Cold Hands?

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by Nick Quarrier MHS PT OCS

Do you have cold hands much of the time? Especially before a performance? And even if the room is hot? If yes, you may be interested in this information.

Cold hands are a sign of an overactive autonomic nervous system. More specifically, the signs of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Our emotional and physiological self are controlled by the autonomic nervous system - a system that increases and decreases our heart rate, breathing rate, etc. One group of nerves "speeds" us up and one group of nerves "slows" us down. These groups are known as the sympathetic nerves and parasympathetic nerves. When the sympathetic nerves are fired (stimulated) the heart rate increases and blood is shunted from our hands, feet, and abdomen to our large muscle groups such as thighs and hips. Many muscles tense during this stimulation. This is a primitive reflex response which prepares us to flee from a threatening situation. (remember in high school biology the fight or flight response?) The parasympathetics, when stimulated, slows the heart rate down, causing rest, relaxation, and eventually sleep. During parasympathetic stimulation blood flows throughout the body and into the abdomenal organs (to help digestion, etc).

We live in a world that causes a domination of sympathetic nervous system stimulation. Every time we drive in an automobile, more than likely our sympathetics are fired and our muscles tense as we maneuver through a threatening environment. On the job stress stimulates the sympathetics, athletic performance stimulates the sympathetics, and musical performance stimulates the sympathetics. If you feel stressed out much of the time, more than likely your sympathetics are firing. This constant firing of sympathetics can bias the body's muscles into a continuous state of contraction or increased tension. This tension is easily noticed in a piano player practicing a difficult and demanding score and is evident by the shoulders elevating and being held rigidly. As the blood is shunted from the hands there is a reduced amount of nutrients and oxygen available to feed those muscles that are wroking so hard to play the notes! And thus there is no wonder why soreness in the hands and forearms may develop!

One important factor in preventing a music related injury or in recovering from an injury is to make sure the muscles doing all the work are well fed with nutrients and oxygen. The sympathetic nervous system must be controled. Yes, we need the sympathetics to excite us and assist in us in many of our activities. But we must not let them rule and dominate our bodies. How can we control them?

One of the most effective ways to reduce the sympathetic nervous system firing and to increase the parasympathetic nervous system (to relax us and circulate more blood to distal muscles) is to deep breath. We have always heard, "relax, calm down, take a few deep breaths!" This is sort of true but not totally. By deep breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) a greater quantity of oxygen enters our lungs. And as a greater quantity of oxygen is inhaled, the breathing rate naturally slows down. As the rate slows down carbon dioxide released in exhalation slows down and accumulates in the lungs and in our blood stream. (remember, oxygen is inhaled, carbon dioxide and oxygen is exhaled). Well, as carbon dioxide builds up in our blood a pH change occurs in the blood. As the pH changes the chemical nature of the blood stimulates the parasympathetics to fire! And the heart rate slows, blood flows back to the hands and feet, and relaxation occurs. It is that simple!!! But! It takes a minimum of 10 minutes of deep breathing to get the pH in the blood to change! That is why, "take a few deep breaths" doesn't work to relax us.

So to help warm the hands, reduce tension in the shoulders, help prevent injury, practice deep breathing throughout the day. Deep breath in the car on the way to work, while at the desk, preparing to perform, while watching TV, etc., etc......... It takes some practice, but is extremely rewarding!!!! and Warming!!