 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mindy's Mom
Date: 2003-07-15 13:35
Hello all -- I haven't written in a while and Mindy is at music camp about to finish up for hte summer. She wrote me this morning somplaining about her wrist hurting (no I didn't hink to ask her WHICH wrist). She says that at times she can hardly hold anything. She has been massaging it but she is playing about 6 hours a day and that is more than she "usually" plays each day. What do you recommend for her to do to relieve the pain? Should she wrap it in cold or hot? Or at all? I am open to suggestions -- she has a concert tonight and several more this week and she has solos since she is principle in both wind emsemble and orchestra. HELP????? TIA
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Author: Sarah Beth
Date: 2003-07-15 13:58
Hey Mindy's Mom,
I've had the same problem before. First of all, she needs to get all that pressure and tension off of her wrist, which can be easily done in two ways....The first way, she needs to get a neck strap. Maybe she can borrow one from someone else at camp if she doesnt already have one....I've never actually used one before...my teacher reccomended one, but before I went to go get one I fixed the problem myself, in a sort of miraculous and probably controversial way. She might do this already, but ask Mindy to rest the bell of her clarinet atop her knees/lap when she plays....It really does not feel awkward at all. This puts all of the weight of the clarinet on her legs and off her poor wrists. For me, the pain went away within a day or two. People might respond to my response claiming this idea sucks, and she shouldnt play with her clarinet on her legs, but in reality she has one week of camp to go, and she needs a quick fix....this should do it. She can go to the doctors and get a real fix when she gets back home... I've also heard of soaking your wrists in hot water...she could give that a try though I never needed to with my quick fix.
Beware....advise her not to get too used to this playing position, because after awhile, you can get too used to playing with a crutch, and feel awkward playing when you stand up....ONe week wont cause this, but if she continues it for a month or so.....
Hope this helps,
Sarah
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-07-15 22:18
She's obviously overdone things, too late for that, now.
Adrenaline while playing will help.
I wonder if she can play comfortably, resting the bell on her knee?
Nothing takes care of overuse injuries like rest, unfortunately.
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Author: R13A
Date: 2003-07-16 04:33
Bell on the knee ????..only way to go.
My neck was fractured in 3 places and then fused. Resting the bell on the knee is an ideal position.....for me. (due to related medical issues, I can only play in a sitting position)
My friend and duet partner, Dr. Charles Aurand, uses a neck strap due to an arthritic right wrist. Works for him.
regards,
dennis
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Author: chicagoclar
Date: 2003-07-16 08:41
I have also played with my bell on my knee. My teacher does it also. The only thing that I've found about it that was bad was that I slowly moved the clarinet to the side of my mouth and now my embouchure is crooked. I've fixed it, but it would have been much easier without developing the problem.
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2003-07-16 10:28
There is an acronym for this called RICE. Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. The neck strap or knee idea should be used since the pain will probably increase if she continues to aggravate the injury or inflammation causing the pain. In addition she should consider wrapping the hand and wrist in an Ace wrap to help support the wrist and hand. She should also ice the wrist for 20-30 minutes following playing and during breaks.
Ideally though she should seek competent medical advice to determine the cause. A regime of anti-inflammatory medicine may be indicated; in the meantime something like ibuprofen may help alleviate the pain. If the pain continues or increases with the above steps, then she should consider not playing since overuse injuries can become long term problems if ignored.
Best
Rick
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Author: krawfish3x
Date: 2003-07-16 13:08
i had a problem with my wrist hurting from over playing when i played clarinet. i play both clarinet and sax, and my wrist doesnt hurt when i play sax so i basically took a few days off from clarinet and just played sax and my problem was fixed.
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