Function Of The Metacarpals?

Recently I've noticed a deficiency in structural function in my fifth fingers - either one or both of the joint between the phalanges will collapse when I play a note (specifically if I stand on the finger). It seems that it doesn't matter how much I nudge the finger around or adjust its alignment - I cannot get it to stand functionally. This did lead me to a discovery, however. I noticed that the metacarpal of my fifth fingers will move as much as that of the fourth, yet it almost always remains at its lowest point when the finger plays, whereas all the other metacarpals will rise to varying degrees. It seems that when I can get it to (or perhaps, allow it to) rise, I get much more structural functionality. This leads me round to the 'Cocking the metacarpals' ATM from Honing. Is the 'priming' mentioned here a method to attain this functionality that I'm talking about? I've also noticed that doing the 'fifth finger pull ups' from Craft allow the metacarpal to soar into this position towards the end of the movement. Any insight would be much appreciated.

You're on the right track. There is also in Honing something about Kemal forcing my fifth into a 90-degree hook and making me play like that. Try that one as well. Your fifth metacarpal won't always need to be at its absolute highest but you need to be able to put it there at will, using a strong lumbrical/kinterosseous contraction to get it up into position. Once you are capable of that you can leave the hand slanted to the outside (this is very convenient for many things the thumb and forefinger have to do), knowing that your whole fifth finger flexion reflex will serve you when you need it. It's no longer dead in the water as you so perceptively noticed yours is now... All best, AFF

Thanks Alan, I'll have a play around and report back in a few days.

There is also in Honing something about Kemal forcing my fifth into a 90-degree hook and making me play like that. Try that one as well. Alan, do you know which chapter this is in? I've had a look through several times and can't find it. There is something similar in the 'Flat Fingers' section in Craft.

Oops, sorry, that chapter is in my next book - you'll have to wait a bit... I find it hard to keep track of all the stuff that comes out of my brain... AFF

Hi Nick, Alan, Nick I have the same problem, but especially the 4th & pink being the worst. No mater what I did I could not stop the joints from collapsing. It was time to either look for another way or do something about it. I went to an excellent hand surgeon in my area. The problem was immediately recognized as "swan neck finger deformity." You might want to do a google image search. You'll see mild cases as well as severe. See if any of these look like what is happening to you. It is a genetic trait. If it is, then you may want to consider some physical therapy, a very light weight plastic splint which keeps the finger from collapsing, but lets you have complete mobility. They are called O splints. Or if it is really bad, surgery. I opted for surgery & the plastic splint. I am six months out from the operation. My joints that were collapsing do not do it any more. I am regaining use of the pinky. This is something I had to do if I wanted to play without having the joint collapse so much that it would actually lock. the problem occurs because one has laxity in the ligaments in the body. Most people have the opposite problem. Their ligaments get tighter & tighter, while with people such as myself, the lineaments become loser. Lots of people, as they age, get a condition called "trigger finger." It's, as you may have guessed, the opposite problem of "swan neck." It is very common and a fairly easy fix. Howvere "swan neck deformity," is caused by the ligaments on each side of the finger, leg (knee), what have you, being too loose. I was told that although we have two ligaments only 1 is really needed. They take 1 of the weak ligaments and tie it to the other. Instead of having two weak ones which let the joints collapse, you now have 1 very strong one which keeps the joint solid. This is not trivial surgery. But it does work when done right and you do you follow through with your physical therapy (critical to do this). One thing--about the PT, they were astounded at what I could do with my fingers after only a couple of weeks. I was told it usually takes people 6 wks or more to reach the stage I was at. (I attribute that to strong and flexible finger/hand muscles of a pianist). In fact, after 5 wks of 1 hr/week of supervised PT, they kicked me out, saying I could do everything they would do for me, on my own--people usually stay with Physical Therapy for closer to six-months. Now, my pinky does not collapse. It looks and responds just as the pinky you see on great artists. I'm quite happy with the way things are going. --It'll still be another 6 months before all the swelling is down & pain is gone, but as the surgeon's helper told me on the last check, "it looks like we hit a home-run!" If your collapsing looks like swan neck finger deformity (it's really a form of hyper-extension), there is nothing that can be done other than what I've told you--with the final thing being surgery. check out the pictures/descriptions & if you match, you may want to talk with a surgeon. --but make sure it is a surgeon that does only reconstructive hand surgery and nothing else. I had lots of fun with the old joke, "but doctor, when this is all over will I be able to play the piano...?" The answer in my case is a happy, Yes. I wish you the best of luck, bob t

