Chronic Pain, ...and instrumental playing Options

[Celeste]

Hello forum people, I'm afraid it's me, the bringer of gloom again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I'm not asking for medical advice before anyone starts to think that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Basically I have a condition which has many symptoms, but the one which really upsets me is that it causes incredible (I mean it brings tears to my eyes multiple times a day, and I can tolerate a lot usually...) pain in my wrists, particularly my left wrist.

Being a violinist, it's quite soul-destroying. I have ibuprofen gel to put on when it's bad, and I use a wrist support and hot/cold compresses when I can. Nothing really works, hence trying it all. Of course, all of this is on my doctor's recommendation because I don't want to cause any more harm, naturally.

I just wondered if anyone had any other ideas/thoughts? I don't want to stop playing, but at the moment 5 minutes playing equates to my wrist being rendered totally useless for the next day. I've seriously cut down on how much typing I do - which made me feel really quite embarassed, asking for a scribe for my exams... - and don't carry anything heavy any more.

I feel quite 'disabled' enough without losing my music too... I know there's always singing, and theory, but the violin has always been my passion. I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance from some nice people...

[Celeste]

Hijack it all you want, David... It's important to know that we're not alone in these things. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'm sorry to hear of what you're going through too, and it's all relative so don't say you can't compare it.

[randomsabreur]

Maybe try acupuncture? I had nerve problems in one of my wrists, couldn't cope with being in a car because of vibration, on a bad day even walking across the room was agony from the jarring of my footsteps. Tried acupuncture out of desperation (quite modern, with little electric currents) and it's basically fixed. Certainly worth a try if you can get a local recommendation!

[BerkshireMum]

I'm afraid I don't have any useful suggestions, but just wanted to say how sorry I am for you both. It must be so difficult trying to carry on with your lives when you're in so much pain, and very frustrating being unable to play your instruments properly. I hope things improve for you both very soon.

[Misterioso]

Being a violinist, it's quite soul-destroying. I have ibuprofen gel to put on when it's bad, and I use a wrist support and hot/cold compresses when I can. Nothing really works, hence trying it all. Of course, all of this is on my doctor's recommendation because I don't want to cause any more harm, naturally.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thereThere.gif)
Are you saying that your doctor doesn't know the cause of your pain, Celeste? If that is the case, perhaps he might refer you to a specialist who can help to get at the root of it and perhaps treat it more effectively?

I really do sympathise, having had my own significant joint / pain problems for the last 18 years, and tried acupuncture, homeopathy, magnotherapy, and Tens alongside conventional medicine. There were times (days, weeks, sometimes months) when I couldn't hope to play, and even now when my condition is treated reasonably well, how much I can play (violin, among other things) is often seriously limited. I had a variety of diagnoses along the way, and all of them incorrect - until I was sent to a specialist.

I do hope you can find a way forward, and hope things start to look brighter soon.

[Mad Tom]

Basically I have a condition which has many symptoms, but the one which really upsets me is that it causes incredible (I mean it brings tears to my eyes multiple times a day, and I can tolerate a lot usually...) pain in my wrists, particularly my left wrist.

Without knowing the condition that you refer to it is hard to offer any helpful advice. If it is something like Rheumatoid Arthritis I have nothing to offer but sympathy.

On the other hand if it is the sort of chronic pain originally caused by some sort of habitual misuse (rather than a sudden and specific injury) then some advice from personal experience might be useful. At various times I have had a a thumb problem that stopped me from playing piano (with my RH), a shoulder problem that stopped me from swimming, a knee problem that stopped me from playing soccer or running, a back problem that stopped me doing almost anything.

I have found that you have to give the affected joint almost complete rest until it returns to normal, and then cautiously build back up to normal use - preferably after identifying and correcting the bad habit that caused the problem. The complete rest part can be a real trial when it prevents you from doing something that means a lot to you, possible for weeks or even months on end.

[vectistim]

Is it related to holding the arm out? Would it be easier to play it like a treble viol? (Or even play a treble viol?)

