Anyone ever had a problem with wrist pain bad enough to hamper your keyboard playing? As a result of loading/unloading equipment, I've developed either a sprain or strain (pulled muscle) in my right wrist. After antagonizing it last night it's mow bad enough to limit typing and keyboard playing... real bummer!

Glenn

Ibuprofin!!!
DonM

I went to the doctor for repetitive wrist strain last winter. It got so bad I couldn't type or play either.

An orthopedic surgeon looked at it and told me it was just muscle strain, but was a precursor to much worse if I didn't give it rest. I was given non-steroidal anti-inflammatorys that really helped.

The best thing for it was when I stopped typing and playing completely for just over two weeks. My wrist still feels somewhat weak, but no pain.

Ibuprofen, ice, and REST! PREVENTION is the best 'long term' solution. Ever since I switched my keyboard to the smaller lightweight 61 note Yamaha PSR2000 & now the Yamaha Tyros, I no longer experience wrist or back pain/strain. Glenn, hope your wrist feels better soon. - Scott

BEEN THERE!

Almost 50 years of self-abuse (mostly on upright bass) has ended my bass career.

Take care of yourself!

Russ

I had chronic tennis elbow for about 2 years, but over the last 6 months I have been icing it every night (I make ice blocks in Dixie cups and tear off the top of the cup so I can hold it by the bottom and massage the area with the ice block), doing some exercises with a light weight and applying some Capsaicin cream twice a day (be careful with this since you do not want to get it in your eyes, I use a disposable surgical glove to apply it). The capsaicin cream effectively masks the pain, so you can do the exercises that in the long run will strengthen the area and get you back to normal.

I also got on every prayer list I could!

It has finally resolved the problem, but I am certainly cautious about things that may aggrevate it.

Hope some of these ideas help.

There is a York wrist support that wraps around the wrist and fastens with Velcro. My wife uses one. I believe it was purchased from Argos, but most sports shops would give you guidance.
This would ideally be used when not playing.

I hope you find some comfort from the pain. I myself have been going through some pain for the past few years with my left wrist. Guitar and Piano are finally catching up to me here. Mine is a sharp hot pain that shoots from where my wrist and bottom of hand meet. The pain will shot straight up into my pinky finger. Every so often I'll use s wrist brace when playing (but sometimes that gets annoying).

Squeak

I've been there. That's why I travel very light. Give the wrist a rest and use your other hand more. You're going to want to let it heal rather than keep irritating it.

You might also consider trying, would you believe, magnet therapy. I got a nice looking bracelet with magnets. I used it on my right wrist. The right wrist healed quite quickly even though I had hurt it worse than my left wrist. The left wrist took a quite awhile to heal without magnets. Both wrists were screwed up along with joint discomfort in my elbows and shoulders, a great thing for a keyboard player.

Was it the magnets? I asked my MD who specilaizes in sporst medicine and is open to alternative therapy. He said he believed in magnet therapy, that you just had to have the right magnets for the job. The "science" of magnet therapy is very exact, (ha,ha), the experts say that it will sometimes help and sometimes not. I thought, what do I have to lose? I know some people who have gotten rid of chonic migranes using magnets. On the other side of the coin, what if it was just a placebo which could be possible. I think if it works then who cares how it does the job as long as the job gets done.

Best
Scott

I have chronic reumatism, and beeing both a professional piano player and a computer programmer, this has put a lot of strain on my hands. I've found that typing on a computer keyboard, makes my condition worse, however playing my Yamaha Upright Piano, helps my condition. A reumatologist explained that the computer keyboard strains my hands because they stay rigid in the sam position over a long period of time, but playing the piano is a dynamic excellent work-out that makes my muscles stronger. But playing light-action digital pianos in bars is stressfull again because the action is too light, so that my fingers smash against the keybed when the keys hit the bottom. This puts strain on my fingertips and nails. I don't know how this translates to keyboards, but I imagine that if you play like a pianoplayer it's good for your hands, but if you keep your hands stiff and rigid moving from chord to chord, it's not good.

But I believe that playing with proper technique will help you strengthen your muscles and ease the stress on your hands and wrists.

I recommend Chuck Levelles DVD, he goes through stretching and dynamic excersices that has helped me a lot!

Doc-Z

Glenn

I was experienceing the exact same symptoms in my right wrist when I bent it to the right. I brought this to my Piano teacher's attention and he asked me to play a few pieces for him. He noticed immediately it was poor fingering technique caused by years and years of poor habits. He now has me doing drills to absolutely keep my hands parallel to the keyboard. DO NOT TORQUE YOUR HANDS/WRIST !!!!!

You must keep your wrists as quiet as possible and use proper positioning and fingering technique.

This with proper rest has cured my problem!!!!

Al

The secret to eliminating wrist pain is no secret at all. There have been several posts about this problem in the past, and the solution is quite simple.

First and foremost, your forearms should be parallel to the floor and your upper arms nearly vertical. The wrists should be nearly flat with the floor as well and the fingers should be curved as if you were holding a tennis ball. The same technique is used by secretarial staff that spend endless hours every day typing.

Naturally, in order to acheive this you will have to adjust your keyboard or sitting height appropriately.

The other thing that makes a big difference is not pounding on the keyboard's keys like a piano player. Not only is this hard on the joints of the hand and wrist, it's hard on the keyboard's rubber keypads. I couldn't count the number of people I've encountered that type lightly on a computer's keyboard, but pound the hell out of a synth's keys as if they're trying to imitate Jerry Lee Lewis. Lighten up and the pain mysteriously vanishes.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Thanks everyone for all the good advice. I picked up a wrist brace last night and slept with it on. Seems to have helped, guess I normally have some hand movement, worse yet, twisting, when I'm sleeping. I'll probably follow most all advice and hopefully nip this thing in the bud.

Glenn