Carpal tunnel syndrome

[Ward & Probst]

Ms. Mary,

	Preview of Convention class in Arlington, VA, July 5-9, 2000:

	"My shoulder hurts, my elbow hurts, and there is a pain in my neck that
never seems to go away. Piano service is my livelihood but if this
continues, I may have to find something else. Can you help me, please?"
	(E) Your Body - Maintaining Your Most Important Tool - Bonnie Swafford
Your body is your most important tool, but comes with no instruction manual.
In this case, you will learn some basic anatomy to better understand the
design, construction, and maintenance of the machine that is your body.
Learn what can go wrong in muscles and tendons, joints, ligaments, bursa,
and nerves as you do the physical work of the piano technician.  Learn a bit
about general fitness, how to prevent trouble before it starts, and how to
treat problems after they occur.

Best,
Dale
Dale Probst, RPT
Institute Director, TEAM2000
PTG Annual Convention
Arlington, VA--July 5-9,2000
wardprobst@cst.net
(940)691-3682 voice
(940) 691-6843 fax
TEAM2000 website: http://www.equaltemperament.com/PTG/


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-caut@ptg.org [mailto:owner-caut@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Mary
Smith
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 12:31 PM
To: caut@ptg.org
Subject: Carpal tunnel syndrome


Dear List,

I have a somewhat medical (though tuning-related) question for y'all.
I am developing some pretty serious aches and pains in my left
shoulder/arm/wrist. Also, tingling and numbness in my left fingers. I
had a pretty bad pinched nerve in my neck throughout January (left
side), but that has been helped tremendously by a physical therapist.
Now this darn arm and wrist stuff flares up every time I tune a
piano! I have switched to using a "bonker", instead of my fingers,
for test blows. (The "bonker" is a piano hammer set in a short,
papier-mache handle, that I can cradle in my left palm. It takes most
of the impact of a test blow, though I still feel some shock in my
wrist.) The bonker, plus some new stretches my physical therapist
gave me, are helping the situation, but I am wondering if there is
anything else I can do. Have other folks had experience with this
problem? Any suggestions? Growing old is such a bitch, but
considering the alternative, I guess I'm stuck! Thanks in advance...

MarySmith@maill.utexas.edu