Could you play with the violin in your right hand? (Personally I don't understand why right handed people don't do that anyway as I think the fingering requires more dexterity than the bowing)

[Celeste]

Thanks for the replies. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Mad Tom, I have M.E. There doesn't seem to be any reasonable explanation for why it's sore - it just is. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) I haven't damaged it, I haven't overused it or mistreated it. Maybe doing what you suggest and leaving it alone for a long time might help... only, I've agreed to play in a concert next month.


(As an aside, thank you for all the PMs - I just wanted to say that I'm actually really enjoying life and uni and everything despite all this, but thank you for the concern! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif))

[The Old Lady]

So sorry to hear about the pain you are both in.
If youhave tried conventional medicine and nothing helps, then maybe something like acupuncture might help. You have to remember that all these "alternative" things are untested and unscientific though. Still, if it helped......... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Big hugs to both of you.
Bev.

[river]

homeopathy

Drinking plenty of water is always a good idea, but I wouldn't expect it to help with any serious medical issues.

(For those who aren't away, homeopathic "medicine" is literally nothing but water.)

[icklechick]

I wouldn't rule out alternative medicine....even if there's no scientific basis in it (or a very fluffy link...), it can and does improve some people's conditions - by whatever means (be that placebo, a sense of someone "doing something" rather than the medical docs saying "well, there's nothing else we can do" etc)

I had a painful condition that the docs said they couldn't do anything with - that it would either go away on it's own or I'd be inflicted with it forever - they couldn't really say. I went to a Health Kinaesiology practitioner....not because I believed in any of that (I didn't...at all....I'm a scientist!!) but because I worked with his wife and she said it wouldn't hurt to try it.

I went in there skeptical (and told him that) I didn't even go in there with a mind of "this is going to work" - but I let him do what he does (rebalancing the body's energies....I know....sounds like a proper "quack" thing) and after one session, the pain had gone and it never returned. How it worked, I don't know - but it did and that's all that mattered (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Of course, it could be that, just as the doc said, it went away on its own and the HK was just a coincidence - but from being in agony before walking in there, and leaving pain-free, I can't imagine the same happening in 90 minutes without the intervention.

[river]

I wouldn't rule out alternative medicine....even if there's no scientific basis in it (or a very fluffy link...), it can and does improve some people's conditions - by whatever means (be that placebo, a sense of someone "doing something" rather than the medical docs saying "well, there's nothing else we can do" etc)

For things like acupuncture or chiropractic, or kinaesiology, there is at least a way it could work: it involves physically doing something to the body. I haven't tried any of these myself, and I haven't looked in detail at the available scientific research, so rather than saying it won't work (which would be my instinct), I will leave it at that: it could work.

But homeopathy is different. There is no possible way homeopathy could ever work, except via the placebo effect (which I admit is quite powerful). Homeopathy involves taking a substance (which is supposed to be the cause of the affliction), and diluting it in water until there is none left. That doesn't mean "very diluted"; there must be nothing left at the end of the dilution, except for the water you started with. Drinking the water is then supposed to cure your affliction. Anyone who believes that actually helps is either deluded, or extremely desperate and clutching at straws.

[river]

Don't knock it until you've tried it I say.

I have tried it. I drink water every day.

[Appassionata]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however I'm currently trying homeopathy and whether it be by the placebo effect or not, it has helped (after 7 years of conventional medicine not really helping). If it's carried out by a qualified professional (and mine is, at an NHS homeopathy hospital) then there's no harm in trying. I've also found acupuncture to be of benefit in the past, and more long lasting than the epidural injections, nerve root blocks etc I've had.

David - have you seen a physiotherapist? Also have you had an MRI scan to confirm if it's spinal stenosis as you are very young to have it?

Hope you both find something that helps soon (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[notmusimum]

Celeste - Have you tried those sticky heat patches? I use them sometimes on my shoulder and they help. If I know I'm going on a long journey or doing something that involves a lot of streaching then I apply it first.

Hope you both find something that helps, there's nothing worse than pain.