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I wrote privately to John to let him know a few things that helped me
overcome a repetitive stress injury (in my case, tendonitis) about 10
years ago. One of the things was learning how to use as little muscle
tension as possible when doing everyday things such as typing and even
holding a pen. Most people exert themselves more than they need to,
which places unnecessary stress on various body parts. Over time, that
stress takes a toll. My massage therapist introduced me to the
Alexander Technique. She taught me how to be more aware of the muscle
tension in my body and how to avoid becoming unnecessarily tense.
Here's some more info about the Alexander Technique:
I've never played the banjo, but I do play the piano. When playing the
piano, the ability to use only as much muscle tension as necessary
helps minimize avoid stress injuries, but it also helps a pianist play
faster and more expressively.
Cheryl
On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 09:57:58 -0400,
walter -dot- crockett -at- ascentialsoftware -dot- com
<walter -dot- crockett -at- ascentialsoftware -dot- com> wrote:
>
> After years of trying to become a faster guitar flatpicker, I no
> longer believe all arms are created equal. In the bluegrass world, the law
> of natural selection prevails in spades. Only those people whose arms and
> wrists were built to move as quickly as David Grisman's, for example, have
> even a chance of becoming top bluegrass mandolin players; and only those
> whose fingers are nearly as nimble as Bela Fleck's can hope to become
> bluegrass banjo stars. Blazing arm and hand speed are necessary, but not
> sufficient conditions for success at the highest level in bluegrass. (You've
> got to be musical too.)
> The last time I made a concerted attempt to increase my picking
> speed I ended up with the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome, which was
> aggravated by spending the day at my computer job. So I backed off and
> decided to just try to improve my musicality instead.
> I also agree with those who say that never having had a problem with
> CTS doesn't mean you never will, though maybe you have one of those arms
> that just won't quit. In my case, I have found that doing the common
> exercises for it found on the Internet has always gotten me back to normal.
> I hope that continues to be the case.
>
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