A DYNAMOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF PIANO PLAYING

Abstract

Damage to the tendons, tendon sheaths and finger joints are among the most common overuse injuries suffered by amateur mountain climbers (Hochholzer and Eisenhut, 1993). Chronic and recurrent micro-traumas resulting from static loading, among other causes, can cause paratendonitis, tendovaginitis, tendosynovitis and arthrotic degeneration of the finger joints. Research may show that the ring finger is the part of the hand most frequently damaged by such overuse. Burtscher and Jenny (1987) found, in a study of 45 amateur mountain climbers, that 28.9% of the distal interphalangeal joints (DIP) and 17.8% of the proximal interphalangeal joints (PIP) were injured due to overburdening in climbing.