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I have been playing the violin for 5 years now. I am very dedicated to practicing and I am a Freshman in high school and on average practice 4-5 hours a week. I have noticed within the past year that when I play, there is a pain in my right wrist (see picture below) but never in my left wrist where most people would get it. I have not been diagnosed with tendinitis but there are sure signs of it. Do I have it?

Here's a link to the picture

I researched that doing specific stretches would fix it but I've been doing them and I can't tell any difference. I also researched that the other option would be surgery if it get's worse which will ruin my career because I won't be able to play for a long time after that. Do you have any solutions or experience with this?

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    Are you sure the source that mentioned stretching exercises is reputable? For tendonitis the recommended treatments I have seen are REST to heal the tendon. (Note I am not a doctor - just advising you to double check that advice first.) Good luck.
    – Andy
    Oct 22, 2015 at 15:57
  • If you've got medical problems, a doctor is more useful than an online forum, especially a musicians forum. The only other thing I'd add is that you need to figure out what about your playing is causing this, or even if you cure it now, it will come back. A good violin teacher can help with that aspect.
    – Karen
    Oct 23, 2015 at 2:21
  • I got the stretching exercises from my conductor Paul Wells. He plays MANY instruments and thought he would be a good source. He informed me that if it doesn't work I can go to him to get relaxation/tension release exercises. He has never gotten after me for playing position except for once with my bow not being pulled inwards enough
    – anonymous
    Oct 26, 2015 at 16:50
  • If you really can't see a doctor, then at least try reading, for example, this: voyagerrecords.com/artend.htm . However note I had trigger thumb for a while and had to stop playing guitar for around three months. (I played piano instead, which was totally painless.) I'm now OK.
    – Andy
    Oct 28, 2015 at 9:41

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If you're serious about your musical career, it is imperative that you get together with a physical therapist who is WELL VERSED in the issues that musicians (particularly pianists and violinists) face. It is a specialized problem that needs specialized approaches.

It's much like the sports-medicine folks...

What is likely happening is that you are holding tension in your body, due to posture, due to WHERE your bow-stroke power comes from. It is today coming from the wrong place, and it needs to be changed. It's part posture, part technique.

One thing that will help alleviate the inflammation in your bow arm is to ice it. This doesn't cure anything, it just gives you relief from the soreness.

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    Great answer, I would just add that the longer you continue to play with tendinitis, the harder it is to cure. Start with a hand specialist, who may suggest an MRI and after diagnosing, may suggest physical therapy. Even if you confirm tendinitis, I would not start to consider surgery until after giving physical therapy and rest a try for three months.
    – aparente001
    Oct 23, 2015 at 4:59
  • I don't have three months to rest in my musical career or else I will indeed get behind
    – anonymous
    Oct 26, 2015 at 16:52
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    Nobody has three months to burn. There is indeed a narrow window of opportunity for the up-and-coming "young lions" to make their place in the ever-diminishing classical music world. What the injured player has to do is realize that there is some amount of rest that will absolutely be required, along with adopting an immediate regimen of physical therapy and revising the physical address of the instrument.
    – dwoz
    Oct 28, 2015 at 0:13

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