Could it be Carpal Tunnel? Please Help Me Out.

Daphfz

Senior Member
Hey everyone! Great to see you all(metaphoricly, i'm not actually outside your window.... -_-).
Umm ok, so i've been drumming for about 3years now, In the last 2-3months i've started focusing on technique a little and i've tried molleor a little bit, but couldnt really get the hang of it(i need more practice i think), anyway i've used i think its german grip(palm down) the whole time and over the last month, i've begun to get pains in the bottom of my wrists. I air drum when i'm in the car listening to music(im in the car ALOT), i used to txt like hell(1000+ msgs a day) and i hardly ever warm up before i drum, i just sorta do a lil snare roll and get on with it. But could it be carpal tunnel? or maybe just a pulled muscle?

I'm going to start rubbing deep heat into my wrists before and after i play from now on, do some snare rolls(starting slow and getting fast then going slow and back to fast, etc..), and wear a tight bandage around my wrists/thumbs to slightly support them when i play. Will this help? and can anyone suggest anything else i can do to avoid any more damage?

Please help me, i dont want to give up the 2nd best thing in my life! :(
 
It doesn't sound like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) Yet. But could easily lead to it. If the tendons in the lower part of your wrist are hurting then you could be on your way. I would highly advise you to seek out a teacher, even if just to evaluate your grip and technique.

The Main Characteristic if CTS is numbness and tingling in your thumb and first 2 fingers. and pain in the heel of your hand. stretching, hot packs and playing very loosely is very helpful.

good luck
 
Pain is never a good sign. Persistent, chronic pain is worst of all. Your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. If the pain is really bad, see a doctor. If you can, get yourself to an Orthopedic Surgeon who specialises in wrists to assess any potential damage and prescribe a course of treatment to get you back to "normal" again.

After that is done, the advice above to seek out a good teacher is also good. Find the best technician you can afford and ask to be taken back to basics and build your technique from the ground up. I know a number of musicians who have had to take this approach to rehabilitating injuries.

BTW, I wouldn't suggests bandages or anything that might restrict blood-flow or normal movements without getting the advice of a doctor first. You may simply compound your problem without knowing it.
 
Thankyou for the help, i'm only 15, so i shall go and get it looked at by a doctor and do my best to find a teacher as soon as i can, i do not know of any around where i live, but i shall look :), i've been gettin a couple of lessons every month from my school music teacher, but he doesnt really teach me anything, just how to read the music :-| He has never once said anything to me about technique or grip, so i doubt i should ask him for help, seeing as he never had the forsight/wisdom to tell his students about learning proper technique? . So no tight bandages or tight sweat bands on when i play to allow normal bloodflow? Also Will rubbing deepheat on my wrists when i play help loosen up my tendons and reduce risk of more damage/pain?
 
Thankyou for the help, i'm only 15, so i shall go and get it looked at by a doctor and do my best to find a teacher as soon as i can, i do not know of any around where i live, but i shall look :), i've been gettin a couple of lessons every month from my school music teacher, but he doesnt really teach me anything, just how to read the music :-| He has never once said anything to me about technique or grip, so i doubt i should ask him for help, seeing as he never had the forsight/wisdom to tell his students about learning proper technique? . So no tight bandages or tight sweat bands on when i play to allow normal bloodflow? Also Will rubbing deepheat on my wrists when i play help loosen up my tendons and reduce risk of more damage/pain?

I am no doctor, but I would argue that rubbing deepheat or IcyHot or something like that could only hurt you. Heat relaxes your muscles, but then you are also using them a lot when you drum, which could (in my mind, at least), lead to them being stressed (going from really relaxed to really in use), especially if you don't play in a relaxed fashion.

The most important thing you can do for your wrist health is to warm up before playing. Put in some real time. Shake out your hands from slow to fast shakes. Then play slow eighth notes, 8 or 16 on a hand at a time, alternating hands, then getting faster every few reps. These types of exercises are so important for stretching out your muscles. I know that at your age, you are probably able to just sit and play for a while, but you are doing damage when you don't warm up that you will feel years later, and that can lead to problems a lot worse than the pain you have now.
 
Thankyou for the help, i'm only 15, so i shall go and get it looked at by a doctor and do my best to find a teacher as soon as i can, i do not know of any around where i live, but i shall look :),

Where are you? Maybe someone around here can help point you in the right direction.

So no tight bandages or tight sweat bands on when i play to allow normal bloodflow? Also Will rubbing deepheat on my wrists when i play help loosen up my tendons and reduce risk of more damage/pain?

Well, my approach is to have everything be as loose and relaxed as possible and to play using the largest natural arcs of my joints, so to me putting anything tight around your wrists seems like a no-no. As for DeepHeat, it's a topical ointment - i.e. it doesn't effect deep-seated muscle and tendon tissue all that much. It does help draw a certain amount of blood to the surface of the skin and may even trigger endorphines that kill pain, but I doubt it's really going to do much to alleviate any serious trouble you're having. Chances are, if the pain is in the wrist, it's not muscle, but tendon that's giving you trouble. The muscles that control the wrist are higher up in the forearm. DeepHeat isn't going to fix an overworked tendon.
 
I'm near Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

So i have to learn to play as loose and relaxed as possible without dropping my sticks or loosing beat? Anyone got any tips on how i can do that?

I will rule out deepheat and start doing about 15-30mins of warming up before I play, hopefully this will do me some good :)
 
I'm near Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

So i have to learn to play as loose and relaxed as possible without dropping my sticks or loosing beat? Anyone got any tips on how i can do that?

You've hit it on the head with as loose as possible. That is, any muscle movement is going to require some tension. The idea is to get the most control from the least amount of effort. I highly recommend that you get a teacher to help you develop some basic technique. I don't know of any teachers near you. Is there a college or university with a music programme nearby? Have you tried asking your high school music teacher if they can connect you with someone? Start searching.


I will rule out deepheat and start doing about 15-30mins of warming up before I play, hopefully this will do me some good :)

Only if the motions you're using to "warm up" aren't the same ones that have caused you all the problems in the first place.
 
I made the mistake of rubbing my arms a lot when I developed tendonitis last year. Not only did it make my right arm worse...I developed the same condition in my left arm as a result of the constant rubbing!

Lay off, slow down, warm up *thoroughly*, and work more on your technique. If you experience pain for more than a few days - see a doctor.
 
Okay will do! Thankyou all for your help, i will let you's know how i go :). My warm ups have been basically just doing snare rolls at varied speeded and varied rudiments :), it has helped a bit
 
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