Repetitive Strain Injury....RU in Danger?

Uilleann Pipes
1

Talking about the Japanese wunder fiddler Atsushi on another thread has brought to mind that most feared of musical ailments…the dreaded repetitive strain injury, or RSI.

We have another very good fiddle player here in Hobart, Michelle, who is a joy to listen to…as good a fiddle player as you will hear anywhere (some wag on hearing her for the first time enthused, “Jaysus, it’s Tommy Peoples with boobs!”…er, actually he didn’t say “boobs”, but you get the point).

Anyway, the point of all this is that tragically, Michelle developed RSI, which has seriously threatened her musical career…and she didn’t get it from too much uninterupted practice or anything like that. In fact she didn’t get it from playing at all, but rather from a temporary job she had that involved a lot of data entry on the very thing I’m using to type this…a keyboard. The thing is, she just didn’t notice it until it was too late. She felt fine, but started to notice that during fast reels she would start to lose sensation in her fingers and they would no longer do exactly what her mind was asking of them. A casual listener would not be aware of it…but of course Michelle was. At first she feared that it might be something really nasty like muscular dystrophy…but the tests came back negative…it was indeed a form of RSI.

Now this is the second friend of mine who has had this problem with the fiddle (the other was once an all Australian champion…he can’t play at all now and he developed it twenty years ago when in his late teens…from too much uninterrupted practice in his case).

Of course with the pipes there is possibly an even greater risk of getting RSI…especially if one is playing a B or Bflat set, with that big stretch for the little pinky on the right hand. But what is scary about Michelle’s case is how quickly it came on, plus the fact that it had nothing to do with playing. She’s been very careful to rest and take things easy with her hands and it looks like she will recover, though it has taken a long time (fingers crossed). Certainly she still sounds great, though she is wary of playing for too long at a fast clip…and will stop the moment any numbness starts to present itself.

I myself started getting some problems years ago when I was learning to play the pipes on a Bflat set…I would get a painful ache and stiffness running up from the knuckle of my right pinky into the wrist…not good. I eventually learned to relax my grip (always a good thing) and it went away…but it could have so easily got worse.

What I have never considered before however was the double whammy of too much tense practising and doing some form of work during the day that could excacerbate the problem…and a lot of people do a lot of typing these days for instance.

So…just a friendly warning to all the frantic learners out there (and more experienced players) take this problem VERY seriously. If you do start to get any symptoms, don’t leave it till it’s too late…get it checked and modify your playing so as to reduce the possibility of doing any permanent damage. …watch how long you practice all that fast stuff for and give yourself lots of breaks…and NEVER, NEVER try and “play through” any pain.

Cheers, Phil.

2

Good advice.

I just spent one hour with a massage therapist; it took him that long to clear the knots in my arms. Just shows how important stretching and proper erganomics are whilst playing a musical instrument.

Cheers,

Virgil

3

Ah yes, RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.

I’m familiar with this mostly through Scottish piping, where the playing technique has ruined the wrists of many talented players. Hamish Moore, for instance, complained of pain in his wrists and hands for years before finally being told by a doctor that he would never play again (I have heard an unsubstantiated rumor that his condition has improved and he’s back at it but I don’t know if that’s true). I’ve also heard that Fred Morrison apparently had some problems with it early on in his piping career but caught it early enough and got some help from a physical therapist.

If you find that playing your instrument is a painful experience, then you need to quite literally loosen up.

Here’s an exercise that I do. Got it from a Highland piper/neurosurgeon:

1.) Stand up straight and hold out both arms parallel to the floor.

2.) With your hands held out straight, move them in an upward motion until they are about perpendicular to your wrists (or as close as you can get). Hold for 10 seconds.

3.) Slowly return hands to parallel to the floor position. Hold for 10 seconds.

4.) Ball your hands into fists. Hold for 10 seconds.

5.) Move your fists in a downward motion until they are about perpendicular to your wrists. Hold for 10 seconds.

Repeat the whole f****n exercise 10 times.

Also, you should never play for more than an hour at a time. Resist the temptation to play another tune, get a beer or something, and just relax for about 15 minutes and stretch your arms a bit before you dive back into playing.

Here endeth the lesson

4

Oh, and one more thing. The pressure with which you grip the chanter should be no more at the very most than the pressure with which you would hold an empty pint glass.

5

Very well said!

Though initially very hard to do (and let’s be honest here, even old farts like me can tense up at times) a light touch is what facilitates the free expression of music.

The chanter won’t leak, even with the lightest pressure on the tone holes (and compensating for missing the hole by squeezing hard is NO substitute for hitting the damn thing in the middle).. the looser your finger pressure is, the more fluid is your playing.

As Billy Connolly once said, “If you’re a wee bit scared and tense playing music in front of yer pals, for feck’s sake, squeeze your arse, not yer fingers”.

So, if you you can’t feel the holes yet, don’t squeeze!..just play slow airs or jigs till you get the feel for where the flamin’ holes are.

Another trap…if you like the “tight” fingering style, getting all tense about it does just the opposite of what you want…it stuffs up your fluidity and ruins your rhythm…put up with the occasional squeak and just let rip…believe me, it will all come right if you stop being all uptight about it.

“We’re here for a good time, not a long time”