Klarinet Archive - Posting 000609.txt from 1996/09

From: Vicki Matteson <VMatteson@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Carpal tunnel syndrome: Please help my student
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 13:40:00 -0400

Ed,

I am dealing with two young students NOW who have CPS. One a bassooninst and
the other a clarinetist both 16.

The Bassoonist has it in BOTH forearms and her fingers get tingly! The pain
has been terrible for her. She goes to a sports medicine complex and does
the following routine>
1. Advil - no substitute works best. She can take up to twice the dosage
recommended on the bottle without danger.
2. She lifts one pound weights up and down in succession-palm facing the
ceiling 20 times daily...then repeats the movement side to side. (If no
weights...soup can works great!)
3. She also applies heat (one of those packs with a disk that clicks, keeping
the heat for a while then can be boiled for the next time) before she
plays...usually an hour before.
4. She then applies ice after performances to reduce/prevent swelling.

Her symptoms are so severe she also uses braces. She has gone through this
for two months now. And seems to be getting better....at least the pain is a
lot less.

The doctors do not want to operate on her for much the same reasons as your
student.

My clarinetist is what I call a symptom free student at the moment BUT I
think it is because the last bout she had was so severe that she is very
careful about what she does these days.

She follows much the same routine as the bassoonist with the addition of a
wrist brace the helps keep the writ stable and also has a thumb anchor...no
steel to inhibit movement even when she is symptom free. (Her Dad got this
for her thru a Lab Supply Co. as he's a jeweler and uses wrist band himself
for all that close finger/hand stuff) She also is into the heat and cold
routine before and after lessons and major rehearsal and performance times.
She uses alleve at twice the dosage.

I'm beginning to get really leary these days being in education and seeing so
many young students getting this. I some times wonder if all the computer
work they do is putting added stress on those muscles other then the
instrument movement and weight. Could be wrong but it seems to be a major
problem out there.

The doctors here call the problem RSI - Repetitive Stress Injury as related
to carpel tunnel.

Hope any of this information helps you out!

Band Director in Vermont
Vicki

   
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