Musician Hand Care

Written by Doniell Cushman

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor, or person who holds a degree or position in the medical, scientific or research field. My education has come from my own experiences, so please speak with a medical professional before treating or handling any injury, and follow their advice. Make sure to tell them you (or your student) are a musician, and that this is important to your body's health and maintenance. This may help them determine how to go about your treatment without detriment. None of these statements are endorsed by a medical professional, or by the FDA.
 
Hand care is of the utmost important to all musicians. Injuries stemming from systematic abuse or from extraneous accidents can endanger the livelihood of a player at any age. Respecting your body and its comforts or limits is something we don't appreciate at a young age. That is why a football injury from high school can mean loss of enjoyment in life20 years later because you might be unable drive your daughter safely or comfortably to her soccer game, or swing her around in your arms, and so on.

Some of the most common injuries are the hardest to treat because healing can be a long process. Blisters, calluses, cuts, broken bones, pulled muscles, bruises, tendonitis, arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome are among the most rampant issues we deal with as a musician. And, let's face it. Our hands are often the key to our instrument. So how should we care for them?

1. Short Nails = Better Control. The biggest benefit from short nails is control. It's like wearing sneakers to drive your car - you can feel and asses the road better than in flip flops or high heels. Short nails also = a less risky way to use our body, and mush less opportunity to contract tendonitis in the fingers (trigger finger).
   1. Trim your nails weekly.
   2. File rough edges and smoothly round the edges.
   3. Keep your nail about 1/4cm or about 1/16th of an inch below the puffy skin at your finger tip.
2. Trim cuticles and hangnails  IMMEDIATELY! This will keep your skin from tearing and creating sore spots on your fingers. Plus, you don't want to expose more germs to the piano with blood, plasma or infection pus. If you can feel it or see it, snip it gently away as close to the skin as possible.
   1. If you're like me and have a hard time trimming them down dry, soak your fingers, or make a habit out of doing this after you bathe.
3. Properly bandage any cut or blister, and use an antiseptic to clean it, and take a break from playing practice. Instead, choose writing or visual exercises that don't agitate your hand. I don't recommend playing with a band-aid on as your touch sense will be very off.
4. Use wash hands/sanitize and lotion religiously. Keep yourself protected. Even a small hang-nail can attract germs. Also, the lotion will help soften your hands to make them flexible and responsive. It also helps smooth rough, dry or itchy skin and works gently on calluses.
5. Use a round shape of the hand when playing, and try to keep your wrists straight at all times. This will fight against the potential for abusing the yielding joints young musicians or beginners may have. Follow your instructor's advice on the best techniques for your body, and your personal playing style/issues.
6. Only use finger power when necessary. Don't overuse your energy by always using finger power. Let your arm weight and wrist movements help guide your music in a flowing way to stay resilient. Chords should usually be played with arm weight. Quick passages should usually be played with finger power. Treat each section or measure in music as its own thing, and treat it accordingly with the right type of weight and body use.
7. Exercise Regularly. Like, every day. Do technique or technical skills, work your Hanon or your scales at a steady pace that gently stretches and warms up each finger and joint set. Keeping your fingers warmed up will make you more productive. Without those gentle stretches, you might find that attracting arthritis is easy. There are a lot of ways to exercise your fingers.
   1. Playing a scale
   2. Playing a technique study
   3. Playing an etude
   4. Gentle hand pumping
   5. Band stretches (weighted rubber bands that you can stretch with just your fingers
   6. Clip pinches (using a clip or something that pushes your muscles using weight)
   7. Reflexology, Yoga, Physical Therapy
   8. Washing hands in warm water, and drying them off (seriously, warms them up in two ways!)
8. Think before you act. This seems obvious, but don't reach for that heavy jar filled with prunes with one hand. Don't do volleyball directly before you play. Don't strain or push yourself without thinking of the potential hazards, or future consequences. You might be young and strong, but when you're 40 your body won't be if you don't put effort into how your joints, muscles, tendons, and bones are used in your hands.
9. Relax! This is something everyone gets frustrated with - an unresponsive or uncooperative hand/finger. If you just relax and stay persistent, you will achieve better results and more quickly too. Don't place tension in your hand if unnecessary. And don't go around giving everyone an "arm burn" either. Just be positive and let the stressed out finger sit comfortably, as if you're relaxing with your hand on the couch arm.

At the end of the day, you want your hands to feel good. You don't want to wake up a week from now with an aching pinky because you put all kinds of torque and pressure on your joint when playing. It would take weeks to months to years to heal properly if not caught and cared for. Be aware of how your hands are cared for. Stuff lotion in every possible place. Keep nail trimmers everywhere. Gently exercise and stretch before playing. Treat your body and hands with the respect they deserve.
​
I'll end with my favorite analogy for my younger students: Does Usain Bolt get up out of bed and run a marathon every morning? Nope. No marathon runner would do this without warming up and stretching. No one in their right mind jumps out of bed straight into a race without throwing on clothes, using the bathroom, washing up, stretching, etc. So, don't just sit down and play or practice. Put some thought into how you want to succeed, and you can accomplish anything.