strained wrist - palm to finger technique

[congabebe]

Hi,
I practiced yesterday. I am trying to get more definition between strokes and worked a bunch on palm/finger strokes to get them even and louder. I play left handed, although, much to my teachers surprize, I am right handed. So, palm/finger strokes on my right hand are fine. My left hand is weak and I have strained my wrist a couple of times, feels like I did a hand spring and sprung it. I am wondering if I am needing to angle my hand and concentrate on my palm being flat more? I tend to arch/cup my hand to get a stronger attach but can't decide. When I watch videos of Bobby Sanabria and Louis Conte, there fingers look relaxed and their fingers spread slightly. They also cover half of the conga head with one palm flat. My hands are small so I have to adjust/compensate to get the same attack. My teacher plays alot during our lessons and he has shared 'finger injury' /blisters, etc stories, but this is something he has not experienced. He can get just as much volume from palm/finger as he can with open slap. Can anyone help me on this?

Thanks,
Congabebe ???

[JohnnyConga]

Hi ..it's a possibility u may have a bit of tendinitis. also learn to relax the 3 points of your arm -shoulder- elbow and wrist. Very important to learn to relax when doing these type of excersises. Size of hands makes little difference, the strokes are the same,whether ur hands are large or small. Actually I have always felt at a disadvantage with big hands. Giovanni has the smallest hands I have ever seen on a conga player and check him out. so just relax and maybe jsut put on a wrist band (tennis type)and see if that reduces any discomfort for you. I use them all th etime when I play,keeps my wrists warm, and cuts down on abrasion...At your service...JC JOHNNY C0NGA....

[congabebe]

Thanks Johnny,
I have rested and not tried to work on that and wrist is getting better. I don't think it is tendonits yet. I do a lot of data entry, this is a weird feeling, but you could be right. I have to add that I started using the bandaids because of your comments on the forum. I have problems with them sliding and so I got some bike gloves to use to substitute for bandaids. I tried them when we performed, but took them off to just use bare hands/ no tape just to see the difference in sound, I liked to killed myself before the song was over, I have gotten use to having padding. The glove actually added volume to my strike but I can't control it, open slaps mainly. I like them, but it is changing how I play, so that maybe some of the problem to. The padding on the glove is mainly in the palm, surpized me the finger joints are the ones that hurt, and the glove isn't padded there. But it feels fine. I may try just leather gloves without padding... But all this maybe related to the gloves. I would rather not use them at all or the bandaids, but my hands kill me when I play with the band. They mic me, but I have no monitor so I think I play harder just to cut through.
Thanks,
congabebe

[JohnnyConga]

Congabebe...if you can find them use NEXUS bandaids they are good and don't ever come off. It's what I use. I hope you are not getting carpel tunnel syndrome from the data entry. It is a common problem you know? Use the one inch bandaids not the 3/4, the one inch cover more of the finger....At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA...

[RayBoogie]

How about using bandaid and then get surgical tape and wrap it around the bandaid? It works for me!

JC, is it true that playing the congas with gloves makes the sound muffled?

[congabebe]

Thanks Johnny and Ray.
I actually have been using the Nexus bandaids and they do work really well. The gloves came up because I heard that a conga player in Memphis that played with Issac Hayes used gloves, so I thought I would try it. Funny, I thought it would muffle the sound, but it doesn't. I can get more volume than using my bare hands. I may go back to the bandaids, but they have slid off in several gigs. My guess is it was hot and humid this summer and I did not take wash my hands or dry them enough before I put them on. Plus, I can't wash my hands between sets and not end up with water in the pad part of the band aid. Keep in mind, I am playing at small clubs and it is very intimate, and it is easy to pick up a virus and even hepititus, or at least that is what the Health Dept says, so hygene is a must. I know it sounds parinoid. But that is the one thing that I hate about the bandaids, that and having to make sure I have plenty around for a gig in case I have to redo the bandaids. As for tendinitus, it might be that I have some swelling so I have laid off practicing to recover alittle bit. It is not hurting right now. I have been doing data entry a long time. The big sign with it is usually numbness in the fingers the pinky and ring finger. I have avoided injury on this and this is not the sensation I am getting, nonetheless, I am being careful. Thank you for your help. I really count on your expertise and advise, I love this site, cause it really helps.

thanks,
congabebe

[Simon B]

I find that swimming is a particularly good exercise for soothing sore wrists. If you don't already I would also recommend that you do wrist warm-up exercises (there are some good ones demonstrated on Giovanni's 'Mano A Mano' video) and - most importantly - stretch before playing: kneel on all fours, arms rigid, wrists straight facing your knees, and slowly kneel back; hold for about twenty seconds. This is a technique that a drummer from Ghana based here in the UK showed me - his brother-in-law was a physio and said he should stretch every time before drumming to prevent arthritis later on in life!

Simon B

[JohnnyConga]

There is only one type of gloves I have ever used and they were womans nylon gloves. Snug and thin enough to still get a slap. I don't use gloves of course and never will. If you have to wear gloves what areyou doing to your hands that you have to protect them like that.? At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....

