 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: johnniegoldfish
Date: 2012-03-14 14:39
Hi
For the past few years my hands have been getting some artritis and I have had to make some playing adjustments.
My left thumb has a hard swelling on the pad, my doc has looked at it several times, she has played clarinet and understands the fingering. She suggested it might be a callous. It is tough and not too sesitive and so far I can mage playing.
Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Enjoy
Johnnie
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Author: Joanna
Date: 2012-03-23 03:36
Oh boy,
I've had a callous ever since I started playing clarinet seriously. If you buy a little pad for the thumb rest, it helps considerably. But if this callous is on the pad of the thumb, that suggests to me that your right hand position is wrong, which can worsen problems similar to tendinitis, just because it adds another stress to the hand. The clarinet should rest at the base of the nail, not the pad of the thumb.
-Joanna
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-03-23 08:14
Joanna, I think it's his left thumb, not the right hand thumb rest. An unusual situation for a left hand thumb.
johnniegoldfish wrote - "My left thumb"
Joanna - Your advice is still great!
The last thing I'd ever do is surgery. Ask your doctor about PT - physical therapy. I've heard that sometimes hot wax treatments can often help a lot as a long term artritic treatment. I'm not sure how many times a week you would need to do this or if the PT person can set you up with everything you need so you can do this type of treatment on your own at home and whenever you wish to do the treatment. It does make sense that wax would help a joint because it's pretty much oil based and will work it's way into the joints.
I'm sort of leery, suspicious, whatever about using oil based products, the key word is what kind of oil; so here is another story that may be of more interest.
Here's the story -a friend of mine who was a dedicated player at the age of 80, still able to get around the horns well soaked and rubbed his hands in warm olive oil. He said he still had pain, but it made playing the clarinet and sax's fun, instead of too painful. He played in a local band in New Mexico until he passed on at 93.
Hope this helps. Let us readers and fellow players know how you make out and good luck to a difficult situation.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2012-03-23 08:16)
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Author: johnniegoldfish
Date: 2012-03-23 12:31
Thanks to all
My Doc and OT are perplexed. We have tried the hot wax thing and while it is comforting, it is kind of yucky at the same time. I am really into olive oil from cooking to using it to preserve and soften leather, so I am going to give that a try.
From my reading and what I feel on my thumb, I am suspecting a smal foreign object has become imbedded and my body has responded by building this layer around it. I think they call this a melon, but not sure. My doc wants to give it a few more months. I am anti-surgery. I can still play, but the thumb gets my attention a bit too often.
If I find an answer or resolve this, I'll let everyone know.
Enjoy
Johnnie and the Unwashed Peasants
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Author: huda
Date: 2012-03-25 04:12
im in school and constantly writing. the part of my finger where the pen rests got a large lump. doc said it normal, and that if pressure or stress is applied to a part of the body, it will stiffen up to reinforce the skin.
in short - your ok
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