[Trombone-l] Left hand pinky pain

[LINDA LANDIS]

The ulnar nerve runs to the pinky and finger next to it. When a car turned in front of my truck and we tboned her, the air bag got me across the ulnar nerve in both arms. Those fingers went numb for awhile. 

I also got a callous and bent pinky from holding my cell phone. Find another way to hold your phone so you can still use your pinky on your trombone. I had to, but mine was the pinky on my right hand. My pinky is nearly normal again. 

There’s a pain relief great cream I get at my chiropractor’s office for my shoulders and knees. It’s non-toxic and called Traumeel and penetrates deeply and helps the tissues heal. You might give it a try. 

Hope you heal well soon. 

Linda Landis, Lead Trombone Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Private Teacher

> On Mar 27, 2023, at 9:43 PM, Jon Studer via Trombone-l <trombone-l at trombonelist.org> wrote:
> 
> I spend most of day job at the computer and use lots of keyboard shortcuts that involve my pinky finger on my left hand. Over the last few weeks, I’ve started developing some pain and minor numbness in my pinky that extends into my hand. 
> 
> Playing my trombone tonight I realized that the pain is also happening as I hold my horn and use my pinky to hold the slide when not locked. 
> I’ve noticed that I also tend to use the pinky to hold the weight of my mobile phone while using it for other than phone calls. I’m working to retrain my self on this to reduce stress on it. 
> 
> I regularly use ErgoBone to hold the weight of my horn, so no pain in my hand, just my pinky at the finger knuckles. 
> 
> Any suggestions on how I can head this off before it gets worse would be much appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> -Jon
> 
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