[congabebe]

Thanks Simon for the tips on stretching. I am failing to do that before playing. I can tell that being relaxed is the way to go and stretching is a must. My wrist is better, but my whole body needs to get stronger and more limber. I think I have failed somewhere to be more fluid in my playing. Thanks for reminding me.
Johnny, As for why the gloves, I used the tape, it works, but like I went on in detail, ....they slide. I have flung them off during a song, very dramatic, but it looks like I have lost a finger... The gloves were because I want'ed to try something different. I wasn't practicing with them on when I strained my wrist. I don't play with anything on when I practice, just for when I play with a band. I am careful with my hand position, I use the gloves to protect my joints on my fingers and it works. But the pad on the palm is too thick, I am probably going to try golfing gloves next, no pads, just leather. I will probably cut the fingers out, My fingers don't hurt, just my knuckles, first joint on each finger. It is the same part I would tape when I use the bandaids. So, I don't think I have been suffering from bad technique. I am not slamming my hands. In fact my teacher said I need to play harder and more deliberate between different strokes. Open tones and slaps are not different enough. I hope that explains why the gloves.

Thanks,
Congabebe

[yoni]

Hi y'all,

In case you didn't notice, Giovanni hardly ever uses band-aids. Over-blasting is for the birds - it can screw up your wrists, not to mention your blood stream.

I find that doing things apart from percussion (like swimming, gardening or other arm work) helps keep my wrists okay, instead of concentrating 100% of their effort on drumming (though I'm fairly obsessed, and most of my hand/wrist movement does go into drumming).

I've had sore wrists in the past and found that arm/hand activity apart from drumming really helps out.

yoni

[Bill Losh]

Congabebe,
Yeah, you sound a little paranoid, I'd be willing to bet you are over analyzing things, (God knows I do). Gloves? I can't imagine, I don't even like to wear a watch while playing. Tape? Everybody has to do it sometime, here is the best I've found 3m Nexcare "Ultra Comfortable" or "Absolute Waterproof". They are sold in 1 in. by 6 yd. rolls and are available at Wal-Mart for 3-4 dollars. No pad to get wet and you can wash your hands and they won't come off. I would think that when warmer weather arrives in your area your hands will improve 100% when your skin becomes more plyable and less dry. Also, you might try warming up slowly until the blood is flowing in your hands before you really start pounding, this can save you an injury. If the pain in your hands is caused at all by small stress cracks in your skin, try Vaseline Intensive Care "Advanced Healing" lotion. I know, it contains some alcohol, I don't care, it works, and it is readily available anywhere. I am practical (lazy) I like things simple that work. I have had stress cracks heal in 24 hrs. by not playing and using it for one day.

[Michael S]

I am an HVAC technician and use my hands a lot for rough, hot, dirty, wet work. They are heavily calloused without taking the drumming into account. I seldom wear any bandages but when I do (to protect an existing injury, usually) I find that the bandage will usually break without using simply surgical tape. With that they have never come off.

[congabebe]

I will have to look for the roll of tape. I tried several Nextcare bandaids and the waterproof bandaids. I have tried a 1 inch tape on a roll had no pads, but it also came off, I hope it is not the same as you are talking about. I even tried the different kid colors in the Nextcare bandaid variety. That was a favorite by the band fans that come to hear us regularly. I have to use about 20 bandaids, not wash my hands or get them wet, can't sweat or else they go flying off. The gloves they are the part leather/cotton crochet bike gloves from Target. They are not working like I would like. I guess I just haven't built up the chops, no caluses, but my hands and finger joints kill me after a 3 hour gig. I took up working for a house painter, so I am building up my arms and caluses doing spackling and painting. My new in between day job, til I can find something else. I think there is no substitute for practice and so the gloves are a temporary quick fix for the nights, I am just to sore to play without tape. Both my teacher and this serious conga player from Puerto Rico, say the band is over powering me and I just haven't been playing long enough, to not expect so much from myself. Again, more practice and time is needed til then, I put the gloves on when it really starts bothering me. The tape is too unreliable in this high humidity type weather, plus it takes alot of time, and is about 3 to 4 dollars a gig in bandaids. The gloves are $5 and they work for now. Sorry to whimp out. Thanks for the tips. As far as the wrist issue. I laid off that exercise and practiced other things, wrist is ok for now.

Thanks,
Congabebe

peace to all

[Michael S]

I'm just talking about the white cloth tape you get in the drugstore. First Aid tape, I guess it's called. After putting on the bandage, which is the cheap generic kind, I just make one wrap aound it with the tape. I can't imagine why yours keep coming off. I live in an area where 10-15% humidity is the norm; maybe that's the reason mine don't.

[congabebe]

Thanks for the comments. I have to add, I first tried the white tape, it doesn't help my finger joints, that is what hurts. The palm of my hand is fine, the padding is for the joints, I don't play enough to get blisters. Besides I use a closed slap and the blisters I think come from open slaps? Maybe I am not playing hard enough for blisters? My teacher uses white tape and bar napkins if he gets blisters, but he doesn't play as much as he used to, so he was amused about the gloves and the band aids. He did not recommend either one of them. As for the humidity?, we are right next to the Mississippi River, this is delta tropical forest weather. Very Humid. To live here is to have constant sinus problems. A friend from Arizona told us, he had a adjusted fine to Memphis as soon as he had finally learned how to breathe water. Even when it is winter there is lots of humidity in the air. I gave up on the bandaids when it was Fall weather, after playing several outdoor gigs, and indoor gigs with air conditioning, still kept having them slip off. The bandaids were troublesome. Thanks for the comments.

Peace,
Congabebe