Sax related injuries

[tledjazz]

I am sidelined with strained tendons in my right thumb/wrist. . The research I've done says that this kind of "repetitive stress injury" can get worse if not treated. Bad news. I have a brace on my thumb/hand, trying to give it some time to heal. It says it may take up to six weeks. Needless to say I can't sit out that long so I may have to go to my wife's orthopedist for a cortisone injection. There is a growing field in physical therapy and orthopedics called "Arts Medicine", born of the fact that injuries are a fact of life for serious musicians, just like athletes. We really don't pay enough attention to our bodies. We shrug off that stiffness in our necks, or the tingling sensation in our forearms. But they can be debilitating, even career threatening left untreated. What injuries have you experienced as a result of playing saxophone and what treatment (if any) did you seek?

[werkinsnake]

I'm only 19 and guess that I have been lucky not to have any serious injuries, though a few months back I was in a car accident and had a partially severed tendon. It was stitched up and healed in a few weeks, though the scare was bad enough. I couldn't stand the thought of not being able to play again. I don't know what I would do if I lost a hand. But I also understand that there are other age related illnesses like tendonitis or arthritis. A friend of my dads has no cartilage in his knees. He said that he uses one of those Q-Ray bracelets that you see on TV. Said it got rid of the pain and that he wouldn't be able to walk without it. I've been thinking about getting one because I have tendonitis in both of my knees. If it works for his knees, it may also work for hand problems that develope from many years of saxophone playing.

[Thomas]

Oh great. You're going to encourage another batch of whiners complaining and whining about every ache and pain they or some touchhole relative thinks they're suffering from. The cure is very simple-IF IT HURTS,or your overactive imagination thinks it does, THEN DON'T DO IT!!! But please do those of us who don't care to wallow in your self pity a big favor and suffer in SILENCE. thank you
Now I'm going down to straighten out the mentally ill bunch.

[tledjazz]

Oh great. You're going to encourage another batch of whiners complaining and whining about every ache and pain they or some touchhole relative thinks they're suffering from. The cure is very simple-IF IT HURTS,or your overactive imagination thinks it does, THEN DON'T DO IT!!! But please do those of us who don't care to wallow in your self pity a big favor and suffer in SILENCE. thank you
Now I'm going down to straighten out the mentally ill bunch.

Thomas if you don't like the topic, the intelligent thing would be to do us ALL a big favor and simply not read it.

The thing I like about saxontheweb.net is it's a place where serious saxophonists can discuss relevant subjects in a positive environment of mutual respect. It would be unfortunate if the administrators of the forum allowed an ignorant minority to mess it up.

[Vader]

I have a long list. I used to practice 8 hours a day, and the do gigs. At one point, my hands grew so week that I would have to really concentrate to hold a spoon. I freaked a little at the time, but went to my Chiropractor, and he showed me that it was from muscle imbalance. I went about strengthening the muscles in my back, and low and behold my hand strenght came back, and the forearm pain went away.
I have others, but the most serious injury was when I strained all the muscles in my throaght, from playng a 2 1/2 reed on a Dukoff D9*. I had so many side affects from that, that it thoroughly confused doctors. Noone could cure me, so I took time off. A year to be exact.
I've had to change how I play, as well as the setup I play, but i'm a lot stronger now than I was even a year ago. I'm not as good as I was before I hurt myself in some ways, but i'm a lot better player in other ways. It's a trade off. As long s I see progress, I'm cool.
Unfortunately, injuries are a part of life. You just have to roll with the punches, and keep things in perspective.
That was over the top Thomas.

[tledjazz]

Thanks for the input, Vader. My problem arose from palying Soprano almost exclusively for most of the last year, then doing a gig on Tenor. My thumb wasn't used to the extra weight I guess. I've been playing for over 20 yrs, used to play in marching band with no neck strap (Alto) and I've never had this problem. That's what I get for laying off my beloved Tenor, or maybe I'm just getting old. :)