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I'm looking for exercises to help with my motor control in my left wrist. Ever since I started heavy lifting on a daily basis at work, my left hand has become tighter and stiffer to the point where I have to use my entire arm while playing rather than just moving my wrist.

I'm not even looking for anything music-related, just anything to help loosen my wrists would be of great help!

Thanks, Cam.

Aaron
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Cam
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    Hi Cam. Welcome to Music: P&T! Sorry to hear about your arm. I hope someone will be along soon who's had some similar experience and can give you advice. In the meantime, have you come across Alexander Technique? I've known a couple of musicians who were helped by them. There's information about them at this NHS site that should be useful even if you're not in the UK: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alexander-technique/ – Old Brixtonian Feb 03 '20 at 05:44
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    First, I suggest you use an arm brace at work, and find ways of favoring your left arm in your work. Try to use your left wrist as little as possible in your lifting. And maybe take a bit of a break from playing while you get this figured out. Second, look for a physical therapist who specializes in hands. Finally, get a doctor's appointment with an orthopedist who specializes in hands. Maybe you just need some special stretches and strengthening exercises -- but maybe there's something more serious going on. Knowledge is power. – aparente001 Feb 04 '20 at 06:12
  • Thanks a lot guys! I'll have a look into both! - A brace sounds like a ready good idea :) – Cam Feb 04 '20 at 12:11
  • Just to check - have you had some manual handling training at work? – Нет войне Jan 28 '21 at 21:33

3 Answers3

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It won't solve the problem entirely but before you practice / play do 10 minutes or so of wrist exercises. A lot of the ones for people with arthritis seem to work well for me.

A quick Google of 'wrist exercises for arthiritis' will come back with some good ones and I would personally recommend this NHS one

Bob Broadley
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William Pennanti
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I don't know if you are sympathetic to alternative medicine but you could visit an osteopath and have them examine your wrist. They would also give you exercises. Hopefully it may be just be temporary. No criticism of you but possibly it could be something wrong with your posture when heavy lifting, such as having your arms in a bad position.

No consolation but RSI is now very common among musicians and it is aggravated by using a computer mouse and also stress.

Ian Stewart
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Ok, first rule of fight club:

  1. We do not talk about lifting heavy stuff

Your wrists have to be supple.

Now, there are left handed and right handed people in the world. Ambidextrous are not what you'd expect commonly, but let's not exclude.

The suppleness of the wrists comes from, well, would you believe it, the arm.

My advice: if you feel your wrists hurting, switch to playing with arms. No harm in hhat. Apart from that, you can simply build your wrist muscles by doing "no-finger" exercises. Exclusivelly, and only if you stop heavy lifting.

No heavy lifting for musicians. (and there's a stereotype exclusively for the fact that you must not sprain your wrists, so musicians are looked upon as avoiding heavy duty work. But it's one or the other.

Ate Somebits
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  • if you consider yourself a "traditional" snare drummer, let go of the heavy duty work. But since you're doing both, I feel I have to communicate to you that you might have a choice: snaredrumming to perfection (not well paid) or lifting heavy stuff (not well paid). – Ate Somebits Feb 02 '21 at 02:17