Playing piano with RSI

Oink

Hi All,

I'm currently trying out pianos (I'm torn between Roland FP7 and RD-700 SX - see separate thread), and while I was in the shop hammering away, I was painfully reminded :eek: that I have some sort of RSI/carpal tunnel syndrome type of thing. Ow. Working with computers does that you.

It doesn't hurt when I'm playing the guitar, but before forking out 2000 yoyos on a kb, I'd like to be sure I'm going to get some serious lovin' out of it. Should I steer clear from pianos altogether before I get hurt, or was I just not sitting straight?

Are my piano days behind me? Should I just let it go?? Please say it isn't so.

Any piano players with RSI out there ?

crosstownk

I play quite a bit and while my hands get tired I don't actually suffer from RSI - not yet anyway. There are excercises for your hands that may help. I remember coming across them on the interweb a while back and I found they helped somewhat.

Probably the best thing is not to play too much in the beginning and gently 'ease' you hands in to the new routine - hard to do when you've just bought a new toy!!

Voodu Child

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a serious medical condition. While there are plenty of ways to minimise or alleviate pain/discomfort in your wrist, there are also plenty of ways to make the condition worse and f*ck your wrists up for good.

Id get professional advice before taking up any new instrument, nobody here can tell you how bad your RSI is.

Oink

It's not too sore at the moment, but I remember some severe pain a few years back when I played a bit longer than I should have.

I suppose it makes sense to talk to a doctor. I'm pretty sure there's little they can actually do about it though, apart from telling you not to do whatever causes you pain.

I don't know, I might try and get hold of a keyboard, and see if there is a way for me to play without pain (position, shorter spells...). If not, that might be the end of that. Dammit.