Interesting stuff. I had a student in the past, whose fingers often went into such shapes. I'm just wondering if there are muscular activities that could compensate to some degree though- or whether it's an absolute physical impossibility to do certain things? Surely if the finger is extending outwards, the contact with the key could still push the knuckle upwards? It strikes me that the knuckle joint would be far more likely to collapse under arm pressures- but when the reaction from the keys is pushing back up at a suitable angle, would the ligaments themselves actually matter? If it's being pushed in the right direction, surely it can still go into an elevated position? As I remember, the student could still get his knuckles into a high position, but the mid joints would tend to double back extremely easily.

Bob, thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear that the surgery has helped you out. I did an image search as you suggested, but I think what's going on with my hand is something different - just a lack of function at the metacarpal-phalangeal (MCP) joint. Part of it probably comes from the fact that for the first 10 years or so that I played piano I didn't consider technique at all. Even over the last 4 years I haven't paid that much attention to my fifth fingers, so I've been subjecting them to the wrong kind of movement and tension patterns for a very long time. I think it's not so much a collapse of the joint as much as me pulling that joint down that causes the issue. A quick test I did was this: I help up the MCP joint with the thumb of my other hand and was able to align the bones in my fifth finger very quickly. Getting rid of the habit of pulling down will be the way for me to resolve this issue and increase functionality. I'll be developing this alongside my thumbs (I realised the dysfunction there last night while doing some thumb pushups). I think getting both of these pylons to function properly will allow me to begin developing my piano and guitar technique in a much more coherent way. Thanks again for the info Bob. Do keep us updated about your progress with your 'new fingers'.

A quick test I did was this: I help up the MCP joint with the thumb of my other hand and was able to align the bones in my fifth finger very quickly. Have you tried relating to the actions of the thumbs? I've found this very useful for my r.h. 5th finger knuckles, which have suffered severe droop and which still need attention. Just reach out in front of yourself an give a "thumbs down". Can you feel this activating the 5th finger knuckle? There's a way of retaining a slight hint of that thumb activity, that keeps the 5th in a good position. Gradually, it starts to become the default position, even when the 5th is felt to merely dangle.

glad to hear Nick, not swan neck finger, so now all you have to worry about is "trigger finger" as you get older (haha)--sort of like what Horowitz does with his little finger, except it's uncontrollable. Czzifra, what you describe is correct. Your student had problem with maintaing the arch because support at one end caused the greater force coming from the other end causes that support to fail. If I have a perfect arch, put pressure on top of the PIP it will collapse, but the IP at the distal end rises. If I can keep the IP at the correct shape and push down on it, the PIP rises. One joint being held in place, supported in some way, but with force placed on the entire finger causes the unsupported knuckle to either at a minimum be very unstable or as usual, either buckle or collapse; thus, making the "swan neck." this is what you described happening to your student.--fixing one knuckle caused the other to weaken. I can make a perfect arch, high or low, but just slight pressure on the top of the PIP it collapses. If I resist strongly but push hard enough down (as going into the key on a forte), that causes the IP joint (distal ) to go up! When the finger locks in this position it looks like a "swan neck." Regarding strength, I may have led you astray in my initial comment. Our (pianists) ligaments are very strong (that's why I was able to get through physical therapy so quickly), but if they are at the same time, lax because of hyper-extension, the strength does no good. You can do stretching exercises to loosen "stiff" (tight ligament) joints, but there aren't many exercises, if any, to tighten ligaments that are stretched too far. Proper skeletal alignment certainly helps. In fact it is a must. But the ligaments being too long, will cause it to break down with pressure. If it is a minor injury that has done this, it may repair itself with the "O" finger brace. It supports the finger at two points from beneath and one point on top to stop the joint from moving up. essentially, it makes for the finger, a perfect arch, the shape we are working for. As I think about it, for someone who can't figure out the shape, this would be a very good help to get the ligaments used to holding the position, while still allowing the finger to move. You can move the finger from the metacarpal into the key or move at the very distal end, but it won't allow the arch to collapse. Your comments are well thought through and give a good example of what can happen to the unfortunate student with this genetic trait. The ligaments are very strong for quick, up & down motion, but very weak when force or resistance is applied to one of the joints: the ligament will immediately stretch, thus the joint & arch collapses. Bob T