 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: TrueFinlandishness
Date: 2012-02-04 19:48
At Christmas I was sat in a Symphony Orchestra in front of the bass drum blasting out The Grand Gate of Kiev from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and I noticed a stabbing pain in the centre of my chest. I had to stop playing. Since then it regularly comes back often, although not exclusively, during loud sections or when I'm at the end of a phrase.
Has anyone else had this feeling? Anyone know what it is? Should I be worried or have it checked out? I don't know if I'm being paranoid but there is a wealth of experience here so t seemed a good place to ask! Thankyou.
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Author: plclemo
Date: 2012-02-04 20:19
GO to see your DOCTOR! ASAP!!!! May just be some muscle strain BUT may be the beginning signs of a heart problem.
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Author: oboesax
Date: 2012-02-04 22:04
Could be a couple of things. I agree that you should see a doctor.
My daughter (16) has had a condition called costocondritus since she was young. Her left rib cage, or rather the muscles around it, will cramp up causing severe sharp pain in the left chest area. This started when she was young and was experiencing a lot of stress because of elementary school. She got it once while singing in a televised chorale concert. It comes with stress and would come more often when she tried running cross country. An asthma doctor used to treat her with the regular inhaler that people with asthma use. She has not used it in several years since she left that awful elementary school as she no longer needs it. The condition comes back sometimes but she tries to control it by relaxing.
She will also occasionally feel her chest hurt when she is done circle breathing while playing oboe for a few minutes. Today in fact at an audition she did some circle breathing during the Haydn concerto, immediately followed by the 1st movement of the Strauss concerto, where she did a lot of circle breathing. Clearly she needs to learn to exhale the carbon dioxide better while she's playing, and it is something she is working on. She felt her chest for about half an hour after the audition, and then it went away.
I don't recall if there is much breath holding in Pictures, but you might want to consider some oboe-related caused pains.
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2012-02-05 04:42
if it's accompanied by shortness of breath and/or occurs with Stress, I'm with an MD check in the near future. At least get your BP checked right away.
If it's not, it could be inflammatory, say the cartileges that cushion your ribs from your breastbone; you might try some NSAIDs (if your stomach is up to it), i.e. ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, to see if that helps.
If it does involve cartilege, the ONLY solution is rest, so do very slow warm-ups before you play and play less for awhile, avoid really intense pieces, etc.
I'd also avoid heat.
In ANY case, if it continues I'd suggest a visit to the doc.
then again, the bass drum could've sparked anxiety or the vibrations could have triggered something odd in your nervous system...
Listen to your bod and TAKE CARE.
maryRN
GoodWinds
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Author: TrueFinlandishness
Date: 2012-02-05 18:20
Thankyou very much all of you- I'm off to the doctors' next week some time to have blood pressure and everything checked so hopefully they'll be able to run some tests. Thanks for your concern!
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2012-02-05 18:55
If it helps, you might use the phrase below instead of 'when I play the oboe':
'When I hold my breath and push...'
It's a bit simplistic, but it would give the doc a better idea of what you're up to when the pain hits. Please include any other 'symptoms' -- dizziness, blacking out, spinning, feeling 'weird', shortness of breath -- along with the report of pain.
please let us know you're okay and better yet, that you'll be able to still play.
GoodWinds
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