As most pianists do (if not all) i try to keep my hands relatively damage free. Unfortunately I play rugby regularly which not only comes with the risk of fingers being trampled on by size 15s but also weight lifting is important.

Its a bit difficult not to get paranoid about your hands and I find it quite annoying but to be honest im not sure just how much my hands are at risk. Do you have any advice on how to keep your hands safe or just how risky it is?

Thanks

Enjoying life to the full entails risks. Go for it.

I heard that an eminent cellist tucks his hands in his pockets when walking downstairs, so as not to injure them should he fall. Strange to think that a broken neck could actually be viewed as a better bet .

I weeded my nettle patch three or four days before doing my ATCL - that was a bit stupid because even with gloves I got a cracking nettle rash up both forearms, making them swell and stiffening finger movement a bit, but hey.

Are you playing in a particularly accident-prone position, or can you hang around the back row and keep your hands out of mischief if necessary?

*goes off to find her ice skates for this evening's skating session*

I'm careful with my hands! Phew, I thought I was the only one!
I NEVER do arm war, as I'm scared of twisting my wrists, and I'm always really careful with knives. (A few years ago I sliced my hand open cutting an apple, and I was off the piano for ages as I had to have stitches)

But apartr from that, I'm actually a bit of a foolhardy person who always mucks about on childrens playgrounds when no one is there....

you're probably more likely to injure your hands if you're worrying about not injuring them if that makes sense?

whilst you are worrying you arent concentrating on what you're doing properly which could have nasty results

i used to cut my hands all the time when i did a level art, mainly because i was so paranoid about doing so- the best thing to do is just get on with it.

and as for weight lifting- just take care not to overdo it and strain your arms/wrists

The voice of common sense. Hear, hear!

LR

I used to try and avoid contact sports like Volleyball, as a) I was ###### at them, and b) used to worry about bending my fingers backwards when I (rarely) made contact with the ball.

Nowadays I go to the gym at work lunchtime, but in the run up to my diploma, have been avoiding upper body and arm weights in case I strain something. I'm sure I wouldn't, but I suppose it's just anxiety. Even walking into the ladies loos - the door swings both ways - I'm convinced at the moment that as I put my hand out to push it, someone will come thru the other way and I'll sprain my wrist!

OK - just pre exam jitters!!

I think you might be right about the worry thing - if I get very nervous about cutting my fingers, or for example, worried about falling when I'm skiing, I'm more likely to be tense because I'm nervous, and when you're tense, the muscles are more jerky and don't move as well therefore injury is more likely to occur, not less. It's the same in performance - too tense, and I may over/under jump a distance on the piano.....I've been better with knives more recently as I think less about it.

I'm really careful with my hands, and I can be quite paranoid about them! My fingers dislocate very easily, and at one point it got so bad that they would dislocate a few times each day, and i was at the hospital all the time! It's not as bad now, but it still happens often. Does anyone else get this?
I also use excessive amounts of "Cutex nourishing hand and nail cream." Amazing stuff.

I'm quite happy to do lots of physical activity, but am careful not overstrain myself. I only use fairly light weights in the gym, and when playing tennis or using the rowing machine, I have a wrist support, which eliminates tension building up in the forearm. I've yet to have any problems.

Nevertheless, I recently took an unfortunate hit on the little finger of my right hand in football, and was out of piano action for two and a bit weeks!

I expect if you went into the opposing team's dressing room before each Rugby match and said "I say you chaps, I'm a pianist so if you could avoid treading on my hands in the rucks I'd be most grateful" I'm sure they would be careful!!

I broke my wrist playing ice hockey and couldn't play my flute (my main instrument at that time) for 6 months (also had extensive soft tissue damage around the base of my thumb). Since then I've stayed off the ice (even just skating) immediately before exams.

Wrist is now mostly OK, but it doesn't like press ups and it's been giving me problems the last few weeks (during which I was doing a LOT of organ practice for an exam, so I think it's related to that). So, what did I do the day before the exam? Parted company with what little shred of common sense I was born with and went to circuit training, where I did a dozen press ups before it even occurred to me that it was a stupid thing to do. (Skipped pressups for the rest of the session though).

Guess the best plan is to try to strike a sensible balance. Avoid activities with a high risk of hand injury when you're close to a performance or whatever (i.e. don't play rugby the day/week before a concert). Do what you enjoy the rest of the time, but be careful with anything that you know could pose a problem - tailor your weights routine to minimise the risk of hand/wrist injury for example.

