 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2015-05-29 17:23
Quick question... has anyone had a very painful Left Elbow joint?
Ive been playing the Clarinet 1 to 2 hours at a time for well over a year.
The Left Elbow is flexed this whole time and I have no doubt that the pain is the result of my playing.
I do rest the Bell on a small stand in front of my chair.
I now just started taking an NSAID Voltaren, to see if that will help.
Years ago when I was playing Flute in Irish Sessions I had this problem, though not as severe
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Author: RAL
Date: 2015-05-29 18:07
I have not had it with my Clarinet, but with other activities (in particular, waterskiing).
In which side of the elbow is it? Inside (golfer's elbow) or outside (tennis elbow)? Not addressing it would worsen the situation and make it chronic.
Exercises and stretching are the path towards recovery. Plenty of it in the web.
In particular, the FlexBar is pretty good and I have experienced and seen good results with it.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2015-05-29 18:15
I know it myself. Typically the pain is localized at the inner or outer "knuckle" of the elbow: "Epicondylitis medialis/ lateralis", "golfers/ tennis elbow". Detailed information e.g. in wikipedia. I wouldn't take Voltaren internally as it may be harmful to the stomach but first try it for some time externally as an ointment.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-05-29 20:36
I don't exactly know why you say it HAS to be your clarinet playing.
One thing that may be at the root of the issue (if it IS your clarinet playing) is too much tension somewhere along the line.
Ideally your arms (and elbow) should be relaxed. Your hands and fingers (to include your wrist and knuckles) should be relaxed.
Of course you must use just enough muscle to pick up the clarinet and just enough muscle to hold it without it dropping. But the ONLY constant WORK that is done while you play is your embouchure (all associated muscles around the mouthpiece) and your abdominal muscles. Everything should almost feel like like you don't care (and I just mean, NOT TENSE).
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-05-29 23:07
Ben Shaffer wrote:
> ...and I have no doubt
> that the pain is the result of my playing.
> Years ago when I was playing Flute in Irish Sessions I had
> this problem, though not as severe
>
It easily could be that something in your elbow's nerve or skeletal structure could be at the root and the clarinet and flute playing are only aggravating the underlying problem. I can't imagine why you wouldn't ask your family doc about this instead of us, and maybe next an orthopedist. Even if someone here happens to be a medical professional (there are several who post from time to time, but I doubt that any of them would try to diagnose this over the web), you still should have the elbow and surrounding structures of your arm examined in person.
It may as simple as taking nsaids or slightly adjusting your playing mechanics. Or it might be something structural that will continue to get worse as you age, and knowing what it is and possibly dealing with it more aggressively might save you even more pain down the road.
Karl
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2015-05-30 02:14
Not sure what is at the root of my pain, but the Voltaren has really helped.
Incidentally when I did a spell check on Voltaren, Voltaire came up, this may be serendipity maybe I should be reading his writings?
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