back to bed or the couch, turn on the laptop, press play, watch movies all day, read a book in the evening, go to sleep, repeat.

Teodor,

I've been in your situation. I know the frustration, depression and fear that you have.

I'm not going to try to give specific medical advice, because I'm not qualified. I will give two general suggestions though, and I hope they help.

1. Don't give up on trying to find the right person to heal you. He or she is out there. It might be a piano teacher with a lot of experience helping arm injuries. It might be a physical therapist. It might be a deep tissue massage therapist. If someone isn't helping, move on to the next person.

2. When I was injured, I tried to keep my hands still for many weeks, to let them "rest". This was a big mistake. I'm not saying to start playing piano tomorrow, and don't do anything that aggravates your symptoms. But for the body to heal naturally, it has to be used naturally, and if you treat your arms like fragile objects, they will become fragile objects. It sounds like your daily routine doesn't involve a lot of natural movement; this can be detrimental. Get out of the house: get some exercise: use your arms freely and naturally to the best of your ability, and that will go a long way towards your healing. Which will happen, really.

-Jason

Maybe you have a pinched nerve in the neck? That happened to me after shoveling heavy snow once. It affected the whole arm, with numbness and pain. Took a long time to heal (about 2 months), but it did eventually completely heal. B6 vitamin supplement is supposed to be very good for healing nerves. Take care.

In this video your wrists are quite stiff. Can you see how the RH little finger hovers tensely all the time? I hate to say so but your playing mechanism from finger tip to elbow is very rigid.

The RH little finger also curls backward from time to time, another indication of tension in the hand and fingers not moving independently.

There is a name for tense elevated fingers that have unwanted movements like that when playing the piano: "flying fingers".

Is it the cause of your problem? I don't know. But it could either be causing it or adding to it.

It's weird because I did not feel tension before my hand started hurting, I do feel tensed in my right now after the incident but normally I can't tell when there is tension, maybe it's too subtle for me to feel...

Although... a colleague of my teacher saw me play one time (it was on my first month) and she said I have lots of tension in my arms when playing but also said it will just take time to relax the hands and play without tension. Did not offer any kind of exercise to work on to improve this.

This is exactly why I want to play again in September at the very latest because then I can take a few lessons from one of the best teachers in town, I already met her and I like her as a teacher and she had things to point out about my technique and tension but then I decided to take a break... So if I can play again soon I will take lessons from her and I'll ask to work on these things so that I can be on the right track when I return to my previous teacher in October.