Tendonitis Remedied!

[Cameron Wigmore]

Well, it looks like a pinched nerve in my neck is the cause of my wrist pain. My physiotherapist explained that tendonitis can be caused by a piched nerve that branches from the nech to the hand/ hands. I've been strengthening my neck muscles and believe that this will help immensely. After hanging a tenor around my neck for 15 years, I have moved the vertebrae in my neck to a great degree. Kind of like body-mod stuff! lol

[Keith Ridenhour]

I've been battling wrist/elbow/ hand pain for around three years and I've found a few things that seem to help. One is taking anti inflamitory supplaments like Calcium/magnesium, Fish Oil Caplets (omega 3) and Bromeline. I also have lately been doing the exercises out of the book pain Free by Pete Egoscue. Simple stretch type exercises. I still only do around 30 mins of practice a day designed to keep chops up for gigs. I am also getting back into Tai Chi and Que gong to increase flex and strength. Tai chi did a good job of fixing my hands after I abused them a few years ago doing way too much keyboards. Hope some of this helps someone. K

[jazzpath]

I had the exact same problem about 10 years ago. Actually slightly rotated my top vertabrae from my neckstrap and had tremendous pain in my wrists and great fatigue in my hands. (It took almost 6 months to accurately diagnose the problem). I was told that this type of problem doesn't actually correct itself, the goal of therapy is to develop and improve sets of muscles that counteract the strain that the vertabrae put against the nerve. It took about a year of serious dedicated therapy, but to date I've had no recurrance of the problems.

Here's what I did (that worked for me).. Prescription anti-inflammatories, for a short time,to get everything under control, deep tissue massage and ultrasound to reduce the muscle tension that had developed, about 40 minutes a day of strectching (pilates) and then pretty intense strength exercises for my upper back, neck and shoulders (for me it evolved into weight training)....It was torturous but really improved my posture. I wore wrist braces at night to keep my hands from bending in weird ways that can aggravate the problem and I kept my forearms warm during the day...heat kept everything loose and relaxed. I started feeling a lot better after a couple of months and then started a few sessions of acupuncture, which for me, was spectacular. The problem cleared in about 6 months. I didn't practice all that much during the period, but I played just enough not to get worse, and continued gigging consistently.

Even today I limit my technical practicing to blocks of 45 minutes. Beyond that my forearms start to feel fatigued. Perhaps the most important thing was to get rid of the standard neckstrap. Getting a harness neck strap was the best thing I ever did for myself!

Good luck with the problem. It will get better, just keep a positive attitude!

Brian Kane
www.jazzpath.com (http://www.jazzpath.com)

[daigle65]

Has anyone else tried acupuncture ?
I'm very sceptical of alternative medecine but if it really helped someone(not just a placebo effect) i'd like to hear your story.

[hakukani]

Has anyone else tried acupuncture ?
I'm very sceptical of alternative medecine but if it really helped someone(not just a placebo effect) i'd like to hear your story.

My mother has arthritus in her shoulder. She could not raise her arm to her mouth to eat. She refuses pain medication, and cannot take any Nsaids. She went to the acupuncturist three times. She has regained some use of her arm/shoulder, at least enough to feed herself.

I don't think that is a placebo effect.

[Rackety Sax]

... Perhaps the most important thing was to get rid of the standard neckstrap. Getting a harness neck strap was the best thing I ever did for myself!...
I strongly second this advice.

[wmclean]

I strongly second this advice.

I also recommend strongly the Harness --- I too had bad tendonitis problems that only went away after lots of exercises, massage therapy ... and a harness !

W.

[daigle65]

I do have a harness that I use on bari, however I find it awkward on tenor, it holds the horn to close to the body.
I keep the tendonitis at bay by massaging my forearms with a tennis ball and by stretching before every practice session but I was wondering if anybody had any luck with acupuncture because my right forearm never feels 100%.

[hakukani]

I do have a harness that I use on bari, however I find it awkward on tenor, it holds the horn to close to the body.
I keep the tendonitis at bay by massaging my forearms with a tennis ball and by stretching before every practice session but I was wondering if anybody had any luck with acupuncture because my right forearm never feels 100%.

IIRC, an acupuncture session is only around $50.

'It couldn't hoit!"

[jazzbluescat]

......I was told that this type of problem doesn't actually correct itself, the goal of therapy is to develop and improve sets of muscles that counteract the strain that the vertabrae put against the nerve. It took about a year of serious dedicated therapy, but to date I've had no recurrance of the problems.

......Even today I limit my technical practicing to blocks of 45 minutes. Beyond that my forearms start to feel fatigued. Perhaps the most important thing was to get rid of the standard neckstrap. Getting a harness neck strap was the best thing I ever did for myself!

Good luck with the problem. It will get better, just keep a positive attitude!

Brian Kane
www.jazzpath.com (http://www.jazzpath.com)
We must have the same therapists.:) I'm doing leg stretches to strengthen the muscles and tendons that counteacts the arthritis in my lower back. Did and doing neck and arm stretches that "massage", or something other, the nerve in my upper neck that has totally gotten rid of a tremendous shoulder pain; am using an over-the-shoulder sax strap(guitar-like strap); and am practicing in three one-hour increments per day.

