Advice on tuning techniques for recovering tendonitis sufferer

[John Formsma]

Hi Robert,

I think I was the one who mentioned that to you at Kansas City last year.
Are you from the Boston area?

Anyway, we had a discussion on Pianotech, so you could check the archives. I
found the following by doing a search for "hammer shank stability" (without
the quotes).

That seemed to help me, but what I found was that regular exercise also
helped lessen my elbow problems. I do simple bodyweight exercises like
squats and pushups (a la Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning program) for
general body health.  Also, doing bicep curls and tricep presses with a 20
lb. dumbbell seems to help tremendously. I think it's probably because of
the different range of motions that we don't get from pounding a piano all
day. It seemed like my arm was getting "locked" into a certain position and
just doing test blows. Not so good for overall arm health.

You might also find trigger point therapy will help. You can do that
yourself. I think there might even be a publication by PTG on that topic,
but another one is by Bonnie Prudden. Really easy to learn and quite
helpful.

Also very helpful has been gently stretching the wrist upward and downward
(using the other hand to apply pressure). You keep your fingers straight out
and also keep your elbow locked in an extended position. Then pull the
fingers back toward you, (palm away from you) feeling those forearm muscles
stretching and getting looser. Go the other direction by curling the wrist
so that the palm is facing you, again applying some pressure with your other
hand. (Or, you can do this stretching using something soft like a chair or
mattress.)  I do this while driving between appointments. It's great.

It's also possible to tune without massive test blows and still get as
stable a tuning. It's a matter of "feeling" where the string is as you
manipulate the lever.

JF

On 3/18/07, Robert Finley <rfinley at rcn.com> wrote:
>
>  Since July of last year I have been suffering from lateral epicondylitis
> in my left arm, or tennis elbow. I am not sure if I got this by practicing
> the piano, tuning pianos, lifting a heavy suitcase, playing golf or what. I
> have had a couple of cortisone injections and physical therapy sessions, and
> now the problem has almost disappeared. After this problem started, I had to
> severely cut back on my piano tunings because it was painful when I had to
> hit the keys firmly with the fingers of my left hand to settle the strings.
> I recently tuned a piano and tried to hit the key with my right hand, then
> hold the key down with my left finger while I turned the tuning hammer with
> my right hand. It took longer but I was able to tune the piano, and it
> reduced the amount of pain I had in my left arm. The last thing I want to
> happen is to aggravate my arm and for this problem to come back, and then to
> eventually need surgery. I have heard that surgery is not always successful
> and can lead to permanent irreversible damage. It's a very scary thought
> since I am a concert pianist and teacher as well.
>
> I have heard that some piano technicians use a technique where they hit
> the key with a smaller amount of force and gently push the string with a
> small rod or tool to equalize the tension along the speaking length. This
> avoids the need to hit the key firmly and achieves the same effect, whilst
> reducing the chance of getting tendonitis and tinnitus (due to high sound
> levels that might cause hearing loss unless ear plugs are used).
>
> My question is, has anyone used this and how successful is it? Do you push
> the string downwards or horizontally inwards? Does it matter? Is this done
> after the key had been struck? What is the sequence of actions to use? How
> long would you expect to complete a piano tuning using this technique?
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
> Robert Finley
>
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