 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2014-12-26 19:14
The last month or so Ive been having a fair amount of left thumb pad pain.
Also if I flex or extend the the left thumb it hurts.
I'm thinking the extended playing of the Clarinet may be the cause.
Most of my playing is sitting down.
I rest the clarinet on a small stool in front of me, so there is almost no pressure on the right thumb in back of the Clarinet rest.
That said I wonder if there is a lot of pressure on the left thumb?
I don't know that I'm really applying a lot of pressure
Could this be an overuse syndrome?
Any thoughts on this or ideas for solutions?
I do play the Bagpipe Practice Chanter as well, but it weighs next to nothing.
Ive been playing the Pipes for years with zero pain
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2014-12-26 19:43
Left thumb pain is unusual. Could you post a picture of your left hand position?
When you rest the bell on a stool, you may be leaning forward to the mouthpiece, which may throw your left arm into an unusual and ultimately painful position. Try resting the bell on one or the other knee, or lay it between your knees.
A physical therapist will see immediately where any strain comes from. Find one who specializes in wind instrument players.
Ken Shaw
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2014-12-26 20:09
1) Medical intervention like Ken said.
2) Consider use of a neckstrap...although for left thumb pain I question its ability to address your issues....right thumb/hand pain, that would be a different story
3) Mr. Shaffer, you're relative new to clarinet I seem to recall from other posts, correct? I ask because it's not uncommon for new players to take play related stress out on their fingers. Or to restate, fingers are often straight rather than curved as they should be, and keys get slammed down, when a better word for describing clarinet finger movement is "placement," or to simply place the finger where it needs to be.
Of course I can't see your play, but I can tell you that fingers that are curved, and at attention, but not at a state consistent with a "cat ready to pounce" are not only necessary to prevent strain, but for "opening the door" down the road for faster tempo playing.
Envision that I've asked you to hold the end of a baseball bat with your left hand, where the bat is in a vertical position, perpendicular to your body, and the bat's "sweat spot" is further from the ground.
"Dollars to donuts" you'd grab that bat with the very curved fingers that nature gave us, rather than the flatter fingers one might associate with you holding a slice of bread (on its top and bottom).
Well, with the exception of a somewhat straightened thumb, but not one that's tense, that's how your left hand should be positioned if its not already.
Practice with a slow metronome for precise movement of the fingers.
If you desire a visual, my "hero" in the finger department is Burt Hara. Notice how curved and precise and fluid those fingers are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMMxi5jvgQI
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Please don't do any of this as a substitute for Ken's suggestion to engage the medical system. Like he said, they can not only pinpoint cause, but offer therapy and exercises to help you.
Good luck.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-12-26 20:17
As in so many similar situations, this board is just not a good place to ask to have physical pain diagnosed. The pain you describe suggests some kind of inflammation in the thumb. It may be related to the clarinet or not. You should probably have an orthopedist (especially one who specializes in problems of the hand and wrist) evaluate it, which may mean going through your primary care physician to get a referral. The orthopedist (or your PCP) may suggest medication, therapy, cortisone shots or, at the most aggressive end, surgery, but that's all for medical experts to suggest.
Could it have been caused by repetitive stress from playing? Probably no one will be able to say for sure, but after a month of no improvement, it probably isn't going to clear up on its own. Any accommodations you make in your playing to relieve/avoid pain risks distorting your technique in ways that may be hard to correct once the pain goes away.
IMO you should have this evaluated by qualified medical people ASAP and not spend time trying to self-diagnose and self-treat it. Simply waiting it out seems to be a ship that has already sailed. If your playing technique is at fault in any way, a therapist (I think this would fall under "occupational therapy") may be able to pinpoint the problem, especially if you can find one who knows the problems of woodwind playing. That's one direction in which the ortho you see may guide you.
Karl
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2014-12-27 06:14
Popped a Voltaren Tablet (NSAID) at Dinner and the pain has totally resolved.
I also took a look at correct left hand placement on a Clarinet website....appears to be no issues there.
I'm going to cut back on practice time and see if that doesn't help.
I'm tentatively thinking @ 2 to 3 hours per day I've just been playing to much
Time will tell.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-12-29 01:13
Sometimes a tiny sliver of metal or wood can cause a lot of pain even when the sliver is too small to see without magnification. Give the thumb a shot of Bactine and see if that helps.
Bob Draznik
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