Playing With Pain

The first wealth is health. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher, and poet

One drawback of playing in a small musical group is that every musician is “exposed” and every part is important.

During the school year, I play in a symphonic band comprised mostly of college students and adults from the community at large.

Some of the students are music majors playing a secondary instrument; others played in high school but don’t have room in their schedule for a group that meets several times per week. Most of the adults played when they were in school and have actively sought to continue playing in a group.

Over time, the intricacy of the pieces we’ve played has blossomed, yet the number of musicians really hasn’t grown much. That means every one of us is crucial to the whole. None of us can “hide,” thinking someone else will cover the passages we can’t perform.

I was feeling the pressure as our three concerts loomed. No way did I want to be the Weakest Link! So I must’ve overdone my practice sessions because since our final concert in April, I’ve noticed a growing pain in my right arm. Holding my flute has become difficult.

In early May, I consulted my chiropractor, who advised me to apply ice twice a day, 10 minutes per time. My flute teacher suggested I rest the arm, use pain relievers as necessary, and quit playing until things could heal.

Argh!

How could I, with summer band starting so soon?

As long as I was “resting,” my arm felt okay, but our first hour-and-a-half long band practice negated that.

Then my flute teacher asked me to show her how I’m holding my instrument.

“Ah, there’s your problem,” she said, pointing out my stiff-as-a-board right thumb. “You really should have that bent a bit.”

Seriously?

Turns out, the rubberized device I was using to help me hold my flute steady was actually encouraging my thumb to stiffen! Playing wrong for so many years now makes playing right feel wrong. Make sense?

When I relayed this to my chiropractor, he agreed that could be the source of my tendonitis. He recommended continuing to ice, as well as adding a tennis elbow strap for when I practice and a rubber ball to roll around inside my palm as passive exercise.

Things are slowly beginning to feel better, but it’s sure been a long haul. And you know? I played tennis for several hours a day almost every day when I was younger, yet I never had these issues.

Must be old age.