As I mentioned in my last post on this subject, I think my arm injury is on it’s way out. My Occupational Therapist recommended a wrist brace for me when using the computer mouse and it’s been a phenomenal help. My fingers haven’t gone numb all week, and my hand doesn’t feel fatigued all the time. I still ice down my wrist, and my forearm muscles are a little tired, but things are really so much better.

One of the things that my OT has me working on is a series of exercises that build my extender muscles in my fingers. She alluded to the fact that my reflexers are rather strong, but my extenders are a little on the weak side. Therefore, I assume, that is why my hand feels fatigued after using the mouse. I remember in Scott Tennet’s book: Pumping Nylon, he mentioned something about this idea playing a part in right hand technique. I was curious enough to look it up. This is what I found:

Practicing rasguedos [that fancy flamenco technique where fingers whip across the strings with the back of the nails for a fast percussive effect] develops the extensor muscles, which are the muscles that move the fingers outward, away from the palm. Many players believe that playing scales with considerable speed and accuracy is dependent upon how quickly we can move our fingers out, not in. This would certainly explain why most flamenco guitarist have the ability to play blazingly fast scales.

If I had only practiced my rasguedos…

This whole process has been an extraordinary learning experience. I have a very intuitive sensibility when it comes to taking care of my hands, but I found that it was completely useless in the situation I was in. Just because I “felt” that my hand should be in a certain position doesn’t mean it’s right. Learning about what a healthy hand needs to be strong has been very comforting. When I put some intellect into the matter, I usually can work my way out of the problem.