Klarinet Archive - Posting 000743.txt from 1996/02

From: kp6185a@-----.EDU
Subj: Re: Help! (Tendonitis)
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 22:48:59 -0500

I agree with Nichelle Crocker, tension is the root of my tendonitis
problems. If I watch how I hold my wrists when I drive and type I'm
usually fine playing the clarinet (even without a neck strap), but if
I'm tense (due to a midterm or personal problems) I end up in a lot of
pain.

********
Ncrocker posted:
> I've just discovered that I have tendonitis in my right wrist. Can
> anybody give me any advice on this one - such as what worked, what
> didn't, etc.

I was having some problems with this myself, and here is what I came up
with.

Tension. That's the big killer for me. I went to a freind who had
tendonitis problems, and he taught me a series of stretches that takes
about 10 min, which I do before the first time I play and after the
last. When I became aware of the tension in my right hand, I also began
to notice tension in my back, my neck, my throat....

I got the weight of the instrument off of my wrist with a neckstrap. It
helps.

I also type quite a bit. I got one of those pads for my wrist. Those
things are great.
Krista Park
kp6185a@-----.edu
American University
Washington, DC