Your Body Almanac

Playing piano

Long practice sessions on a bench with fast, forceful finger work.

Piano is great for coordination, memory and mood. Long practice sessions can strain the hands and forearms, especially with tense technique or a sudden jump in practice time, and sitting on a bench for hours brings its own back and neck aches.

01

Hand and forearm overuse

Fast passages, octaves and chords played with tension load the tendons of the fingers and forearm. Pain, tightness or fatigue that lasts after practice are early warnings.

SourcesRepetitive strain injury (NHS)Tendinitis (MedlinePlus)
Do tendon glides for your handsDailyMove your fingers through five positions to help the tendons slide smoothly through the wrist. Stretch your wrists and forearmsDailyGentle wrist flexor and extensor stretches for hands that type, grip or tap all day. Build up training graduallyWeeklyRaise how often, how long and how hard you train by no more than about 10% a week. Get up and move every 30 minutesDailyBreak up long stretches of sitting with a few minutes of standing or walking.
02

Back and neck strain at the bench

A bench at the wrong height or distance, or slumping to read music, rounds the back and pushes the head forward. Hours of this leave the upper back and neck sore.

SourcesNeck pain (OrthoInfo, AAOS)Low back pain (OrthoInfo, AAOS)
Do chin tucksDailyGlide your head straight back to counter the forward-head posture that screens and desks encourage. Extend your upper back over a chairDailyGently bend your mid-back backwards over a chair to counter hours of rounding forward. Do cat-cowDailySlowly round and arch your back on hands and knees to move your whole spine.
03

Carpal tunnel and nerve symptoms

Repeated finger work with the wrist bent can press on nerves at the wrist or elbow. Tingling in the fingers, especially at night, is a sign to get it checked.

SourcesCarpal tunnel syndrome (OrthoInfo, AAOS)
Stretch your wrists and forearmsDailyGentle wrist flexor and extensor stretches for hands that type, grip or tap all day. Do tendon glides for your handsDailyMove your fingers through five positions to help the tendons slide smoothly through the wrist.

When to see a professional

See a doctor or hand therapist for numbness or tingling in your fingers, pain that lasts after you stop playing. Fingers that curl or lose control only while you play can be musician's focal dystonia, a nerve problem. No exercise is known to prevent it. If it starts, see a neurologist rather than practicing harder.