Got Gertrude back. Am very happy about this. Have been playing nonstop after a month of no harping. Anyone know what that means? That means blisters. Yow.
I'll be going to a local bardic night that's getting started here in the barony of Storvik tomorrow night, so I'm doing this sort of awkward tight-rope dance. Want to practice, so I remember things tomorrow. Want to not practice to much so the blister can heal a bit and not be distracting tomorrow. As a result, I'm practicing veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwy quiiiiiiiiiiet!
This blog seems to have become all about pain lately! Seems in recent posts I've got 2 references to blisters, 1 reference to phantom wrist-pain and 1 reference to mooshing my thumb down on a hot stove. I swear I'm not constantly injuring myself on my harp, really! It's just....pain is interesting! Ask any fighter, they'll back me up.
Anyway, here's a promise: tomorrow I will post about bardic night, and not about pain. Less pain, more poetry, how's that sound?
Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts
December 08, 2010
September 10, 2010
Dreaded Wrist Pain
If you're a musician (or a fighter, or a knitter, or a tennis player, etc...), you know how alarming wrist pain can be. You start to notice a dull achey stripe down the center of the inside of your wrist, and the first thing that pops into your head is "OMG CARPAL TUNNEL!!! I'LL NEVER PLAY THE HARP/SWORD/NEEDLES/RACKET AGAIN!!!"
This is usually not the case. Normally, after a short freak-out, I just take this as a sign that I've been practicing too much and my wrist is tired. I put the harp down for a day or two, and when I pick it back up, I concentrate on playing with a nice, healthy technique (WRISTS STRAIGHT!). Some people will wear wrist braces for a while to make sure they're not torquing their wrists doing some other random thing. This is smart.
So yesterday, I noticed the tell-tale wrist pain. "WTF?" I thought, irritated. "I've been living in unpacking-new-house-land for the past week! I haven't touched my harp OR my needles OR my rapiers for at least that long! Unfair!" Seriously, the unpacking hasn't even been of the heavy-lifting variety. By the end of the day, the pain was shooting all the way up to my shoulder. So not cool.
So here's a tip for people who have alarming, unexplainable wrist pain - examine how you sleep! Turns out I was sleeping on my side with my bottom shoulder thrust forward underneath me and my arm curled up around me with my wrist hooked around my neck. It was ugly. Trying to find another comfortable way to sleep was uglier. But hey, now my wrist feels fine!
It's something most of us don't think about, but really - when you spend 8 hours every night ganking the buhjeezus out of your wrist, good harp technique will only get you so far. And if you sleep as hard as I wish I did, try wearing wrist braces to sleep one night, and see what it won't let you do. It's enlightening.
This is usually not the case. Normally, after a short freak-out, I just take this as a sign that I've been practicing too much and my wrist is tired. I put the harp down for a day or two, and when I pick it back up, I concentrate on playing with a nice, healthy technique (WRISTS STRAIGHT!). Some people will wear wrist braces for a while to make sure they're not torquing their wrists doing some other random thing. This is smart.
So yesterday, I noticed the tell-tale wrist pain. "WTF?" I thought, irritated. "I've been living in unpacking-new-house-land for the past week! I haven't touched my harp OR my needles OR my rapiers for at least that long! Unfair!" Seriously, the unpacking hasn't even been of the heavy-lifting variety. By the end of the day, the pain was shooting all the way up to my shoulder. So not cool.
So here's a tip for people who have alarming, unexplainable wrist pain - examine how you sleep! Turns out I was sleeping on my side with my bottom shoulder thrust forward underneath me and my arm curled up around me with my wrist hooked around my neck. It was ugly. Trying to find another comfortable way to sleep was uglier. But hey, now my wrist feels fine!
It's something most of us don't think about, but really - when you spend 8 hours every night ganking the buhjeezus out of your wrist, good harp technique will only get you so far. And if you sleep as hard as I wish I did, try wearing wrist braces to sleep one night, and see what it won't let you do. It's enlightening.
June 23, 2010
My callus is a mighty callus
This is harp-related and bears posting about.
Yesterday, like a dumbass, I was making tea (making tea isn't a dumbass thing to do, I was just being a dumbass while making tea, as you'll see). I turn the back burner on - the one with the kettle sitting on it. Then (and mind you, it's like 7am), I think to myself, "Hey, the front burner's all sticking up and out of it's little burner-socket.* I'll just nudge that back down." So I put my thumb on the front burner. And push. And, of course, it turns out it was not the back burner that I'd turned on. *sigh*
So I had this nice, painful burn-stripe on my thumb right where the harp string goes. I was devestated. This would mean no playing the harp at all while it healed. Ugh.
Like 2 hours later, I realize there's no blister, and there's not going to be a blister. The pain was gone, the white stripe was fading, and the skin that was burned felt no different than the skin around it. That's right - I'd burned myself squarely on my callus! And my callus did exactly what it was supposed to - it scoffed at pain and injury. My thumb is fine, my callus is mighty, and my stove is thwarted.
My callus > mooshing my thumb down on a hot stove. HA! There will be harping after all.
*That's not a typo, I think in misspellings at 7am.
Yesterday, like a dumbass, I was making tea (making tea isn't a dumbass thing to do, I was just being a dumbass while making tea, as you'll see). I turn the back burner on - the one with the kettle sitting on it. Then (and mind you, it's like 7am), I think to myself, "Hey, the front burner's all sticking up and out of it's little burner-socket.* I'll just nudge that back down." So I put my thumb on the front burner. And push. And, of course, it turns out it was not the back burner that I'd turned on. *sigh*
So I had this nice, painful burn-stripe on my thumb right where the harp string goes. I was devestated. This would mean no playing the harp at all while it healed. Ugh.
Like 2 hours later, I realize there's no blister, and there's not going to be a blister. The pain was gone, the white stripe was fading, and the skin that was burned felt no different than the skin around it. That's right - I'd burned myself squarely on my callus! And my callus did exactly what it was supposed to - it scoffed at pain and injury. My thumb is fine, my callus is mighty, and my stove is thwarted.
My callus > mooshing my thumb down on a hot stove. HA! There will be harping after all.
*That's not a typo, I think in misspellings at 7am.
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