Hand pain and a brace

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:53 am

I'm having some overuse pain in the left wrist and hand.

I played the last rehearsal on the mini pBone, which led to some interesting fails. (Maybe I'll share one here for geezer.) Anyway, my 42B has become difficult to hold, even with the brace I added. I also type at work, and aggravated it with yard work and some 4IH ringing, so it has multiple causes, but holding the trombone seems to be the primary offender.

This morning I used the tenor pBone to do my routine, and looking at how I held it I had an idea. The braces I've seen are either parallel to the plane of the bell section or the slide section. What I need is a brace that crosses that, like the hypotenuse if you considered the slide and bell to be at a right angle. The weight would rest between my fingers with the palm in line with my forearm bone.

Of course it couldn't permanently attach. It would have to connect to one or the other and pivot. Has anyone tried a solution like that?

If I had a decent lightweight alto that was ergonomic I'd think about just moving that direction. The pBone mini does not fill the bill; it is more than a toy but just barely.

ttf_afugate · Post by **ttf_afugate** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:03 am

I think what you're describing is similar to what Jupiter offers on a beginner horn? (Not sure what model.) Kind of like a triangular wedge that the fingers wrap around?

I've been tempted to try to craft a hand grip like that with a 3D printer.

--Andy in OKC

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:47 am

If I look at the trombone from the end (either end!) the hand slide brace and the brace from bell to receiver make two legs of a triangle. I would add the third side.

ttf_afugate · Post by **ttf_afugate** » Thu Nov 23, 2017 4:46 am

Quote from: timothy42b on Nov 22, 2017, 09:47AMIf I look at the trombone from the end (either end!) the hand slide brace and the brace from bell to receiver make two legs of a triangle. I would add the third side.

So the triangle sits in the plane of the bell section and not the hand slide?

Hmmm. Maybe you're saying rotated 90 degrees out of the plane of the hand slide.

--Andy in OKC

ttf_BGuttman · Post by **ttf_BGuttman** » Thu Nov 23, 2017 7:52 am

If I understand Tim correctly, he wants a brace that goes from the mouthpiece end of the slide brace to the bell end of the bell brace (or something close).

Apart from an ErgoBone, you might also look to find the special appliance that Joe Jackson had made for his King 3B (I think there is a photo of it in the Gallery).

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:47 am

Quote from: BGuttman on Nov 23, 2017, 07:52AMIf I understand Tim correctly, he wants a brace that goes from the mouthpiece end of the slide brace to the bell end of the bell brace (or something close).

Yes.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:51 am

Not totally successful, but that's a proof of concept attempt with a pBone.

Here I'm trying to hold it:

What I'm trying to do is get the weight directly onto the hand with the hand bones in line with the forearm bones and the wrist in a neutral (not flexed either direction) angle.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:51 am

Not totally successful, but that's a proof of concept attempt with a pBone.

Here I'm trying to hold it:

What I'm trying to do is get the weight directly onto the hand with the hand bones in line with the forearm bones and the wrist in a neutral (not flexed either direction) angle.