Oh lord, I just noticed that I'm replying to a post that's 2 & 1/2 years old.:D

[heath]

Gemini harness is what I use. Using a neck on tenor with a lower, much lower arch will keep the harness feeling more comfy. The lower arch neck keeps the top of the horn angled away from you body so you don't have to push the horn away with your left hand thumb. Also getting the harness to fit correctly is essential. Some harnesses and guys that have barreled chests or weight problems might find the harness harder to use. However hours everyday with a neck strap can cause some serious problems like some of the others have posted. I think having one of your vertebra slowly moved over the years seems like a really back idea.

Coolness factor of the harness should be a none issue. One of the great tenors in the world uses one all the time. George Garzone.

[RenMan]

I fashioned my own shoulder harness, which I've used on my tenor for many many years (still use the standard neck strap for alto and soprano). In 2005 I purchased a bari and am able to use the same strap for it. It evenly distributes the weight over the shoulders with no pressure on the neck whatsoever. It's a very stable hanging method. I'm reminded how really good it is on the few occasions I've had to play tenor with a regular strap. I've seen those bari sax shoulder harnesses that WWBW offers (which are similar in design, with a few small differences, to the ones I've made) and wondered if they would work as well or even better.
I highly recommend a shoulder strap for anything heavier than an alto.
Christopher

[WoodwindDoubler]

Has anyone else tried acupuncture ?
I'm very sceptical of alternative medecine but if it really helped someone(not just a placebo effect) i'd like to hear your story.


Hey there! I tried acupuncture and it was amazing. Not a placebo in any way. I never felt better in my WHOLE life. (I have since stopped going because I am a student in university and $100 a session is too much with school and food and bills)

I was happier, in better heath, slept better, and I didn't hurt when playing at all. He worked with me on playing posture and how to play without pinching nerves. I went from not being able to wiggle my fingers out of blinding pain/total numbness all at the same time to feeling the best in my life and playing fine!

Definitely would suggest it. However go to a traditional Chinese acupuncturist... they are required to do 4000 more hours of training than those people who are say chiropractor/acupuncturist or physiotherapist/acupuncturist according to my Chinese doctor I was seeing. It's a different certification.

Also as a side note... Chinese medicine is VERY different from Western ... it is based on natural cycles, and adjusting your energy and muscles etc. to keep you well ... i.e. to make it really work, you need to go consistently ... 2x a month is what I did for about 6 months.

[Dan Forshaw]

Going back about 2 years I posted a similar thread that had troubled me for about six months, shortly after I moved to London...I now use a harness, but that was only after spending 2 months going to specialist performance arts clinics and them mis-diagnosing it!

I also think that slinging the tenor on your shoulder all the time can cause alot of the problems especially if your walking round a major city!

[heath]

I don't think anyone should wait around until they develop problems before using a harness. The Gemini harness is my full time strap for tenor. I've noticed a lot of older famous players using harnesses as well. Bergonzi and Garzone come to mind and if it's cool enough for them then it should be cool for everyone.

[Saxnflut]

My mother has arthritus in her shoulder. She could not raise her arm to her mouth to eat. She refuses pain medication, and cannot take any Nsaids. She went to the acupuncturist three times. She has regained some use of her arm/shoulder, at least enough to feed herself.

I don't think that is a placebo effect.

I agree, acupuncture is definitely real. I've seen Chinese brain surgery, with the patient awake, and using only needles for numbing the nerves!
I've also known friends who've used it to end drug & alcohol addictions!

And Hakukani, the book "Pain Free" by Pete Egoscue that Keith mentioned is what I'd highly recommend for your grandmother. He has a website that's very informative www.egoscue.com, as well as a weekly radio show, you can listen to archives from, also on his website. But he is amazing with how he can clear up years of chronic pain, with just a few specific exercises!

Very worth checking out, and for any of us dealing with pain...

[hakukani]

I agree, acupuncture is definitely real. I've seen Chinese brain surgery, with the patient awake, and using only needles for numbing the nerves!
I've also known friends who've used it to end drug & alcohol addictions!

And Hakukani, the book "Pain Free" by Pete Egoscue that Keith mentioned is what I'd highly recommend for your grandmother. He has a website that's very informative www.egoscue.com (http://www.egoscue.com), as well as a weekly radio show, you can listen to archives from, also on his website. But he is amazing with how he can clear up years of chronic pain, with just a few specific exercises!

Very worth checking out, and for any of us dealing with pain...

I'll certainly read the book, thanks for the link. I don't have much hope of it helping my mother's osteoarthritus. When bone rubs against bone, there's not much that will help the pain, except mental exercize.

[al9672]

Has anyone else tried acupuncture ?
I'm very skeptical of alternative medicine but if it really helped someone(not just a placebo effect) I'd like to hear your story.

Acupuncture isn't alternative medicine, its been around a lot longer than "normal" western medicine.
The chinese have used it for thousands of years.

I go regularly as the uni I work and study at has a clinc.
they do acupuncture , acupressure , massage and Chinese herbal medicine.

Worked great on reducing scar tissue (keloid scarring).
I used to have a big really thick scar on my left side from multiple bike accidents and stacks. Treatments over a year, have reduced the thickness and the scar is nearly as supple as normal skin.