That's about the best I can come up with I'm afraid - have fun but be sensible (which is rich, coming from me!)

T.

I played rugby when I was at uni, my parents went mad because of my violin and piano and the risks that my hands were under.

about 4 months after starting rugby I broke my wrist when I was out dancing...

Wrist is ok now, but not quite as flexible as it used to be. I certainly wouldn't give up rugby if it's what you like to do..can you imagine how fat all the musicians would be if they didn't do any sporting activities?!

I can't say I've got any advice I'm afraid, just commiserations - I inadvertently sliced a chunk off my thumb with a knife, and all I could think about on the way to the hospital was whether it would affect my clarinet playing It was the first thing I asked the nurse who was treating me and she assured me that the flesh would grow back - which amazingly it did, although it well took over a year before it stopped feeling a little odd, and even now, a couple of years later, it still feels "different" and maybe it always will now.

Unfortunately you're playing a high-risk contact sport, and surely it wouldn't be just a hand injury that could affect your playing the piano? An injury to foot/leg/knee could make it difficult or impossible to use the pedals, and a shoulder injury could make it painful to move an arm. Sure you could trip over the pavement and break a leg just as part of normal living, but playing a high-risk contact sport is increasing the odds. Only you know how badly you want to play rugby when weighed against the increased risk of an injury to any part of your body preventing you from playing the piano. I can see that it's difficult if you enjoy them both equally

I wouldn't worry about your hands too much.

I go to the gym, weightlift, do the gardening, play the piano extensively and perform minor ops at GP surgery. Just use common sense!

Have fun, take risks...unless it's near an exam...my brother broke his finger playing rugby before an exam, but he still took the exam, and passed! So go for it!!!!

When my eldest son broke his arm a few years ago I was alarmed to see his godmother in the fracture clinic with a plastercast on her wrist too.

I think I greeted her by asking what she was doing as she's a professional pianist.

Oops!

I realy want to do Ice hockey, but I'm not good at normal field hockey, and I'm not good at Ice-skating


Swimming is the best sport because...

1)You don't have to be good at it to enjoy it (unless your in a swimming club with lots of good people)
2)It's not easy to break a bone when swimming
3)It uses a lot of energy, so it's good for your stamina building/health
4)the basics of swimming are easy to learn if your not afraid of water

I had no idea that it was so important to take care! My life is fairly short of physical adventure, so I have always taken the good condition of my hands for granted...

I once bent my fingers back playing basketball (I don't play basketball ) and it rather impaired my piano playing, but I think that's the extent of my misfortune.

Urgh! I get things like gaglion cysts, they are evil! they really impare my piano. I really really hate them!

I also dislocated my finger a few times by playing netball.

but all in all I've still managed to play my piano and do my exams so I don't eally keep my hands healthy..

Same thing happened me - I got the ultimatum from my teacher years ago - basketball or piano - one or the other and not both. They were quite annoyed as I had an important competition 2 days after my little accident!!!!!

It's not the ideal choice of sport if you want to stay injury-free. As you play several instruments, I'm guessing you're pretty serious about music. Unless you're a confident skater, you're going to fall over a lot if you try hockey. You do wear a lot of protective gear, but a fall onto an outstretched hand can still give you a sprain or a break. Even non-checking hockey can get fairly rough - expect a certain amount of general shoving and rough-housing. Also, expect to get hit (by pucks, sticks and other people).

I've never tried field hockey, so I don't know how relevent that would be. Hockey skating is a completely different style of skating to figure skating and similar - different stance, different way of moving, different everything really.

Hockey is brilliant fun, but I really wouldn't recommend it as a new sport for a serious muso. If you were already a hockey player, I'd say don't give up something you enjoy just because you don't want to risk getting hurt (just stay off the ice before exams). But as the music came first in your case, I'd say you're probably better off not taking on a new sport that carries a high risk of injuries.

Swimming's definitely a lot safer.. ;-)

T.

Brr. Don't like swimming....

I once entered a piano duet competition where due to injury between me and my partner we only used 18 fingers! I caught a netball (extremely rare) and broke my little finger and it was all swollen and purple, and my partner trapped her thumb in the car door and was missing a nail. We still came second (of threee, but oh well)