Forearm and wrist injury

[Flora]

Hi Fiddlers,

I have been studying the violin for almost three years now, and I never had problems like these before.
I am having problems with my left forearm and wrist. It is painful to play or even pick up my violin and bringing it to my shoulder.
Especially turning the palm up is causing pain. I do not know for sure weather it is caused by fiddling. Maybe the position of my arm is not right?
These problems have been bothering me for a month now, and I hardly practice anymore 🙁
I have had physio therapy, and it did help, however as soon as I start playing the pain is coming back.

Anyone around here who has a clue what I may do wrong, or how long it can take to fully cure from this?

Thanks in advance,
Flora

[MaximusVonC]

Flora,

That is terrible news! I had shoulder and upper arm issues last year from what was probably my terrible form and practicing for far too long on the D and G strings. My instructor at the time told me to start off playing for no more than 10 minutes on those strings at first and to build it up. I do find myself getting achy every now and then after practice, but it’s not as prevalent as it used to be. It sounds to me like your pain is much more severe. I almost hate to say it, but it sounds like you might need to lay off the fiddle for a little while, while you relax your arm.

In another hobby of mine, which is also very hand and forearm intensive, I practice stretching for a minimum of 10 minutes (15 if I have time). I know it’s one of those initial dummy checks, but have you been doing good arm, hand, and finger stretches before you play? It sounds silly, but the muscles and tendons in those areas are very fragile, so it’s worth the attention to make sure they are ready. If your body is experiencing pain when you turn your wrist, or are doing other tasks- there may be a bigger issue. Lots of little bones in that area- one of them could have an issue.

If you know good stretches and you already have that covered, then cool. If you need some good ones, there is Youtube, or I can try to describe them, or can find some youtube videos that should work well. Just let me know! Keep up your motivation and hopefully your body will heal up soon.

Regards,

Max

[Flora]

Hi Max,

Thank you for your answer, I must admit I never stretched before playing. Good tip. I will search youtube for instructions.
The problem in my case is the nerves are being blocked by muscle tissue. Stretching can improve this condition.

I think the problem started at Crossfit (another hobby of mine) when pulling too much wait without being prepared well enough.
I hope I will be able to fiddle full time again soon 🙂

Thanks, Flora

[Blucy]

Hi Flora, Are you still here? Still playing? I see this was a year ago. As a new fiddler I experience muscle soreness and tendonitis at times, as I do in many fun things in life when I over do it. Which is easy to do when starting out. I also found limiting time to micro practices 5-10 minutes at a time, but allowing more than once a day built up stamina and helped this problem get better. As for stretching, I find doing so with a cold gel pack after (rather than before) helped a lot. Then there’s the neck and how the nerves in it can affect your arm, hand and wrist muscles that are innervated by nerves that start in the neck/. Did you try different holding/neck positions. Did you try a shorter or taller setting on the (words. . . ) shoulder rest thingy?
Hope you worked out a play plan
B

[Flora]

Hi There Blucy,

Good news: I am still fiddling. Just returned from a Hungarian fiddle camp and it was good fun.

The injury never came back. I now play without a shoulder rest and that works out just fine for me.

Hope you enjoy the fiddle too!

Thnx, Flora

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