Anthony;
First, remember that there are no muscles in your fingers!. The other,
is that you need to build up your practice regimen gradually. It is just as if
you were a couch potato for 6 months, and tried to do a marathon with one
week’s training. If your hand is protesting, listen to it! If your hand feels
like it is beaten up, it probably IS beaten up. You can permanently damage your
hand if you just keep on beating up your hand. This sort on injury is actually
too common among competitive string players in conservatories. I personally
experienced this 42 years ago when I stopped practicing for a semester due to a
difficult engineering course load, and then tried to get it all back in four
weeks (for a master class) by practicing 8 hours a day starting the day after
my last final. I severely injured the tendons and joints in my hand (muscles
were fine), such that I could not play for several YEARS. The injuries persist
today, 42 years later. After visits to 25 doctors and many!
other physical therapists and trainers, the best thing I have found is a long
hot soak in warm water. At least an hour. I have read that pianist Van Cliburn
used a similar treatment. For a string player, one should wear a thin (3mil)
nitrile glove so that the callouses do not get dissolved.
A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E.
Classical Guitarist/Lutenist
> On Oct 1, 2017, at 1:21 PM, Anthony Hart <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Dear collective wisdom,
>
> I have been away from playing for many months and my left hand is
> protesting! Does anyone have any suggestions for physical exercises to
> relieve tension and relax muscles prior to practice? I need to do some
> serious practice over the next few months.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Anthony
>
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> Anthony Hart MSc, LLCM,ALCM.
> Musicologist and Independent Researcher
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> References
>
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> 2.
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