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Numb Fingertip


paperpunchr

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I probably had the strap a bit too tight trying to get quicker response on fast tunes, but about 1/2 inch along the outboard edge of the last joint of my right pinky is numb...anyone else have that problem and know of a solution? It started several days ago and has not gone away. (I'm a beginner and trying to learn fast, so playing several hours at a time or for brief periods several times a day.) I'm concerned it might be a permanent loss...

 

Paperpunchr :huh:

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That could be a symptom of nerve irritation in the hand or wrist. If you are concerned, that is enough reason (in my experience, documented elsewhere on Cnet) to consult your doctor (or whatever kind of medical professional you use) promptly. Overpractice if you are not a youngster is common cause of physical problems in new players of many musical instruments. Catching these issues early makes a big difference in the long run. Good luck.

 

Ken

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Hello Paperpunchr,

If you scan the topics in this forum you will come across painful wrists, aching elbows and assorted repetitive stress disorders. This is not unique to the concertina and it is worth googling musician health sites to gain some perspective into the pains and gains of playing instruments in general.

 

Here are a few things I've learned:

 

Everyone has a different body. What predispositions for injury you bring to the concertina or another instrument may share symptoms with me or someone else but have a unique cause.

 

Pain or uncomfortableness is often a warning. Stop what you are doing and evaluate.

 

Seek professional advice from a physician "atuned" to musician's problems. Physical therapy can help and physical therapists have likely seen many cases and devised many stategies for recovery.

 

There are individual physical limits to practicing.

 

MOST important!: There are no shortcuts to building support musculature and establishing good technique.

It all takes time!

 

I experienced painful symptoms in my left little finger. (Gee! I wonder if it was practicing for hours at a time on tunes that used "the triangle" of the pinkie, ring, and middle!?) After 35 years of playing strings with no major problems it scared me to death! Took 3 weeks to get to see a hand specialist. Took two more weeks to get a nerve test. Took two more weeks to see the hand specialist again who had forgetten me in the meantime. By then I had pretty much figured out I was aggrevating my pre-existing arthritis.

 

The hand specialist was not much help. The physical therapists that I got to see helped a great deal however.

 

Advice: Don't ignore the pain. Be patient. Take the long steady road toward improved playing. Get professional and specific help if the pain persists. Have fun!

 

I wish you well,

 

Greg

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I probably had the strap a bit too tight trying to get quicker response on fast tunes, but about 1/2 inch along the outboard edge of the last joint of my right pinky is numb...anyone else have that problem and know of a solution? It started several days ago and has not gone away. (I'm a beginner and trying to learn fast, so playing several hours at a time or for brief periods several times a day.) I'm concerned it might be a permanent loss...
Pain or uncomfortableness is often a warning. Stop what you are doing and evaluate.

Greg is sooo right. The first thing to do is stop, or a problem that isn't permanent could become permanent.

 

Maybe rest for a few days will be all you need. Maybe not. But continuing the same intensive practice which apparently caused the problem while trying to find a magic trick that will counteract it could make the problem permanent. Or worse. A friend almost lost his leg because he ignored a pain in his knee, thinking he could "work through it".

 

Seek professional advice from a physician "attuned" to musician's problems. Physical therapy can help and physical therapists have likely seen many cases and devised many strategies for recovery.

I'll add that if the physical therapist is any good, (s)he'll want to see you in action. Working only from descriptions and lists of symptoms is a good way to cause damage rather than cure it. On the other hand, when several Morris dancers went to a certain sports therapist with similar complaints, he decided to attend one of their practices... and insisted that they wear shorts, so that he could see what their legs were doing. That's the right way!

 

There are individual physical limits to practicing.

 

MOST important!: There are no shortcuts to building support musculature and establishing good technique.

It all takes time!

More truth from Greg. If you want to be able to lift heavy weights, you start light and work up; you don't start with double your ultimate goal. The same with concertina. If you want to be able to play steadily for an hour at a time, you shouldn't start by trying to go for three. Certainly not if you're experiencing problems.

