 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2024-06-30 02:56
I've read that most concert pianists are very careful with their hands, avoiding their use for many things other than piano playing. A few felt otherwise; Arrau pursued manual work like gardening. Anyway, I've never been particularly careful about my hands, and that's never given me any trouble. Until it did.
A few months ago I attempted something efficient but stupid that involved picking up a plastic crate full of paper with my right index finger alone (so I could carry two of them with one hand, you see.) I felt the main knuckle of that finger give, and I knew right away it was trouble. And so it's been. Amazing how often that knuckle supports everyday activities. Grasping single coins was a b. Pertinently, clarinet playing was thoroughly compromised.
At first it hurt too much to even hold the clarinet and try to cover that finger's tone hole. I've been patiently rehabbing the thing on my own, light massage, cautious motion exercises, avoiding overuse, etc. Gradually the pain has grown less, and functionality has been returning - but maybe not exactly to where it was.
It's become necessary to retrain my right hand for clarinet playing. The relationship between fingers has shifted, so I'm having to learn small details about positioning that in the past were unconsciously functional. Every day (sometimes twice) I start just with careful stretching of the hand, then work on slow right hand clarion intervals. Oddly the pinky has been especially thrown off, so I'm having to train independence back in for that and the other fingers. If I lose conscious awareness of that stuff, which eventually I want to be able to routinely do, there's a tendency for something - finger, hand, or wrist - to move somewhere, and then right-hand holes cease to cover completely.
Stamina of the injured joint seems to be a thing too, and at some point during practice the joint lock up to where I can't cover the holes no matter what. So, I take a break, and notice, oh yeah, it hurts now, and then I pause or turn to something less involving, or long tones, or staccato drills. Or, for the first time in my life, improvising. The injury seems to be getting better, and probably I'll build facility back eventually.
In a way, I'm lucky to not have performing responsibilities, so I'm sort of doing what I've always done, patiently working on improvement. But playing something like, say, Rossini Theme & Vars is lovely and all, until the finger tires or the hand strays, and then even simple phrases are impossible. Frustrating. Live and learn.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-06-30 10:12
Hi Philip,
It may be helpful to see a hand therapist- could be either a physical or occupational therapist specializing in hand treatment.
Even though it is now a chronic problem (physical problems often are more difficult to treat when they become chronic), it is very likely you still can get benefits from seeing a specialist.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2024-06-30 15:37
Philip,
This sounds like a hyperextension of a finger tendon or muscle. In football, it is often called "jersey finger" as in a defensive player grabbing the jersey of an offensive player. The fix is usually PT, hand surgery, or just leaving it alone.
Your primary care physician can guide you to the appropriate person to evaluate your injury and develop a treatment plan. See m1964's post above.
Hank
Post Edited (2024-06-30 23:46)
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2024-07-13 19:23
I'm making progress. It's of the two forward and one step backward kind, but overall the knuckle is improving with patience, exercise and rest. It tires, and I stop and wait. Often this means a shorter practice than I was accustomed to, but sometimes I have the discipline to return after a break or to practice & exercise a short second time later in the day.
Most of the exercising is of various sequences involving the right hand, especially the pinky keys and the side trill keys. Plus easy stretching and massage. Today I got half-way around the circle of fifths playing the major & minor arpeggios, twice each, before the knuckle tired. That's way better than I started at. I think I'll get it all the way back, in the fullness of time, maybe even better, albeit to a slightly different positional place than before the injury.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2024-07-13 20:55
I have always felt that hand therapists were a bit superfluous until, following recent hand surgery, I actually went to one. I am now a total convert. The benefit has been quite remarkable and the speed of the rehabilitation has far exceeded my expectations. See one, it won't be time wasted.
Tony F.
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Author: gwlively
Date: 2024-07-13 21:25
I had "trigger finger" when I saw a hand surgeon. I know this is different than your situation. Rather than surgery, she had me do a conservative approach first. Put an ice cream stick below the middle finger, then wrap with a stretchy bandage, not too tight. Do this at night to give the finger a total break. It worked for me.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2024-07-15 20:46
I had a similar experience. In March I was cutting some brush on a hill, stepped back, lost my balance, my left hand broke my fall. I bent back all of my fingers for a bad sprain. Combined with a little arthritis, I’ve had difficulty playing. The doctor gave me the you’re getting old talk, and if my other recent injuries are a guide, it may take at least a year to heal (or perhaps never). When I bend my fingers they are not closing straight. I’m often missing tone holes, bumping side keys, or hitting the Eb bis key. I’ve found some work arounds which may help you.
