Senin, 20 April 2015

Why A Violin Wrist Aid Is Important In Guarding Against Injury

By Stella Gay


Violin playing uses the wrist in a position of continuous, sometimes severe exertion. Such activity can obviously cause injury over time, and so violinist sometimes wear a violin wrist aid to protect their arm and assist their playing.

A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is not uncommon among musicians, and happens to players of practically any instrument. It happens when the same specific motion is repeated many times through a sustained period of time, such as weeks or even months. The accumulated effect on the area in use is that the soft tissue (ligaments, tendons and muscles) becomes swollen and painful, and loses movement ability.

However, an RSI is difficult to determine before its acute stage. There are no symptoms before it becomes serious. The sudden manifestation of pain, swelling or hardening and reduced movement do not have prior warning and the musician is not going to realize that they are causing the injury. Once it has reached the acute stage, it takes a long time for an RSI to recover. Practise and performance then become much more difficult or even impossible.

The wrist is an obvious risk area for RSIs. If one examines the wrist's internal architecture, it is plain to see why. The two forearm bones join the wrist on one side, while the bones of the palm (the metacarpals) attach to it on the other. In the wrist itself, the carpal bones are assembled in a tight, interlocking formation, attached to each other by ligaments. These bones are irregular in shape.

The carpal arrangement makes the extensive rotational movement by the hand possible. But there is a problem associated with this where the hand is constantly used for a specific motion or activity. The ligaments between the carpals sometimes become swollen and painful, and this limits the movement of the hand.

It is not surprising that the continuously exerted position displayed by the violinist's wrist during playing of the instrument is a serious risk factor for RSI. A ligament cannot change its shape or length, unlike muscles or tendons. It is therefore prone to injury through repetitive strain. It also takes much longer than other tissue types to heal because, structurally, it is so dense and strong, and also because its circulation is so limited. Where a tendon is inflamed and hard, the condition is known as tendinitis, and this is also a common problem among musicians, not only on the violin.

An injured musician cannot play to their usual ability. Their hand cannot move as it usually does, and the instrument's use is accompanied by pain.

Devoted musicians may argue that they should continue playing, regardless of pain or discomfort. But this is not as laudable as it may sound. An RSI becomes worse through continued performance of the original problematic exercise. It needs time to heal, and if it has no opportunity to do so, it may become more serious or even result in permanent damage to the affected tissue. In other words, the musician may never recover entirely. Those carrying such injuries should therefore consult a medical practitioner without hesitation and organize a rest interval in their practise routine.




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