‘When I tried to play, my hand spasmed and shook’: why musicians get the yips

The Guardian ^ | Tue 17 Oct 2023 | Lynn Hallarman

[nickcarraway]

One day, my hand stopped speaking to my brain. As a doctor and flute player, I had to try to understand this strange affliction

The morning after performing the concert of my life, I could no longer play the flute. The pinky and ring fingers of my left hand failed to cooperate with what my mind wanted to do – I couldn’t work the keys. The harder I tried, the more my fingers curled into a claw, stuck in spasm. Even stranger: no other activity was affected. I could type on a keyboard with the same facility as usual and play scales on the piano with unimpeded finger action.

The concert, the capstone of my master’s degree in historical performance at the same university where I’d worked as a palliative care physician until 2019, was in March 2020 – one of the last before the Covid-19 lockdowns. My weird finger problem seemed small compared with the unfolding pandemic.

I initially opted for self-diagnosis, starting with a medical process called a “rule-out”. For instance, I ruled out a stroke. Otherwise, why did I have symptoms only when I played? I ruled out an injured hand. I couldn’t remember hurting or straining it. I had no pain, no history of arthritis and no wrist, arm or shoulder movement limitations: no numbness or tingling. I could air-play an invisible flute with virtuosity; only a real one induced the symptoms. My other hand worked fine. I felt well.

So I ruminated on other possibilities. Had my brain-finger circuitry become unglued or rewired? What was the origin of the spasming – my hand or my mind? Was this an issue of age? Of nerves? I found myself confronted with a problem that my background as a physician could not make sense of.

[John S Mosby]

TENS portable stimulator— both exercise and relax the nerve conduction.

Also, very effective is hand exerciser from Clinically Fit.

Just as a an alligator has no strength to prevent its jaw from being held closed (vs. crushing strength if biting down), so are the hands in reverse flexion.

Clinically Fit web page is down for some reason. This device really helps flexibility and strength and vs. cramping of locking fingers.

[dayglored]

Many thanks to you both for good information and suggestions!

[Ikeon]

they admitted it wasn’t a physical problem.

[KosmicKitty]

Thank you for posting this, I’ve been having spasms in my left hand and my fingers will freeze in odd positions for the past ten years. Never in my right hand.

I’ve worked on computers since 1980 and have been an avid knitter and crocheter since I was a kid.

[Albion Wilde]

Task-specific focal dystonia is related to repeating a physical action, like trilling a note on a keyboard. Smaller muscles working in refined ways seem most vulnerable. The precise movements characterising the muscle actions of archers (target panic), tap dancers, runners, hairdressers, golfers (the yips), musicians and computer programmers are found among people living with dystonia. Musicians seem particularly susceptible: as many as one or two in 100 are affected, usually professional players in their 30s or 40s.

I had this "claw" spasm the post describes after a car accident and whiplash, back in the day when I my occupation involved working precisely with my hands all day. I was helped enormously by a particular brand of deep-tissue massage called Rolfing. It's not for everyone or every situation, but it worked wonders for me and the good effects of taking the entire series of ten sessions lasted many years. Whoever wrote the Wikipedia page on Rolfing is misinformed and a hater.