*Stretching, rubbing, scale warmups and NSAIDs (I use Naproxen), including topicals.
*Adjust the clarinet so the fingers are straighter when closing them on the keys. I twist the barrel to change the mouthpiece angle
*Come back tomorrow if nothing works today. I’ve had days when nothing worked, couldn’t play a note. It’s not worth the frustration to keep trying.
*Switch to bass. This has solved 90% of my problems. I still have to compensate to keep my fingers straight and not bump wrong keys, but I haven’t had a single frustrating day where I couldn’t play at all. (Fortunately for me I played Bari sax years ago, and there wasn’t a huge adaptation to the mouthpiece or airflow differences.) My hope is that a year from now I’ll be able to play the Bb soprano again. But if not, the bass is a lot of fun, most of the music is easier, and my wife prefers its sound to the Bb.
Laurie (he/him)
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-07-15 23:45
I have suffered periodically from hip ,shoulder and lower back problems. I used to see physiotherapists to put things right , but now I find I can generally manage by self-treating myself, based on what I learned from them. As we get older, these sorts of injuries are often semi permanent, so knowing the tricks to deal with them when they start to flare up is the way to go I believe.
Knowledge is power. ( and also saves money).lol
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-07-16 11:34
To expound a little on what I was trying to say, a good physiotherapist may well treat a finger injury by working on the hand and muscles and tendons of the related lower arm to alleviate the body's related reactions to the finger trauma, basicly things which hinder the finger's full recovery and articulation. A lot of this is something you'd never guess, but by learning the related points to work on, you can go home and work more effectively on healing the injury yourself and also reduce the odds of it becoming chronic.... at least in the matter of its frequency and severity of re-occurrence.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2024-07-16 15:26
Hi Julian. When my hip was bothering, I went to therapy for that. As you say, I took what I learned home and tailored it a little, extended it a little. It was a good learning process.
I've taken time to read about finger and knuckle anatomy (a google degree, haha.) Maybe I injured ligament(s), not tendons - probably Grayson's ligament. Acting on that supposition, what I'm doing for it seems to be working. I surely would have benefited from a splint initially, since anything I did with the hand for a couple weeks hurt the thing anew, but oh well.
It's continuing to improve; normal activities of the hand don't hurt now. My awareness of related anatomy and function is improving. Currently the most common challenge during practice is fatigue setting in past a certain point. That and a nagging tendency of the wrist/elbow/shoulder to "help", which leads to other fingers missing their targets. I don't **think** I'll end up with a chronic debility, but time will tell.
P.s., everyone who suggested consulting a hand therapist was right, and thanks to all. I just tend to be, hmm, stupid comes to mind.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-07-16 16:37
If it's Grayson's ligament you're having trouble with, you should get him to give you your one back. Lol
Wishing you a speedy and full recovery Philip.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-07-17 06:25
For those who cannot get their fingers to work well on a clarinet, playing a bass or a plateau clarinet can be the answer.
BTW, Uebel sells a beautiful plateau (if one got the funds). Not sure if they have it in A.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-07-17 10:48
I think that while the bass may be more forgiving than a soprano in the matter of fingering precision, it is a greater punisher of joints and ligaments.
I just think there's a trade-off to be considered there if one is switching to the bass for reasons of hand injury.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2024-07-18 19:51
I switched to bass (for now) and still notice some of the same issues, especially bumping side keys. But it’s not as severe as when I play the Bb soprano. Also, since the bass part is usually easier music, the problems don’t appear as often. One thing I’ve found that I think will help me in the long run is that with the broader key spacing I have to focus a little more on finger placement. When playing the soprano I tend to go on autopilot, which isn’t working as well for me now. I’m hoping playing the bass will help retrain my fingers or gradually transitioning back to the Soprano. In the meantime, playing the bass is a lot of fun!
Laurie (he/him)
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Author: graham
Date: 2024-07-18 22:27
I have an arthritic left hand thumb joint (bottom where it meets the hand). The biggest aggravator of this is the basset horn playing the throat notes. The bass is the next worst, and b flat/A easiest. Obviously, this is a different and much less serious condition, but seeking a solution such as a good plateau clarinet sounds well worth trying. Good ones crop up on the second hand market.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2024-09-06 23:28
Just to follow up, my finger seems well healed now. Hitting rh holes is secure, side key operations are reliable. Endurance is good, pain is minimal to nonexistent, though I was reminded today when I opened my car door with that finger alone that it's not totally new again.
Let's see, it took about 4 months. Don't get stupid with your joints. Phil. :-)
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The Clarinet Pages
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