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Re: English horn hand pain

Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2010-09-14 16:55

The bit of E.H. I played, I never found the sling useful at all: no weight bearing... unless its another one of those specific body build issues. The only thing I ever found that relieves any tension on the right thumb was to jimmy a string that held my bell (oboe) to the screw on the music stand. This actually left me relatively free when playing too. I guess for the E.H., some kind of cello-peg would be the best.

My experience on E.H. is less than limited, but I'd like to give everyone a word of warning generally. One of the reasons I left the scene was tendinitis. After 3 years, I finally got over it with acupuncture. The old wisdom that prevention beats any cure really applies here: a few doctors and physiotherapists have explained that a pain in the pinky (or elbow or what have you) is very often a sign of a pinched nerve in the neck area. A feed-back response mechanism has it that nerve compression in the hand will cause pain, but that pain will cause more muscle compression on the nerve ..... and let the games begin!

It is EXTREMELY important to keep the body in shape and nimble. Taking interest in some kind of sport (including serious dancing) will do wonders on both your body and your moods: your musicianship will only benefit from it..... I learned this the hard way! And with physical activity, stretching is vital: it could be yoga or any kind of ordinary routine that gently and progressively works the neck, torso and each angle direction along the arms.... there are a whole lot of those!

Best of luck to all!

Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music

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