Here’s the scenario… I daily play the uilleann pipe. In early May, I begin to feel a soreness in my left armpit (not the shoulder) and naturally start gravitating toward the possibility of lymphoma or some other cancer. I head to the family doctor. He palpates the area and finds that the lymph node(s?) therein is (are) swollen. An ultrasound is ordered and shows that it is about 2.5 times normal size. Family doctor then sends me to a surgeon who is familiar with such things and he probes around some and advises that I have another ultrasound in about a month (July 5) to see what transpires. I tell him of my piping hobby and describe the mechanics and stresses, so he tells me to lay off. So I quit piping from late May until July 5th. During that time, the soreness persists but lessens and the second ultrasound showed that the nodes returned to near normal size. So, I’ve been piping since July 5 and the soreness seems to have come back. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
very strange. did the node come back as a mass, or is it that the nodes is still normal size but the soreness came back?
If the node came back: nodes do not swell because of mechical stress. they swell because of infection or other kinds of inflammation, but generally not the inflamation of musculoskeletal stress. the surgeon’s initial advice was wise, since most enlarged lymph nodes turn out to be secondary to an infection, sometimes otherwise unknown or unremembered, and such things get better over weeks to months.
i am tempted to speculate that the mass may be a cyst rather than a node. a cyst can certainly get bigger with activity, kind of like bursitis around the knee. the problem there is that you had an ultrasound. on an ultrasound, a cyst looks very different than a node, so the technician or phyisician who did the ultrasound would have noticed the difference.
if the node remains normal but the soreness came back, i would guess that you had 2 separate things going on: 1. the node, unrelated to piping. 2. a mild tendonitis, very much related to piping. tendonitis does not need to be felt in the shoulder itself.
so, my advice:
- follow up AGAIN on the nodes to make sure they remain normal. if they swell again, they may need to come out and be looked at.
- assuming the nodes are normal. see a family doctor or orthopod who is familiar with and sympathetic to sports injuries. if you can find one who is expert on musicians issues, so much the better. depending on your medical condition, you could go on a non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug, and you could also have proximal upper extremity rehab program set up by a physical therapist. you may have to slow down on piping or change your technique slighlty, but you should not have to give it up. if you play drones and regs, certainly lay off those when you get a flair up so that you can squeeze the bag a bit less.
if i knew where you live and your age, i could perhaps be of more help.
meir
Do you own a cat???
Meow.
glands, i thought of that too, but i figured the piping would have scared it away long ago:)
Ahhhhh…but kitties like pipes…really.
Those lovable furry felines act as vectors for microorganisms that can infect humans and cause disorders characterized by a lingering or recurrent lymphadenopathy such as “cat scratch disease” and “toxoplasmosis.” Get yerself checked out for these if you own a cat.
Then, there’s syphilis…been foolin’…ahhh…never mind… 
Lymphoma is NOT USUALLY painful so don’t worry about that one.
No cat, no syphilis. Thanks for the ideas, though.
Yeah. I have the perforated bag to prove it. Caught the furry monster clawing and chewing at my BAG! Fortunately the bag is only made of vinyl.
My cats have never tried to damage my pipes, but they do like to curl up under my feet when I’m playing. I’m not sure if they like the drones, or just feel I need the sympathy. 
djm
My favourit cat/bag combination involves a few heavy rocks and a deep river. Filthy creatures…
But seriously, I hear that the Pipers Gathering (Vermont this weekend) is offering some instruction on avoiding repetitive stress injuries. Not a bad idea.
I hear GHB players suffer lots of back problems, having to duck the rotten tomatos all the time 
