tools for tuning and a sore back, was Re: SAT and hands

[Paul Stephens]

Wimblees@aol.com wrote:
>
> Ed:
>
> My wife uses a SAT, and has problems with her hands and elbow. For the test
> blows, I made a gadget out of two bass hammers. I glued, and doweled, the two
> tails together, and smoothed off the points. This gives her hard felt in the
> palm of her hand, and of course hard felt on the piano key.
>
> For playing octaves, I made another gadget. I took two bass hammers, cut of
> the tails, and srewed them on the ends of a 3/4" dowel, long enough so that
> the hammers reach an octave. To help her hold on to the thing, I stretched a
> strip of leather accross the top, loose enough to put her hand throug, but
> tight enough so that when she lifts her hand, the dowel lifts up. She can
> also tilt the thing so that she can have a hammer play one note, and then use
> a finger to play a smaller interval.
>
> So much for her. Now I have a problem, which I hope someone can help me with.
> I have been having problems with my right shoulder blade. ( I am a right
> handed tuner).  A muscle has become very tight in teh shoulder blade area,
> and it gives me headaches. I have vibrating tool with a head on it, that
> helps, but the problem never goes away. (When I go to bed, I lay on the
> vibrator, and it relaxes the muscle.) (please no sick jokes here).
>
> I saw my doctor today for my anual physical, and told him about it. He gave
> me some muscle relaxing pills, but he said the problem won't go away by
> itself. He wants me to go to phycial therapy to strenghthen the muscle. I
> said I thought I had a strong muscle from all those tunings, but he said the
> therapy will help develop other muscles to help the one that is sore and
> tender.
>
> Anyone out there with a similar problem, and a solution. Will at SAT help
> with this?
>
> Willem Blees RPT
> St. Louis
> One of the best things to relieve this sort of pain is an ice pack.  Look
for the re-freezable kind.  There is one just under a foot square that
provides more relief for me than anti-inflamitories or muscle relaxants.
 Try it it's really cool. ;-)

Paul Stephens