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I probably had the strap a bit too tight trying to get quicker response on fast tunes, but about 1/2 inch along the outboard edge of the last joint of my right pinky is numb...anyone else have that problem and know of a solution? It started several days ago and has not gone away. (I'm a beginner and trying to learn fast, so playing several hours at a time or for brief periods several times a day.) I'm concerned it might be a permanent loss...

 

Paperpunchr :huh:

I don't have any "solutions" to your problem, but your posting has motivated me to comment on two things.

 

First, I'm not certain what "too tight" equates to for you, but I'll offer an opinion on strap tightness. I set my hand-straps such that they are just a bit loose with my hands fully inserted and at rest. I can best describe that by saying such that it's possible to see some space (maybe 1/4 inch) under my palms on a light pull if I flex all my fingers out away from the buttons. This allows me to snug my hands in the straps if I flex or bridge them slightly (and one tends to do so naturally), yet I can easily reposition my hands without constraint when I need to. Depending on your instrument and the straps, you might need to punch some intermediate holes between those pre-punched in the straps in order to get an optimal setting.

 

As to the numbness, I may have experienced something similar about eight years back. I bought a pennywhistle and spent several hours that evening attempting to learn to play tunes on it. I must have spent three or four hours seated with both elbows resting on the arms of a chair while working with it, and I didn't move much but my fingers during that time.

 

The next morning I woke to discover that the outer half of the right pinky tip (last joint segment) was numb, as was the outer third of the ring-finger tip and a small spot on the middle-finger tip. I thought it was one of those things that would pass in several minutes, but it didn't seem inclined to go away despite much shaking, flexing and so forth over several days. The short of this story is that I didn't see a doctor but the condition did finally subside. It wasn't a quick recovery though, it took five or six months before things were back to normal.

 

I was never sure of the cause, but assumed it was either the constant pressure on some nerve while I was resting my elbows on the chair arms, or maybe something about the way I held my wrists.

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Thanks for all the good advice...I've sharply reduced my playing time and much (but not all) of the problem has abated. I'll be doing a rebuild on one of my concertinas so won't be playing it much for a while anyway, as long as I'm resting that finger might as well do something as needs doing. :D

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Paper tape. Johnson & Johnson, not any other brand in this case, not even the other stuff typically used at health clinics. All the other tapes leave gummy residue on the skin, and can make it hard to form new skin. (I speak from lots of experience!)

 

I realize your problem isn't the skin, particularly, but the tape will help ease the pain, regardless. Less bulky than regular bandages, if you must still play music.

 

This particular tape doesn't always stick well, but you can add some Nexcare first aid tape over it. (That adds some waterproofing, too.)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks all, I think I've found something that works for me...it reduces and distributes the pressure on the palms of the hands while playing anglo...There's a tubular foam insulation used to slip onto water pipes...a length of that cut to fit the handrest, and the straps let out to make enough room for my hands...the split foam tubing slips on over the handrests and is kept in place by friction.

 

It's sort of like riding a bike with padded handlebar grips, and it's greatly reduced the problem.

 

Your mileage may vary, but it works for me....though I have to let the straps out all the way to the last hole!

 

Thanks again!

 

Doug

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  • 2 weeks later...

Glad to hear the problem is reducing. FWIW I have a couple of small numb patches on my left index finger and thumb. We now know that they are the result of what must have been a very small stroke indeed that occurred while I was asleep one night, as became evdient when a larger (though very fortunately still relatively minor) stroke hit three months later. So numb patches of any kind anywhere are not something to take lightly.

 

Chris

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Glad to hear the problem is reducing. FWIW I have a couple of small numb patches on my left index finger and thumb. We now know that they are the result of what must have been a very small stroke indeed that occurred while I was asleep one night, as became evdient when a larger (though very fortunately still relatively minor) stroke hit three months later. So numb patches of any kind anywhere are not something to take lightly.

 

Chris

 

Good point...mine have faded with the use of cushioning on the handbars, and I'm playing a fiar amount now with no other ergonomic problems...My thanks, Good luck and good health to you, and to all who contributed to this thread...

Doug

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