gcoover Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I know there's a type of medical treatment known as "vibration therapy" so I'm wondering if anyone has found playing the concertina to be helpful for any hand conditions like arthritis? Maybe not so much with EC due to it's potentially stressful thumbstrap and finger rest, as well as tendency for single note playing, but I'm thinking more along the lines of full-scale harmonic playing with Anglos and Duets. Many years ago I thought my concertina playing would be over soon due to painful osteoarthritis. But the condition has stabilized, and dare I say, even gotten better. I would like to think it can be attributed in part to continuous and constant Anglo playing! And just recently I've even been able to finally tame the right hand pinky after many years of trying and can now play "Smash the Windows" in C (from the "Rattlebone and Ploughjack" album). I now feel emboldened to work on a lot of those difficult tunes in the upper registers in Adrian Brown's Garden of Dainty Delights. Anyone else experience improvements that might be due to all those wonderfully concertinistic musical vibrations? Now if I could just get medical insurance to pay for Concertina Acquisition Syndrome... Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunks Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I recently (I'm about a year in) started playing a couple of Jeff Duets I acquired in the '70's because as a dance fiddler ( just me and a piano) I felt I was fading a bit, partly because of a nagging tendon/arthritic condition in my left thumb. This condition has greatly improved since. It's a light load activity for the hand and a great brain exercise and ergo, feedback loop. I've modified the left hand strap to play with the thumb underneath. Fiddle playing back to form! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 6 hours ago, gcoover said: Maybe not so much with EC due to it's potentially stressful thumbstrap and finger rest, as well as tendency for single note playing Well, skip using the finger rest, and that tendency is over (and the thumb strap can be used in very different ways). Just saying.. Best wishes - ? PS: please inform me of any company offering this kind of insurance ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little John Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 On 2/8/2019 at 10:38 PM, gcoover said: Many years ago I thought my concertina playing would be over soon due to painful osteoarthritis. I, similarly, thought my hill-walking days would be over owing to osteoarthritis, which also affects my hands to some extent. I attribute the almost complete remission to the regular ingestion of oily fish (kipper, mackerel or salmon). I doubt that musical vibration had any effect, and certainly not on my feet! LJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-anaesthesia-accordionist-56696546.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Ventola Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 (edited) Mama Mia! Try THAT with a smart phone. Edited May 4, 2019 by Jim Ventola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelteglow Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I have arthritis in my hands due to a lifetime of practical work.Thumb joints of the left hand are the worst although I am right handed I don't know about the vibrations but my Anglo gives me gentle exercise of my fingers . I still sometimes get pains in my Thumb joints and not quite sure if its playing my Anglo standing for Morris or other causes I wear hand protectors mostly to keep my hands warm so that they move better. I try not to play outside in winter. I do also believe that music keeps me occupied and happy.Which is so important for my over all peace of mind.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3DW Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 My forebearers are arthritic, and I'm no exception. I've played guitar and mandolin (and lots of other things!) since my early teens, and the arthritis at the base of my thumbs - only an an annoyance now - might make playing fretted instruments impractical in the future. Solution? Learn Hayden concertina! All I need to do is waggle my fingers a bit using rather little force and few complex motions, and with that I anticipate a fruitful musical dotage. I recently encountered a delightful EC and found that if I use wrist straps I don't infuriate my thumbs, so another fine musical challenge awaits me. Will these squeeze boxes vibrate my hands to greater musical longevity? I hope so - I'd like to accompany you on guitar in some future year. Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 4 hours ago, W3DW said: I recently encountered a delightful EC apart from the present topic, I‘d love to learn more about that! best wishes - ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelteglow Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 These hand supports are provided by the NHS to give my Thumbs support and they are excellent for keeping your hands warm when playing my Anglo.There is still room for the hand strap .Must have been designed by an Anglo player ! Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 (edited) (posted in the wrong thread, moved) Edited May 11, 2019 by Wolf Molkentin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert stewart Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Thinking of the concertina as a therapeutic assist. About 20 years ago I absorbed some mercury that had crept into an outdoor hot tub in a heavy rainstorm. The result was blinding headaches, loss of mobility, and so forth. As I began to recover, I found that reading street signs was erratic...they would read (to me) nothing like what they actually said. There were other bizarre symptoms....but you get the idea. However, I renewed my love for the English Concertina, which works with right and left hands in rapid alternation, and therefore stimulates left and right brain. After a couple of months of daily practice (not having played for some years), most road signs read correctly for me, my speech improved, and my concertina playing really benefited. Hooray for Sir Charles and Louis! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 On 12/4/2019 at 12:50 AM, robert stewart said: Thinking of the concertina as a therapeutic assist. About 20 years ago I absorbed some mercury that had crept into an outdoor hot tub in a heavy rainstorm. The result was blinding headaches, loss of mobility, and so forth. As I began to recover, I found that reading street signs was erratic...they would read (to me) nothing like what they actually said. There were other bizarre symptoms....but you get the idea. However, I renewed my love for the English Concertina, which works with right and left hands in rapid alternation, and therefore stimulates left and right brain. After a couple of months of daily practice (not having played for some years), most road signs read correctly for me, my speech improved, and my concertina playing really benefited. Hooray for Sir Charles and Louis! I believe there is something to what you say Robert. Although I wonder whether a hand is controlled by one side of the brain and the other hand by the other side , I did find playing the English concertina was most helpfull in recovering from a Stroke. I attributed this more to gaining control of the coordination of the two hands . A side effect was to re-train my brain to imagine a sense of touch where it was somewhat diminished. I practice every day, looking for pieces that are chalenging for the fine end of coordination. Seven years on and most of the downsides of that stroke have repaired and , yes , my concertina playing improved too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert stewart Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Thank you Geoff for sharing your story. I was thinking of the theory that the left brain works the right side, and the right brain the left side, therefore the nerves, fingers, etc. There are quite a few items on this subject on the web that show up in a search. To be honest I have no idea if the theory is correct, but it is widely used in various ways. Whatever it was, and however it worked, I am glad to hear that the EC helped you, just as it helped me. I much prefer playing the concertina to doing rehabilitation exercises! best wishes, RJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenTx Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 You are correct the Left side of the brain controls the right side than the right side of the brain controls the left side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudchutney Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 I've recently started warming up my hands properly before playing, and I really mean "properly"!! I've got a sequence of about 6 or 7 exercises I do religiously before I pick up the box. Since starting I've noticed considerably less joint pain. So the warming up prevents the pain, and the playing / practise keeps my brain exercised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 9 hours ago, Mudchutney said: I've got a sequence of about 6 or 7 exercises I do religiously before I pick up the box. Can you please describe these exercises, I think that I need something like this myself. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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