Hand straps causing knuckle-joint ganglion

[Jane_in_UK]

I've only had my anglo concertina since mid-July, but in that short space of time I've developed a pea-sized ganglion-type lump on my right hand, just to the left of the knuckle of my index finger (i.e just to the left of my index finger metacarpophalangeal joint). It seems to be caused by my strap exerting pressure on the joint.

My hands are very small (e.g. I take a size XXS in gardening gloves) so in order to reach the air button with my thumb I'm forced to keep the right strap really loose and ram my hand in as far as possible (so much so that it makes the webbing between my thumb and index finger really sore). The looseness of the strap - essential for reaching the air button - seems to be causing the pressure on the joint. I've noticed that the pressure is most acute when I'm drawing the bellows, especially if the note I'm playing is on the right side. My bellows and straps are quite stiff as they were both replaced by Barleycorn when they restored the concertina prior to sale (it is an 1888 Lachenal). Obviously the straps and bellows will soften with regular use (I'm playing an hour or two each day at the moment) but is there anything else I can try in the meantime to alleviate the pressure? For today's practice session I put a sticking plaster over the lump and wore fingerless gloves to ease the pressure on the joint, but clearly that's not an ideal solution in the long term. Has anyone here experienced a similar issue, or does anyone have any suggestions about how to improve the situation?

[RAc]

Hi Jane, are you resting your instrument on the left knee? If yes you may experiment with switching pivot points (ie rest right or rest the bellows, not the end).

 

Best of luck!

[Jane_in_UK]

1 minute ago, RAc said:

Hi Jane, are you resting your instrument on the left knee? If yes you may experiment with switching pivot points (ie rest right or rest the bellows, not the end).

 

Best of luck!

 

Yes, resting on the left knee. I'll experiment! Thank you..

[d.elliott]

There is a fix, a contemporaneous fix, whereby a lever/ platform is attached to the palm rest and covers the air button. the thumb rests on the platform and only needs a small pressure to activate the air button without having to stretch the hand forward to engage the thumb. I have fitted these to instruments to aid people with arthritic hands and/ or small hands. It is also possible to move the palm rest forward towards the keys by say 6mm or so, to help. Where abouts in the UK are you?

 

PM me for more information.

[Jane_in_UK]

26 minutes ago, d.elliott said:

There is a fix, a contemporaneous fix, whereby a lever/ platform is attached to the palm rest and covers the air button. the thumb rests on the platform and only needs a small pressure to activate the air button without having to stretch the hand forward to engage the thumb. I have fitted these to instruments to aid people with arthritic hands and/ or small hands. It is also possible to move the palm rest forward towards the keys by say 6mm or so, to help. Where abouts in the UK are you?

 

PM me for more information.

 

Thank you for offering to help - I've sent you a PM...

[Bill N]

Here's a thread from a while back.  A friend of mine had a similar problem and I came up with this easy fix, which is completely reversible.  I have an extra one lying around here somewhere.  If you DM me a mailing address I'll stick it in the post for you.

 

 

[Jody Kruskal]

Over the years, I have had hand strap problems and pain too. My solution was to sew cushy fabric strap sleeves from an old berber jumper. They are in the form of a tube, tapered at each end to fit the shape of my straps. The leather fits snugly inside of the tube. The fuzzy fabric makes the fit more gentle.

 

Perhaps my fix would help you with your stiff straps and small hands.

[Clive Thorne]

In the old days the solution would have been to whack the ganglion with the family bible!